5 Ways Meeting Planners Can Partner With Their Hotel Event Manager, Post-Pandemic
Water station, pads, pens, candies.... hand sanitizer? Meeting planner “specs” are looking a whole lot different these days.
I’m honored to have re-entered the workforce after being furloughed and laid off for over a year. I am now spearheading the event management department at the DoubleTree by SeaWorld Orlando convention resort (shown below). The enthusiasm that our operations team has to push forward with rebuilding and preparing the property to welcome meeting planners and convention attendees back is incredibly contagious. It’s exciting to be a part of the momentum.
However, I have officially found myself chasing a moving target known as “post-pandemic standards and protocols.” Trying to determine which version of the meeting space capacity chart to send to a client is an everyday head-scratcher, right there with keeping up with the mask policy for when and where they need to be worn. Every group and every client has their own level of sensitivity, as well as their own timelines they are working around to get back into live events.
It’s important for planners to know that there is truly thoughtful discussion around this every day, especially among our operations teams as we prepare for each new or repeat group that is about to arrive at our property for us to host.
Despite all of the realities of the situation, and knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, my team agrees we must flex as needed with the messaging to our meeting planners that we are here to produce their program with an “Event Day, Your Way” mentality.
“Event Day, Your Way” is a mindset that embraces true customization of how we will execute, as we allow our clients the opportunity to take the lead. Depending on the client's perspective, we will be prepared to turn to their organization's sensitivity levels for what needs to be done.
It’s an interesting and new conversation to have that could obviously not necessarily be a comfortable one. So with the climate changing, here are a few discussion points that are imperative for a meeting planner client to discuss with their hotel event manager to ensure all parties are set up for success.
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Love your timely thought process with this article. Spot on, and message received by this planner!