Course Reflections, Alessandra Cigna

#1 Your Network is Your Biggest Strength

The guest speakers that we had the opportunity to converse with, though from varying associations, corporations and industries, all had one prevailing thread amongst their suggestions – build and leverage your network. Our speakers recounted that the meetings industry offers a world of possibilities to those who actively pursue them. Because it is difficult to know exactly your role when entering the industry, it is important that you make connections with those with whom you work so that you can explore new avenues should you elect to pursue a new role (planner, supplier, etc.). I’ve found, even at the very beginning of my career, that this is certainly true. For example, I decided to volunteer for PCMA’s Visionary Awards and was surprised to find that one of our guest speakers, Alex Plaxen, was also volunteering. Through my connection with him, I was introduced to others in the industry who’s past and present positions align with my professional goals. 

#2 Determine Your Competitive Advantage

One of our guest speakers also emphasized that it is currently a “sellers market” and that competing for business at a desired hotel, venue and/or convention center in a specific city may be very difficult. Thus, it is crucial that meeting planners identify what it is about their organization that is different and will benefit the city to which they would like to bring their meeting. Although there is strength in the number of attendees that you can bring to a city, there are other ways of convincing suppliers (hotels, venues, vendors) that your business is more worthwhile than an organization of larger size. To do so, though, you must identity your competitive advantage.

#3 Embrace Technology or Risk Obsolescence

A final common thread amongst all of our speakers was the importance of technology. In this day and age, technology and events have fully intersected and planners must embrace the merge in order to meet the needs of clients and attendees and to work most effectively. Technology allows planners to compile and analyze data seamlessly, while it allows attendees to personalize their experiences at events and to offer useful feedback to organizers. A majority of our guest speakers either work in technology or realize its value, with presenters from Cvent, Little Bird Told Media, Social Tables and more. Having taken this class, I am more cognizant of the role of technology in the events arena and will take all training opportunities available to me to differentiate myself and to avoid obsolescence. 

Keslie- Blog #3

This class has really allowed me to see event management in a completely different light. Before, I saw it a a fairly abstract process, that did not utilize a great deal of technology or a detailed step by step system. I always kind of envisioned the process that completely changed for every event, and that there wasn't a ton of overlap in different kinds of events. Learning about things like risk management, RFP's, project management and financial planning showed me how the same steps really do apply to all times of events. It made the process much more concrete. I also never realized how many different career paths are possible for a planner, or how planners and hotels are on such opposite ends of the market. Associations were something that had never even crossed my mind, and the extreme variety in types of associations was also something I never anticipated. It was really interesting, and exciting, to hear about all the different options as a future planner. The planning industry truly is a complex and versatile one, but it is also extremely connected, which makes me grateful for the opportunities I have already had to connect with professionals in the industry in and around DC.

Keslie- Blog #1

This past year I have been working for GW Colonial Inauguration- GW's undergraduate orientation program- as one of their Headquarters Staff. Part of my job is to hire a new group of orientation leaders, or Colonial Cabinet members, and train them. One of our annual traditions, is to hold a Transition Dinner between our new CI staff, and the previous year's CI staff. This year, we held it in the City View Room. Dinner was served, administrators spoke about CI, and past and current Leadership Team (pictured above) gave speeches. Even though I was not the main planner of this event, being a part of the current leadership team, allowed me to have a part planner and part customer experience throughout the night. I was able to know the overall logistics of the night, but got to fully experience the event how it was intended to be, without being concerned about every single detail necessary. Overall, it was a really interesting night, as I was able to see the intersection between student affairs and events, which is a niche market that I am extremely interested in as a career.

Dana Rizzo: Blog Post #3

                                                                                

I found this class to very rewarding and will be very helpful in my career as an event planner; no matter what path I decide to go down. I found many aspects of this course to be useful for anyone going into this industry. Going into this class I did not think that there was that many aspects that need to be taken into consideration in planning a large- scale convention or meeting. 

I thought it was very useful to understand all the risk issues that could possibly happen during an event. It also was informative in what steps to take when a risk issue happens. Another takeaway from this class that will be useful is the ability to negotiate. I learned what aspects are more important to negotiate than others. This can be very important in order to get the best deal you can possibly get for your event. The final takeaway that was fascinating to me was the number of associations that not only industry workers can join but also students can join.  As someone who wants to go into this industry it is nice to see how much support can be given to me. I also learned that taking your CMP as soon as possible is a good move to make.

