Event Operations

Tips For Contracts and RFPs During COVID
2022/02/15

by Shannon Byck and Joe Nishi Over the last two years, the business events industry has been incredibly impacted by meeting cancellations and “lifting and shifting” of groups. From a contract perspective, we have had to quickly incorporate addendums and revisions to contracts that allowed for updated Force Majeure, flexible deposit, attrition and cancellation schedules and a huge amount of goodwill and relationship capital has been spent working through all of this. What should not be overlooked is the…
Trends and Challenges for F&B Events
2022/02/14

As meetings and events continue to shift back to an in-person format again, what will food and beverage (F&B) look like? The pandemic and the changing health restrictions on events (large gatherings) have been a huge struggle for the industry. It has forced many companies out of the business and those left standing have had to adapt, change, and innovate. Corporate Meetings Network asked two industry experts — Kori Gorman, director of events and catering, Eatertainment Hospitality Inc. and Shannon…
Boost Your Brand with Engaging Content
2022/01/31

The meetings and events industry is a great place to start to build a personal brand, but once your brand is created, then what? When you’re in events, you’re in the “experience” business, so it’s an ideal place for creative individuals who want to carve out a personal brand through content creation. Meetings and events have some very unique opportunities for those that want to create engaging and enticing content. It’s through this content that we start to build…
BMO Centre Marks Key Construction Milestone
2022/01/28

The $500 million BMO Centre Expansion project is on track to open in 2024, providing Calgary with an event venue that will attract large international and national conventions and conferences. Work on the 560,000-square-foot expansion project marked a key milestone with the first piece of structural steel installed on site in December. “The start of the steel is a significant milestone as it means that the project is tracking on schedule, despite the challenges we’ve had over the last two…
Sponsorship Expectations For 2022
2022/01/17

Understanding that in 2021, oil reached its highest levels in seven years. Unemployment is at the same level as it was pre-pandemic. We saw record levels for the TSE, although late year dipping and sell-off was expected as a correction, but we are still ahead. All this leads to predictions of a future strong economy, although we will continue to have an inflationary effect on our spending dollar and continued COVID effects. This means that brands will have to…
Why You Need an Event Technologist
2022/01/14

Even before the pandemic and the monumental shift to virtual, digital and now hybrid events, the role of event technologist has been a key part of making events a success. Having a dedicated event technologist on board gives event organizers a chance to focus on what they do best. By doing so, event technologists can facilitate their career advancement, improve ROI and create better meeting experiences for all concerned. For planners seeking strategic, higher level roles within their organizations,…
The Need to Have Sustainable Meetings
2021/12/14

The disruptions of the past 20 months have shown the meeting and event industry’s resilience with event planners running numerous safe, meaningful meetings and events online, and recently again in hybrid and in-person formats. We’ve proved that we’re here to thrive through whatever the world throws at us, and are growing to meet the increasing demand for better-than-ever meetings and events. Edmonton’s first carbon-neutral conference three years ago represented a pivotal moment for us, solidifying that sustainability must be…
Events Still Facing Recovery Challenges
2021/12/13

It’s now been 20 months that the meetings and events industry has struggled to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic. We have become experts in force majeure clauses, postponements, and contract cancellations. Businesses at all levels within the sector’s supply chain have navigated a new world of lobbying for support, applying for government subsidies, scaling back to skeleton teams, furloughing staff, terminating leases, selling off assets and closing offices. Some have found new ways of doing business by shifting to…
Destination Vancouver: Outlook and Goals
2021/11/29

After thriving for decades, Vancouver’s tourism and hospitality industry has been predictably hit hard by the ongoing pandemic. According to the Vancouver Economic Commission, cruise and conference traffic is significant to the city, representing an estimated $2.2 billion in direct and indirect economic impact. Meanwhile, the meetings and conferences sector drives more than $1.6 billion in direct and indirect visitor spending. We ask Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver, about what is happening and projections for how…
Mandatory PCR Test Hurting Travel Industry
2021/11/15

Businesses in Vancouver’s travel and tourism industry are bracing – yet again – for booking cancellations and delayed recovery this winter season. Vancouver welcomed more than 11 million overnight visitors in 2019, contributing $14 billion in total revenues to the Metro Vancouver economy and supporting over 104,000 full-time jobs. By comparison, revenues fell by 70 per cent in 2020. As the largest Canadian city located on the West Coast, Vancouver is Canada’s gateway to the Pacific and the Far East – a critical…