For planners, an event’s success depends on establishing trust and communication with hospitality representatives. Photo by Sarah Godfrey

Every corporate planner knows the pressure of having to deliver a memorable event that both stays within budget and aligns with company goals. Throughout this process, they will continually rely on hospitality representatives, who play a vital role in making that a reality, providing venues, accommodations, catering, logistical support and more.

A solid relationship between these two is essential to success, and it goes far beyond a simple business transaction. It’s about trust, communication and an ability (and willingness) to solve problems in high-pressure situations.

“A great rep isn’t just a point of contact — they’re a true partner in the planning process,” says Melissa Haen, senior engagement marketing manager for AIA Corporation, a division of iPROMOTEu. “I’ve worked with reps who disappear after the initial introduction, and that’s a red flag for me. The best ones stay engaged and ensure a seamless handoff to their colleagues.”

Haen recalls that when she was doing site visits in Milwaukee, WI, the two teams had lunch together. She says that built trust early on and reassured her that her group would be in great hands throughout the planning process.

For hospitality reps, corporate clients are a challenge, often because there is a shorter window available to book their meetings. “Corporate clients are unique in part because we often see that they have large budgets that allow them to create extravagant experiences for their attendees, and they often operate on a more abbreviated timeline than association shows,” says Dustin Arnheim, senior vice president of sales and services at Choose Chicago. “Corporate clients need support in sourcing exceptional venues, streamlining hotel packages and engaging with trusted local vendors to create a seamless, extravagant experience for their attendees with a very tight turnaround and with the possibility of last-minute changes.”

In Orlando, FL, short-term booking windows can sometimes impact hotel availability for corporate groups, according to Casandra Matej, president & CEO of Visit Orlando. To help planners navigate these shorter booking windows and find a hotel that fits their needs, they highly recommend planners include Visit Orlando on their RFPs.

What Planners Need Most

With time constraints in mind, corporate planners need quick communication from reps to produce successful meetings.

“In today’s environment, speed to market is paramount,” says Letty Canizalez, vice president of sales at the San Diego Tourism Authority. “We fast-track the planning process by providing timely responses to RFPs and coordinating efficient site visits. Our established relationships with venues and vendors enable quick turnaround on proposals and confirmations. We also leverage our extensive network to secure flexible booking patterns and dates.”

Kris La Fata, director of convention services and events for Visit Seattle, cites a recent Maritz report which states that 29% of meeting attendees are registering within the final two weeks before their conference, while 9% are registering onsite. “This means planners are unaware of over a third of eventual attendees’ plans until the meeting is about to take place. This greatly impacts a planner’s ability to forecast room needs, food and beverage procurement and meeting space setup,” La Fata says.

For support, planners can reach out to a CVB such as Visit Seattle, which, La Fata says, provides assets and messaging early on so attendees can get excited about the destination. “Additionally, we will often send a representative to another of the organization’s meetings so they can chat with attendees, answer questions about Seattle and offer recommendations for pre- or post-conference stays.”

And according to Rachel Bricker, director of event contracting and special events at SANS Institute, it’s very important that hospitality reps respond as quickly as possible.

“Our program has a lot of custom elements to it, specifically regarding food and beverage and internet requirements,” Bricker notes. “When we put out an RFP, we really need our hotel rep to respond and address our custom asks in their proposal so we know if they can be considered and we don’t have to go chase down answers later.”

For an industry such as tech, corporate planners are very hesitant to make decisions a year in advance, says Megan Warzeniak, director of sales and strategy at streamlinevents, inc. “They tend to plan in the year. They don’t want that liability on their books, so that window is very short,” she adds. “That makes it more challenging for the hospitality reps in such a short window.”

For planners, having creative, adaptable and collaborative team members is essential to ensuring an event’s success. Courtesy of Mindy Grubb

Communication Is Key

Clear communication between hospitality reps and planners is vital for a successful event, and it is essential that each side keeps the other informed regarding logistics, deadlines and any changes. Whether it’s a CVB, DMO, hotel rep or anyone else, they must have a clear understanding of the planner’s vision, goals and expectations for the event.

