Tips, Insights and Trends from Meeting Industry Professionals
Presented by The Palm Beaches
Part of the Destination Marketing Podcast Network
Between The Sessions is the podcast for event and meeting planners.
Whether you’re involved in planning events for 10 to 1000, for your association, company or organization, Between The Sessions is the premier show for the business events industry, with top insights, innovative solutions, forward-thinking content and inspiring ideas. Between The Sessions is the most relatable, inspiring, supportive show for our industry.
Join us for open conversations, tips and insights from industry leaders, peers and experts.
Available everywhere you listen to podcasts.
New episodes every other Thursday.
Welcome to the very first episode of Between the Sessions, a podcast all about the meetings industry! Join host Suzanne Boyd as she speaks with the co-chairs of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, Martha Sheridan and Stephanie Glanzer, for a thought-provoking conversation about Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID), the importance of the live events industry, and trends & opportunities that are currently impacting the meetings industry. To begin, Jorge Pesquera, President & CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches, joins Suzanne for a quick chat about the industry and destination, and what GMID means for The Palm Beaches.
When moving your large-scale event from a hotel to a convention center or citywide meeting, there are a lot of factors to consider. Carol McGury, the Executive VP of Event and Education Services of Smithbucklin, joins Suzanne on this episode of Between the Sessions to discuss citywides and how valuable they can be. Carol also provides her own insights into the meetings industry and helpful tips for other event planners.
Chris Flowers, senior director of sales at Cvent, joins Between The Sessions to talk about how Cvent can help meeting planners source event venues and destinations. Listen to learn more about booking trends in the meetings industry, how sourcing has changed since the pandemic and how planners can leverage insights from Cvent’s latest data. Chris also discusses Cvent’s $4.6 billion acquisition by Blackstone and how that will affect planners in the future.
Sherrif Karamat, President and CEO of PCMA and CEMA, joins Between the Sessions to talk about meetings industry trends and challenges. From the impact of AI on meetings and business events to discussing strategies for continued innovation and growth, as well as the benefits of networking with new people at face-to-face events, Sherrif sheds light on the important topics facing business event professionals today.
Join The Palm Beaches for an inspiring conversation about all things social media and strategies for effectively growing business events. From lessons learned from Taylor Swift to the importance of being genuine and knowing your audience, Eric Rozenberg, President of Event Business Formula, shares the best tips learned from his experiences as a “LinkedInfluencer”, business strategist and incentive events planner, for content planning, bringing in guest speakers and gaining traction on social media.
Amanda Perna, the Founder and Creative Director of The House of Perna in Delray Beach, joins The Palm Beaches for an inspiring conversation about staying authentic and genuine in business, building a culture of creativity and appreciation, the importance of individuality in cultivating a team, and bringing color to every industry.
Stephanie Harris, President of The Incentive Research Foundation, joins Between The Sessions to talk about all things incentive events. In a timely and cutting-edge conversation, Stephanie discusses The IRF’s research on all things incentives: destinations, attendee preferences, and more. Join us for an in-depth conversation on some notable trends, new challenges and emerging technology in the incentive market.
Tosha Williams, founder of The Pink Retreat, and Claire Lester, Design Studio Strategist at Maritz, share valuable insights on designing impactful events – from identifying your purpose, and building experiences with that purpose as your guiding light. Tosha also shares her journey in growing The Pink Retreat from a passion project to a successful business. Join us for an engaging conversation about centering purpose and passion, and gain new perspective in designing meetings and events.
Emily Scheiderer, Senior Director of Education, Sales and Services for Destinations International, shares the opportunities and innovations that can naturally result when Event Strategists partner closely with DMOs and CVBs. Join us for this conversation on this important topic in the events industry, looking at how can destination partners help event strategists in building welcoming environments into their events, tapping into local intellectual capital, and what tactical steps to implement these today.
Mya Surrency, co-founder of Digital Edge, joins Between The Sessions for an in-depth conversation on how event strategists can think outside-the-box to build sustainable events. She explores some of the innovative sustainability tactics seen across the industry, as well as strategies on how planners, destinations and suppliers can work together to achieve sustainability goals.
MJ Blythe, the Founder and CEO of The Above and Beyond Foundation, joins Between the Sessions to talk about impactful and meaningful ways that business events can leave a legacy in the communities they take place in, and on the people there – in the hospitality industry and attending the meeting. From her background in the meetings industry to how she started the foundation to recognize and reward frontline workers in the hospitality industry, MJ goes in-depth on the types of give-back programs planners can look at through The Above and Beyond Foundation, discusses different ways to utilize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in meetings, and provides inspiration to anyone looking to incorporate initiatives that leave a legacy into their events.
On this episode, Suzanne Boyd and new co-host Kelly Cavers, Chief Sales Officer at Discover The Palm Beaches, sit down with Rosemarie Rosetti, a meetings industry disability inclusion expert. Rosemarie talks about how her personal experience in a wheelchair has informed her role as an accessibility consultant. Rosemarie also gives advice to meeting planners about implementing accessibility initiatives and touches on innovative accessibility tactics.