The Road to Planning 2019’s Events Starts Today
July 3, 2018SHARE:
With the second half of 2018 now underway, it’s time to focus on the big and small decisions associated with 2019’s meetings and incentive programs. At the AIC Hotel Group properties in Miami, Dominican Republic and Mexico’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts, our sales and service managers are now ramping up their communication with planners for groups arriving on site in early 2019—that’s the peak season for programs which combine business education, networking and recognition for top performers.
For those upcoming programs, one thing our managers will be sure to discuss with planners is the strategic use of different physical spaces on property. Recent industry reports—including MPI’s State of the Industry and IACC’s Meeting Room of the Future—emphasize that today’s attendees value in-person meetings mostly for the interaction with their peers, not just interaction with the topic experts who lead educational sessions. As a result, those topic experts need to run their sessions in more creative ways, not as traditional presentations. This ensures that everyone in the room has a chance to share their experiences and add to the learning environment.
At this point, you might ask: What does session variety and greater attendee interaction have to do with a property’s gathering spaces? Quite a lot, actually. While each of our properties has ample dedicated meeting space that can be furnished in many ways—from conference chairs and round tables, to couches and coffee tables, to highboy chairs and billiards tables—the outdoor areas at our tropical properties provide even more options. Outdoor spaces produce a different atmosphere that makes attendees more relaxed and comfortable, and thus more willing to share creative or out-of-the-box ideas. Attendees also remember content and conversations more strongly over the long term when the sessions take place in unique spaces.
Each AIC Group Hotel has solid experience in making use of its outdoor spaces for maximum business effect, and most of our 2019 group clients will take advantage of those spaces to some degree. If you’d like to learn how the formal and informal event spaces at our properties could make your educational and networking sessions more effective, we’d be happy to hear from you.
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