“A knowledgeable, responsive rep who truly understands the hotels, meeting spaces and surrounding area is invaluable,” Haen says. “I rely on their expertise to recommend the best fit for our group, ensuring the venue aligns with our needs and enhances the attendee experience.”

“What are they trying to accomplish … how do you measure the success of that meeting? If you’ve got a national rep of hotel chain or brand, it’s really important to understand what your client is looking for, because not all of your properties are going to be able to fit that need,” Warzeniak adds.

Her team at streamlinevents, inc. — which is hired out by companies that need assistance in planning their big programs — handles site search, logistics and overall program management. “Some of the biggest needs of the client (from hospitality reps) are getting a timely response and for the hospitality reps to be able to ask intelligent questions,” Warzeniak says.

As director of sales and marketing at Conrad Orlando, Jill Yurko says that establishing clear goals and objectives from the start is essential for a successful event: “To maintain open communication, we schedule weekly calls, ensuring alignment and adherence to a well-defined timeline that prevents missed deadlines.”

Planners look to hospitality reps for local insights on everything from hotel bookings to offsite venue suggestions, and Canizalez says that a CVB’s knowledge of seasonal trends and citywide events can help them identify the best timing for a meeting based on the planner’s preference and availability, as well as when they can secure favorable rates.

“Understanding when citywides are taking place is helpful for us in selecting dates for programs which are typically flexible on our side,” Bricker says. She adds that rates in downtown San Diego, where she books conferences, will either be elevated due to larger citywides, or that hotels won’t have availability for that program. It’s also important to know which hotels might still be under renovation or just completed.

Choose Chicago emphasizes that as the city’s DMO and local experts, the organization can provide guidance on everything from venue sourcing to marketing support, so they play an important role in keeping events within budget. “Across the country, the cost of doing business and producing an event is an area of focus as corporations evaluate how and why they are hosting events,” Arnheim says. “We can play an important role in addressing this critical issue.”

Reliability and Flexibility

Another issue of primary importance to planners is delivering on promises regarding venue, services and accommodations. Warzeniak says that sometimes on the hotel and DMO side, it’s simply heads in beds: “That format does not allow your salespeople to make those meaningful relationships of trust and transparency … required to build and to sustain the relationship.”

Warzeniak says that connection can be very transactional, but honesty is the best way to build trust. “I’ve earned more business by turning people away going to a hotel,” she insists. “I’ll say: ‘I can squeeze you in, but you aren’t going to have a good experience. Come back on this date.’ Or ‘Can you shift your dates by one week?’ understanding there’s a big convention coming.”

Hospitality reps need to be proactive in solving problems and offering solutions, as well as providing honest information about availability, pricing and limitations.

“Corporate planners’ most pressing needs revolve around reliability, flexibility and efficiency,” says Stuart Evans, director of sales and marketing at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort. He says his sales team is trained to respond swiftly to last-minute adjustments, whether in pricing negotiations, securing ideal event spaces or offering value-added services. “By providing tailored solutions that meet both their budget and event expectations, we not only meet the client’s needs but also strengthen long-term relationships and foster trust.”

Haen held her company’s 2024 national sales meeting in Milwaukee, WI, which was a last-minute location selection. “From the moment I reached out to Visit Milwaukee, the response was immediate,” she says, noting that the city’s Baird Center had opened just in time for the meeting. The team at Visit Milwaukee offered site visits and other help to make it a success. “Their proactive support made all the difference, and I’d work with them again in a heartbeat.”

Mindy Grubb, vice president of events for eXp Realty, cites an experience from her eXpcon event in Miami last October. “It was a perfect example of how the right hospitality partner makes all the difference,” she says. “I worked with my longtime partner, Melinda Keiffer — this was our fifth event together, and we’ve built a 15-year relationship. Because she knows my expectations, preferences and the level of service we need, we could anticipate challenges, pivot when needed and execute seamlessly.”

Grubb reiterates that flexibility and creativity are key when she is planning meetings: “I value partners who collaborate to bring fresh ideas to the table. Every event is different, and having a team that understands the vision and adapts seamlessly to last-minute changes makes all tthe difference.”

