Tips for Hosting an Effective Retreat

An effective retreat should build camaraderie among the attendees, provide thought-provoking content, relieve stress, offer healthy food and beverage options, and include fun and motivating activities that are good for the mind, body and soul set in a positive environment. Here are a few tips for hosting an effective retreat: Purpose The first thing you… Read more »

Sexual Harassment in the Event Industry

With the growing concern of sexual harassment and sexual assault, event planners are finding it more important than ever to have conversations around code of conduct at their events. Many companies like the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) are implementing stronger guidelines to address unacceptable and harassing behaviors, and the consequences for such… Read more »

7 Hotel Concessions Every Event Planner Should Negotiate

Hotel agreements can be extremely intimidating but if you know what concessions can be negotiated you can save your clients thousands of dollars. 1. Sleeping Room Nights – In addition to negotiating a low attrition rate on our sleeping room block, we negotiate 1 complimentary sleeping room for every 40 sleeping rooms booked by our… Read more »

Wedding Planning Tips – 7 Mistakes Couples Make When Planning Their Wedding

Congratulations… you’re engaged!! Now it’s time to plan your special day. Understanding what goes into planning a wedding is so important but it’s NOT just about the details. There are many important things to consider. Here are 7 wedding planning tips to help couples avoid making mistakes when planning their wedding. Not putting together a… Read more »

7 Tips for Dealing With Difficult Clients

As first published in Special Events Magazine. As a service-based event business, we have had our fair share of difficult clients from the know-it-alls, last-minute-changers, Prada-ideas-on-a-Wal-Mart-budgeter, can’t-make-a-decisioner, never-happys, the polite-and-pickies, and the fighters. High-maintenance clients are never easy but here are seven simple but powerful strategies you can use when dealing with difficult clients. 1…. Read more »

Important Steps for a Sellout Event

On any given night, people have numerous options regarding how they’ll spend their time and money. If you’re hosting an event, obviously you want more of those people to give those things to you. However, planning a sellout event is not something that just happens naturally. The entire marketing strategy surrounding the event must tie… Read more »

Event Lodging: The Next Best Alternative

When it comes to lodging for an event, most people automatically assume their only option is a hotel, especially if there is a hotel room block available. If you want room service, a business center, gym, and all the other amenities that come with a hotel then that is the best way to go. However,… Read more »

7 Tips For Hiring Event Staff

The success of an event can be a disaster if you don’t hire the right event staff. Start Your Search Early On It’s always best practices to have your event staff in place as early as possible. Quality and experienced staffers are in high demand and it’s inevitable that there will be some staffers who… Read more »

The Stages of Great Event Sales

As most of you know, selling event tickets is no easy task. One thing you must keep in mind while selling is the entire marketing and sales funnel. Doing this effectively should create a happy customer base that will be much easier to sell to the next time. Stage 1: Prospects Okay, so you’ve got… Read more »

5 Risky File Sharing Habits to Avoid

Sharing files with my colleagues and clients has become a very important part of running my event planning business efficiently. It is extremely important to make sure that you are using the right file-sharing systems and policies so you are not at a security risk. Here are a few file sharing habits to stay away… Read more »

Why Events Are Great For Employee Morale

It’s hard to keep your employees happy these days. It’s been shown that happy employees are more productive with greater longevity. Why else would Google and Facebook go to such extremes to make their offices so employee-friendly? One thing we’ve found is that events are a great way to improve company morale. Here are a… Read more »

Recap of Michael Cerbelli’s Hot List 2014

ARIA About Entertainment Danny Bergold (424) 201-5428 dbergold@about-entertainment.com Scott Fields, Craig Hendry, Liam McLachlan and Jason Short make up the unique group. Offering a blend of pop and opera they take classical sound and make it their own. Blake Band E Three NYC Evan Tyler (212) 354-6460 etyler@ethreenyc.com Playing music from the 1920’s through today’s… Read more »

Top 12 Trends For Today’s Bride For The New Year

Trend #12 – The Ring Brides are shying away from the traditional engagement ring. The latest tweak on tradition include cool cuts, intricate settings, dazzling different tints and modern styles that forgo the solitaire altogether. A platinum setting and simple diamond are no longer the norm. Bigger is better. Vintage is back. Lots of color,… Read more »