From humidity levels to air circulation, what do you need to know to mitigate risk and provide a healthy environment for attendees? Key Takeaways: Avoid venues with a closed-circuit HVAC system that does not introduce outside air.  Check that venues are using level 13 or higher MERV filters. Relative humidity levels should be between 50 percent and 55 percent. Determining venue capacity has changed. It’s now a function of additional ventilation factors, which you can calculate using a free tool from  MIT. As meetings return to indoor spaces, your attendees and speakers will want to ..read more

Lance Wieland of Boston Consulting Group shares tips on how to be more entrepreneurial, what to look for in new hires, how to provide value, and investing in your team’s skills. Key Takeaways: Develop an entrepreneurial mindset: What if your company didn’t have to choose the in-house team? Hire staff who are intuitive, flexible, and comfortable taking charge. Find out how the event host is measuring R.O.I. and build the event around delivering is that. At Boston Consulting Group, the corporate events team has a very different relationship with the rest of the company than most in-house teams ..read more

After COVID-19 disrupted the events industry and forced numerous in-person meetings and events to go virtual, one event technology company decided to host its first-ever virtual event, on its platform, in November of 2020. “This was a new event, not something to replace a previously live event,†said Christina Tomlinson, Vice President of Marketing & Events for Pathable, a platform and mobile app that supports virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. “We thought hosting our own virtual event would be a great way to encourage networking and collaboration within the event industry. We als ..read more

KEY POINTS A new three-hour, online micro training certificate course prepares all on-site event staff with tactical knowledge to stay safe, identify and suppress risks, and handle, mitigate and de-escalate guest non-compliance issues.   Offered in partnership with MPI. Course fee is $75, and registration is open for the first three course dates: January 20, February 10, and March 3. January 8, 2021 – With planners beginning to prepare and train on-site staff for new safety roles and guest management and responsibilities, the Event Leadership Institute (ELI) – the long-time leader ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 3 minutes We’re hosting an event in a beautiful, but old, landmark building, and one of my vendors suggested we make sure the venue has enough electrical. How can I figure out how much electrical power we’ll need? And what’s the difference between amps, watts, and volts? Power 101 This is actually not complicated to answer. Power requirements are determined using three elements: Watts Watts measure the amount of energy a device uses. If you’ve switched to LED bulbs in your home recently, you may have noticed that the LED replacement for the old 60 watt incandesce ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 1 minute Many event business owners hand their financials over to their accountant or bookkeeper, but a strong understanding of how to protect your company’s financials is crucial for success and futureproofing your business. This week’s Smarticle will introduce several important tips for proper financial planning. Cash flow is king You can lose money on your profit and loss statement and still have the potential to turn your business around, but if you run out of cash, it’s over Have a cash cushion of at least three to six months operating expenses to ensure you have eno ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 2 minutes   A virtual event involves no in-room experience. The entire event is held solely online. For this week’s Smarticle, we’re focusing on virtual events: the most common type of virtual events and the benefits of opting to host a virtual event over an in-person one. Virtual Trade Shows The most common type of virtual event is the virtual trade show. Virtual trade shows are designed to be familiar, with virtual elements you would find at an in-person trade show such as a registration area or main lobby chat room. Virtual trade shows will often also have a v ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 3 minutes As an event professional, you have likely spent a great deal of time getting publicity for the events that you produce. Planners are so focused delivering ROI for their clients that they often forget to work on their own businesses. Not to mention, of course, that getting publicity isn’t always easy. Here are 6 strategic steps to help you get some publicity for your event business. Determine your goalsBefore spending time reaching out to the media, you need to establish concrete marketing goals. Start by figuring out who is your target audience, th ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 2 minutes When talking about your rate with a client, how do you convey that your services aren’t a commodity? How do you express that even though you’re providing the same service as the planner down the road who is charging half as much, you’ll offer more value, less risk, and a better outcome? If your answer to this is negotiating your price and rates, you’re selling yourself short. Instead, it’s better to change the focus of the conversation to the topic of value. What is value? Value is what the client gets for what they’re paying. So, if you’re having a conversation ..read more

Smarticle READ TIME: 3 minutes When printing signs for our events, my graphic designer is always asking for vector files of sponsor logos, but some sponsors tell me to grab their logo from the web. What’s the difference between those files and vector files? As an event professional, you may encounter clients that don’t understand the importance of using vector files, especially when enlarging logos onto signs. Here are some basics that can help you provide an explanation. Bitmap Images Image is made up of dots (pixels) When the image is enlarged, the pixels get larger Resolution indicates the ..read more