Local Knowledge

Local knowledge is invaluable, and that’s where DMCs come into play, according to Warzeniak, since they have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on in any city or region. The local CVBs and hotel reps are also vital to creating a successful event with local flavor. Understanding event requirements such as AV needs, room layouts, catering and accessibility is also paramount to a good planner/rep relationship, as it cements a seamless experience for attendees by ensuring that all moving parts are effectively coordinated.

Local knowledge is irreplaceable, according to Haen. “I could spend hours researching hotels, venues and entertainment options, but nothing beats working with someone who lives and breathes the destination,” she says. “For example, even though I went to college in Milwaukee, the city has evolved dramatically in the past 18 years. Having a local expert walk me through how different areas have developed, and which venues offer the best experience today, was invaluable. Their insights helped us make informed decisions quickly and with confidence.”

Haen adds that her goal is always to create immersive experiences that showcase a destination’s food, culture and energy. She says, “Our rep from Visit Milwaukee shared what’s worked for other groups, giving us fresh ideas we wouldn’t have thought of on our own.”

Jackie Winterbottom is a senior executive assistant at a Fortune 500 company. She says that for a recent meeting, Experience Scottsdale introduced her to places and experiences that helped make the event memorable and a huge success. “Having a happy team, good growth and positive feedback from a corporate event is always the goal, and that would not have been possible without them,” Winterbottom says. “We have had fantastic dinners, group activities [and] hotel stay, and [we] can’t wait to come back to Scottsdale!”

Evans concurs that local expertise is one of the hotel’s most powerful assets. “I always emphasize to the sales team that knowledge is power, as it enables us to offer corporate clients unique, customized experiences that set us apart from other venues. Additionally, our local knowledge ensures we can anticipate logistical challenges and offer quick, effective solutions, allowing planners to focus on the larger picture.”

According to Laura Breuer, director of event planning at JW Marriott Parq Vancouver & the DOUGLAS, surprisingly there are a lot of companies or planners that are unfamiliar with what Vancouver is known for as an international city. “This is a huge piece of how we help corporate planners with planning,” Breuer says. “You’re the person on the ground, in the city that they are visiting, that knows what local ingredients are important, what is located close to what, what restaurants are popular and have good food, what is a “must-do” activity.”

Whether it’s contractual terms, the political environment, public safety or the impact of climate change and weather, Choose Chicago notes that, in recent years, corporations have become more focused on minimizing risk. As a DMO, they are more involved than ever before in helping clients navigate these questions and bringing clients and community leaders together to find alignment and meet the needs of all parties.

Looking to the Future

Warzeniak insists that the needs of planners and hospitality professionals are evolving. “Before it used to be very cut and dry,” she says. “This is your meeting. This is what you do. You rotate. You go back. We go do the same thing, incorporate a golf tournament, whatever. I think that, as the baby boomers leave the workforce and there are so many different generations, you need to be able to speak to whom your audience is as demographics.”

Of course, technology has changed some of the processes. Jon Lovett, event manager at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, believes that in the coming years, there will be a rise in the use of virtual meetings during the decision making and planning process, as opposed to site visits and tours.

“We work with meeting planners that are planning multiple corporate events throughout the country, and their time is valuable,” Lovett says. “The digital marketing tools with 360 videos and images paint an excellent picture of our facilities and allow our planners to make decisions without physically being onsite.”

“[But] the humans are not going away,” Warzeniak says.

Haen agrees that while AI will streamline certain aspects of event planning — like generating RFPs and automating communications — nothing can replace human expertise. “A great hospitality rep brings firsthand knowledge, personalized recommendations and the ability to solve problems in real time, which AI can’t replicate,” Haen says. “Relationships and local insights will continue to be the most valuable assets for planners like me.”

Winterbottom agrees. “Being able to verbally process through options with questions, build a relationship and trust another living, breathing, experienced human’s recommendation will always be what I choose,” she insists.

While AI can help with aspects such as forecasting attendance trends, optimizing F&B orders and streamlining communication, Grubb agrees that it can’t replace the human element.

“Planners will rely on reps who can integrate AI tools while still offering creativity, flexibility and problem-solving skills that technology alone can’t provide. The future is about balancing innovation with the personal touch that makes events truly exceptional.” C&IT