Lesley Plumley is the owner and creative director of LP Events, an award-winning event management company in Calgary. She has planned and executed some of Calgary’s largest major events for more than 20 years and says, bringing a client’s vision to life is the biggest reward. “It is such an organic feeling as a lot of clients have a hard time articulating what they really want. So, with a lot of brainstorming with the client and then with my…
In the fast-paced world of event planning, where deadlines, logistics, and creativity converge, it’s easy to lose sight of one crucial aspect: our mental health. This year, with all its challenges and uncertainties, served as a stark reminder of just how important self-care and balance are for event professionals. We invite you to join us in a conversation about mental health in the events industry. It’s time to recharge, reflect, and share our self-care rituals as we navigate the…
I have been an event producer for three and a half decades. I have lived through many recessions in the event industry and survived. And through all of these years, I have seen all kinds of challenges, but the new challenges we are facing today in the event industry are affecting our ability to do our job effectively. It is a known fact that planning events is stressful; in fact, event planning ranks up there with careers such as…
Event planners face a daily whirlwind of tasks and deadlines. Our industry comes with unique challenges, constant changes to plans and long days making sure every item on the critical path is completed with fire proof precision. It can become too easy to completely immerse oneself into work with no time for relationships, hobbies, family, rest or even joy. We need to recognize that the most important thing in life isn’t trying to keep up to the never-ending checklist…
By Angela Zaltsman Companies across the nation have seen employees transition from remote to hybrid to sometimes fully in-person work environments. Why? Because if the last three years have taught us anything, it is the value of being with one another. Work culture and building employee engagement are often pointed to as the motivation behind a push for in-office facetime, but studies have shown that team events are the true catalyst for meaningful employee-employer relationships. Team events offer not…
Marriott International and Groups360 announced the launch of Instant Booking for Marriott’s portfolio of hotels in the United States and Canada. Marriott International is the first brand to have a direct integration with Groups360 to offer the “Instant Book” functionality for both guest rooms and meeting space at scale on GroupSync Marketplace, providing planners with a streamlined booking process at the click of a button. As the meetings and events landscape becomes more dynamic, many planners are currently challenged…
Passion, creativity and dedication are some of the hallmarks of the best event planners. And one of the best is Sharon Bonner, founder and CEO of Bright Ideas Events in Vancouver – a 30 year industry veteran who loves what she does. “I love two things about the event industry. Number one, I love this event community and the event professionals in it, who are hard-working, dedicated people, putting their heart and soul into every one of their event projects,”…
What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught event industry professionals, is that time may no longer be our number one resource. Prior to the pandemic, most would argue that without enough time a successful event could not be researched, planned, executed and its success and return on investment adequately evaluated. However, the current labour shortage that was left in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has given us a rude awakening that recovery for many hospitality and tourism businesses is…
IHG Hotels & Resorts has strengthened its Meet with Confidence program by partnering with CVS Health for onsite COVID-19 rapid testing and PCMA for a new course. The onsite testing offered through CVS Health further complements the IHG Way of Clean program, which was enhanced in 2020 with additional cleanliness and well-being measures implemented at all hotels, and IHG’s Meet with Confidence Commitment, to make every event just right. IHG also has signed a new Education Sponsorship agreement with PCMA…
The majority of business professionals miss travelling for business, according to a new survey by Hilton and Morning Brew. While some have returned to travelling for work, 87 per cent of respondents say they miss hopping from city to city to pursue their work. More than 7,000 of the new site’s business readers were polled. Business travellers miss visiting new places (66 per cent), discovering local culture (41 per cent), discussing projects in person (37 per cent), and attending in-person…
