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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.
On this episode, George Linley, Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, joins this episode of Between The Sessions to talk about sports event planning. Tune in for a look at key factors sports event organizers are looking for when sourcing events as well as some current trends and challenges in the industry. George also gives a preview of the upcoming TEAMS Conference & Expo and what attendees can expect at the event.
On this episode, Marin Bright, Founder and CEO of Smart Meetings, joins Between The Sessions to discuss her experience in the meetings industry. Marin talks about the annual Smart Women in Meetings Summit and the importance of celebrating women in the meetings industry. She also shares valuable insights and key takeaways for meetings industry professionals.
On this episode, Miguel Neves, editor-in-chief of Skift Meetings, joins Kelly Cavers on Between The Sessions to talk about his journey into the events industry and his current role at Skift Meetings. Miguel discusses key trends in business events and the evolution of bleisure travel. Tune in for insights on blended travel within the meetings industry and tips on how planners can drive greater event attendance by highlighting pre- and post-event bleisure travel.
In this episode of Between the Sessions, Suzanne Boyd and Kelly Cavers interview Aaron Menitoff, the co-CEO and co-founder of Boarderie, a company specializing in custom charcuterie boards. Aaron details the story of his business and the massive impact of their successful appearance on Shark Tank. He also shares some useful advice for event planners that he learned from his time in catering with an example of how his bold thinking introduced a new era of events called “Eventertainment”.
In this episode of Between the Sessions, Rory Archibald, the founder of New Intent, joins Between The Sessions for a conversation about diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability and how those principles impact the meetings industry. Rory also details the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and gives insights on how these different elements can be implemented in the meetings and events industry. The conversation also touches on sustainability and its importance to the future of meetings and events.
The Hilton West Palm Beach and nearby The Square mixed-use district have both undergone major renovations as they continue to deliver on the promise of being an “unconventional convention center” destination in the heart of West Palm Beach. Join Gopal Rajegowda, Partner at Related Companies and Derrick Steinour, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hilton West Palm Beach, as they discuss what it means to be a walkable convention city and how meeting planners can take advantage of nearby amenities for to take event experiences to a whole new level.
Arts and Wellness work hand in hand together, and can also be a useful aspect of the meetings industry. Lauren Perry, the Associate Vice President Of Marketing and Cultural Tourism at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and Bama Lutes Deal, a consultant for The Palm Health Foundation, join us on today’s episode for a conversation on how arts and wellness impacts the meetings industry. Bama and Lauren also discuss the benefits of incorporating arts and wellness initiatives into meetings as well as some trends and challenges within this space.
The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, also known as SITE, is an association that provides services to professionals in the incentive meetings industry such as networking and educational opportunities. Annette Gregg and Elizabeth Sage from SITE join Kelly and Suzanne on today’s episode to talk about trends affecting incentive travel programs. Listen in for insights on how SITE is adjusting to changes in the market for incentives and how meeting planners can incorporate sustainable practices into incentive travel programs.
Located in Palm Beach County, 4ocean is an environmentally-conscious organization aiming to clean up oceans worldwide. Stephanie Bregman, the vice president of marketing at 4ocean, joins Kelly and Suzanne on today’s episode to talk about her company’s sustainable initiatives and how they’ve partnered with hotels to implement them. Stephanie also discusses some of the trends that she’s seeing regarding sustainability in the meetings industry and how that impacts the industry today.
On today’s episode of Between the Sessions, Suzanne sits down with Greg O’Dell and Ken Gaber, the President of Venue Management and the President of OVG Hospitality respectively at Oak View Group. They touch on trending topics in the food and beverage space, such as event sustainability initiatives and healthier food options. The conversation then shifts to curating premium meeting experiences and what drives people to those styles of events.
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