At the end of the class I did realize that this is not the path that I want to go down. I really would like to go into event production and planning for large upscale elaborate events. When I was researching companies that I would potentially want to work for, I found one that I really would love. Van Wyck and Van Wyck, located in New York City, is an event production management company responsible for putting on a range of high-end luxury events. I know I have many steps to take before working for somewhere like that, but this course aided me in planning my career path.

                                                                              

Blog #3: Top 3 Learnings

This course has been very helpful for me to learn many aspects of event planning process. The top three learnings for me are risk management, importance of technology, and learnings from all of the panel sessions.

Risk management: I learned that risk management plays important role in planning events. Having a successful risk management will create successful events. Keeping in mind that every event has potential risks help you pay more attention to the risk factors and put more effort to avoid the risks. This management skill does not only apply to event planning, I think in many aspects of business world, it is a very helpful and important skill that you can apply for making successful events or deals for bigger profit.

Use of technology in event industry: After raking this class, I have realized that the importance of technology in the event industry nowadays. Technology has improved the overall quality of events. It provides convenience, and will help collect more accurate information. Knowing about tools such like Social table and Cvent is very helpful for me to utilize these tools in the future when I start planning my own events.

Last takeaway is the experiences of going on field trips to Socialtable, the churchill hotel, and also the panel discussions. Having experts from all aspects of the event industry has helped me broaden my eyes to know a lot more about the industry. I have just joined the Meeting Professionals International, I look forward getting many experiences and building some network within the association.

Overall, I really liked how the class is structured creatively with field trips and panel discussions. The cases have been very helpful to know about the event industry as well.

Adrian Remzi- Blog #3

The other event I attended hosted by Midnight Rebels. Midnight Rebels is a promotion company that hosts social events throughout Washington D.C. The event itself was hosted at Heist, a local venue in the Dupont Circle Area.

            While attending this event, I asked several organizers question about how they planned an executed this event. I first asked the owner of the company what is needed to host a successful event. His answer was trust. He explained that in promotion industry, trust is critical factor. In order to obtain repeat business, venue owners must be willing to work with such companies, and the only way to do so is to have a trustful relationship. He said another aspect was to work with local authorities. Any venue that serves alcohol is subject to strict local and federal regulations. In order to be able to serve these drinks, the venue and promotion company must follow laws in order to be able to host future events.

            I also talked to members of the security team, who explained the difficult aspects of his job. He said it was his responsibility to always be cordial to guests, yet remaining authoritative. He said at any moment something can erupt, so it is important for them to be attentive. Furthermore, he explained that it was his responsibility to make sure everyone is safe in the event of an emergency, so emergency equipment and exits always had to be checked and in working order.

            Attending this event was interesting, as it allowed me to gain a new perspective about venues hosted at clubs and bars.

Blog #3 Megan Linn

My three biggest takeaways from this class are that there are a lot more to events than I realized, Associations are great ways to network, and contracts should always be strongly negotiated.

Before taking this class, I never realized how much planning, time, and different aspects went into events. There is so much behind the scenes work that no one realizes. Every single detail has to be not only thought out, but then also carried out and properly executed at the time of the event. How stressful. It was also crazy how far in advance you have to begin planning. I really realized this when we made our graphs with the online technology for an assignment.

I was also completely oblivious to the existence of associations that can be joined to help network. There are so many associations for every professional field. It was great having the guest lecturers come in and explain the different associations and how much they have helped them.

I also learned a bit from our in class exercise where we practice negotiating the contract. I learned which aspects of it are most common to negotiate such as room rated and attrition fees. It is very important to get the best deal you can out of your venue.

Blog #2 Megan Linn

On April 20^th I attended the PCMA webinar entitled “7 Actionable Conference Design Insights from TED Events”. This was my first ever experience with a professional industry event as well as my first webinar. I found it to be very insightful but also a bit boring. It was nice to be able to experience it in the comfort of my bed but seemed to detract a bit by not having any form of human interaction. There was however a chat box where I could message any questions which did help the lack of interaction issue. It was also easy to get distracted and not pay close attention.

The registration part and access was very simple to navigate. There was a PowerPoint included to follow along with at your own pace. This feature helped me follow along in case I missed something or fell behind on what the speaker was saying. The content was very organized and easy to follow. I wouldn’t say that I would participate in webinars like this often, but if were to come across a topic I was interested in I would definitely enjoy it. It was a great experience to see how a webinar works and I am glad this class forced me to try it out.