Eventful: The Podcast for Meeting Professionals

Elliott Ferguson discusses the Capitol riot, inauguration and the future of event security. While meeting planners had high hopes that the new year would be one of recovery, 2021 got off to a rocky start in January. In addition to a slow vaccine rollout, the attack on the Capitol raised new fears about event safety. On this episode of Eventful: The Podcast for Meeting Professionals, Northstar Meet...

CEO Carina Bauer discusses what the cancellation means — and does not mean — for the meetings industry more broadly. Earlier this month, IMEX Group announced that for the second year in a row it would be cancelling its annual IMEX Frankfurt event, scheduled for May 2021. The news came as a reality check to many in the industry who hoped recent positive news around vaccine distribution...

As coronavirus cases continue to surge and vaccines are slowly rolled out, meeting planners should be considering protocols for in-person events when they are able to return. Beyond enacting measures to mitigate risks for participants, what will you do if an attendee tests positive for Covid-19 on-site?   On this episode of Eventful: The Podcast for Meeting Professionals, we’re speaking...

Samantha Evans of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals, provides specific ways every meeting planner can ensure their virtual or hybrid event is welcoming to all.   The growth of digital and hybrid events this year has removed some barriers that attendees with physical disabilities might have faced at in-person events. But while digital events provide a new level of ac...

Jason Dunn reflects on an eventful year and how far the industry has yet to go. While lack of diversity has long been an issue within the meetings industry, the death of George Floyd in May brought a renewed focus to the matter. But six months later, it's clear that there's still much work to be done.   In this episode of Eventful: The Podcast for Meeting Professionals, we speak with Jason Du...

Holding meetings virtually can open up opportunities for those with disabilities.   One of the few silver linings of 2020 and the necessity to meet online vs. in person has been the way in which digital and hybrid events allow more attendees to take part, on their terms.   In advance of the United Nations' International Day of Disabled Persons on Dec. 3, we spoke with Rosemarie Rossetti,...

Risk management expert Bruce McIndoe on when group travel will safely return.   Covid-19 has upended many companies’ plans for group gatherings, leaving planners eager for answers on when they might be able to hold events in-person again and the associated risks. During the recent Global Incentive Summit Digital, hosted by Northstar Meetings Group, attendees were able to get these insig...

SongDivision CEO Andy Sharpe shares how his company pivoted to online events. After pivoting to virtual events, meeting planners now face a new challenge: how to keep attendees engaged and battle Zoom fatigue? One option is to add a musical component to the event, whether it be bringing in A-list talent to perform, hosting a lip-sync battle or working with songwriters to create a team anthem. &nbs...

To address these new imperatives, Northstar Meetings Group recently hosted a webcast featuring Tracy Stuckrath, owner of Thrive! Meetings & Events and an expert on food safety and allergies. She discussed the range of questions that planners should be asking, from staff training to food sourcing and room design. In this episode of Eventful: The Podcast for Meeting Professionals, we share some...

Since Covid-19 hit, so much has changed about how we approach travel, and how individuals and organizations assess the risks of going to another city or country. Today, event planners and individual business travelers must navigate new rules and restrictions, take additional precautions and manage a number of logistical steps that would have been hard to imagine just a few months ago. During Incen...

David Kliman discusses navigating the current crisis and thriving in a challenging environment. When the Covid crisis hit, David Kliman, president of The Kliman Group, watched his business plans disintegrate. “The day before the lockdown, I had a full calendar — it was going to be a banner year,” he says. “A day after, I had an empty calendar.” In that way, he’s...

Bizly’s Kevin Iwamoto explains how meeting planners can adapt to a changed world.   The meetings industry as a whole is experiencing the five stages of grief, according to Bizly chief strategy officer Kevin Iwamoto, and a lot of professionals are stuck in the denial stage. We need to fast-track that psychological process, he says, so that we can reach the final stage — acceptance....

Legal expert Jonathan Howe on the latest legal risks for meeting professionals.   The COVID-19 pandemic has created plenty of legal issues for the events industry, from grappling with force majeure clauses to negotiating attrition terms that make sense. As face-to-face events slowly begin to resume in some form, one question continues to pop up: Can planners be held liable if an attendee cont...

This certification helps assure event stakeholders of their venues’ commitment to health safety.   As the meetings industry continues to grapple with the many challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, venues are revamping their hygiene practices in order to mitigate health risks for visitors. To help in this effort, a new certificate program from the Global BioRisk Advisory Council, a...

How to enhance the meeting experience for both in-person attendees and remote viewers The freeze on live-in-person events in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many meeting planners to become more comfortable creating digital meetings. As physical gatherings slowly and haltingly return, these same planners can channel their new digital experience into the design of hybrid events, combin...

Elizabeth West of the BTN Group details the current and future realities of business travel. Not many employees are on the road right now, but travel managers have had a very busy year. Even with minimal travel volume, it’s going to take a lot of legwork to prepare companies for the safe return of business travel and meetings.   Elizabeth West, editorial director of The BTN Group, has b...

While our meetings may be taking place online, they still offer many unique revenue-generating opportunities. Restrictions on face-to-face gatherings have led to a surge in virtual meetings. But while webcasts and digital networking sessions have proven popular, they have many planners concerned about the lack of revenue they are bringing in. Not all of the same engaging sponsorship opportunities...

Global trend-watcher Vikram Mansharamani advises planners to consult experts when necessary, but take responsibility for the big decisions. At a time of such unpredictability, disruption and risk, it is hard for even the most experienced meeting planner to feel confident when making major decisions about when or whether to hold their next event, or what form it should take. To help explore how pla...

June is Pride Month, but this year the rainbow flag that celebrates freedom of sexual expression has perhaps been overshadowed by Black Lives Matter flags, signs and banners, as the issue of racial inequality drawn heated attention and concern across the country and in many parts of the world.  For the meetings and travel business, this is a difficult and important time to assess our progress...

Gregg Talley discusses how associations are managing events amid the pandemic. The "glory days" of international conferences are probably over, says Gregg Talley, CAE, FASAE. As president and CEO of Talley Management Group, Inc., which manages 35 international associations, he's been helping clients launch virtual events in the short term and organize hybrid meetings in the longer term. Two months...

Black meeting professionals share their thoughts on the Black Lives Matter protests and how the industry should respond. The past two weeks have seen large-scale demonstrations in almost every major U.S. city and across the world as hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd, and the need for widespread police reform. The events have not only r...

Entrepreneur and investor Marco Giberti discusses the meetings tech changes we can expect in the years to come. The rapid shift away from face-to-face events due to the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a steep drop in revenue, loss of jobs and widespread disruption in the meetings industry. But it has also created a situation that could significantly accelerate innovation in the world of event technolo...

Expert tips on connecting with an audience that isn’t in the room.   As planners have had to cancel face-to-face gatherings of all sizes, digital meetings have become a vital alternative. But for those accustomed to developing in-person events, it’s become clear that the rules for engaging face-to-face attendees don’t necessarily apply in the digital universe. To provide bes...

No mask? No problem. Based on attendee pushback, a coronavirus test at the door will be the only health safety measure for this business event. Do attendees want to wear masks and keep their distance when meetings resume, or will such practices detract too much from the experience of live events? That’s a question Bradley Metrock, CEO of Nashville-based Score Publishing, has been grappl...

Jonathan Spero of InHouse Physicians describes what it will take to give attendees the confidence to meet again. When can we start meeting again? There’s no simple answer to this question, considering the various local restrictions, evolving public-health developments and the individual preferences and concerns of attendees. But whenever meetings finally resume, we can be sure that planners...