< Previous2023 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE VISIT TAMPA BAY 12-Time Winner MEET VIBRANTLY CITY-WIDE FACTS AND FEATURES Total Guest Rooms: 25,619 Total Hotels/Resorts: 200 Total Convention Center Space: 600,000 sq ft T ampa Bay is where dynamic meetings come together nearly effortlessly. Whether you’re at the newly upgraded Tampa Convention Center or strolling the Tampa Riverwalk to award-winning dining, modern hotels and celebrated attractions, the experience is designed for attendees of all abilities, with an easy, stress-free vibe that welcomes people of all backgrounds. It’s something we like to call The Tampa Bay Effect and it’s how we’ll make your meeting shine. DIRECT ROUTES TO SEAMLESS ACCESSIBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION. From arrival to departure, and each transportation touch- point between, it’s easy to get where you need to go. Tampa International Airport ranks as the top Large Airport on J.D. Power’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study. And from the Convention District and cutting-edge hotels to attractions across the city, Tampa Bay proudly offers accessible experiences for guests of all abilities. The city closely collaborates with part- ners to help ensure specific accessibility guidelines are met. Plus, if you need to venture beyond the Convention District, simply catch the free, electric streetcar with service every 15 minutes. For a more adventurous experience, take the Pirate Water Taxi, featuring whimsical, pirate-style narration dur- ing your journey. MANY OF THE BEST SPOTS IN TAMPA BAY. JUST STEPS AWAY. Running right past the Tampa Convention Center, the Tampa Riverwalk conveniently links many must-experience destinations along one easy-to-access path. With 2.6 miles of scenic waterfront views, stroll or bike to celebrated museums, beautiful parks, award-winning restaurants and unique attrac- tions, such as The Florida Aquarium on the path’s south end. Here you can pet stingrays and meet a host of exotic sealife from all over Florida and beyond. MEETING EXPERIENCES THAT WELCOME EVERYONE. Among Florida’s oldest communities, Tampa Bay has always been home to a unique blend of people and cultures while main- taining a long-standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The calendar is stacked with multicultural events, fes- tivals and meetings. Plus, many streets are lined with monuments and parks paying homage to diversity and civil rights leaders. Tampa Bay was the first U.S. city to host the International Indian Film Academy awards, which was broadcast to billions of Bollywood fans worldwide. The city has hosted repeated Imperial Sessions of the Prince Hall Shriners as well as gather- ings of many African American sororities, fraternities and busi- ness organizations. People of all backgrounds are welcomed, appreciated and respected just as they are — with hospitality as bright as our sunshine. C&IT 50 November 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com ADAM DEPIRO Vice President of Convention Sales Visit Tampa Bay 201 N. Franklin St., Suite 102 Tampa, FL 33602 813-342-4061 ADePiro@VisitTampaBay.com TampaMeetings.comme Vib Tl ta Now meetings at the waterfront Tampa Convention Center are even more scenic — with the completion of 18 new meeting rooms overlooking the water. Spanning two levels, the 18,000-square-foot addition featuring a terrace is the latest in a series of $38 million in upgrades to the cutting-edge venue. LEARN MORE2023 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WYNN AND ENCORE LAS VEGAS 18-Time Winner A s the sister resorts with more Five-Star awards than any other independent hotel company in the world, Wynn and Encore Las Vegas never rest on their laurels; indeed, these elegant, sophisticated towers thrive on introducing new restaurants, shopping, entertainment and more, each a thoughtful, curated choice that new and returning guests simply love. Among the latest is the debut of Awakening, a spectacular production that has quickly become the most talked-about show on the Las Vegas Strip. Set amid the most technologically immersive stage ever designed, Awakening is a mythic tale in which a hero must confront the forces of Light and Darkness in a quest to save the world. Audiences have been captivated by the compelling story, state-of-the-art effects and dazzling visuals, including oversized, fantastical creatures designed by award- winning puppet master Michael Curry, which mesmerize with their graceful, lifelike movements. If a restaurant could be considered theater, it’s Delilah, the stunning space that evokes the golden era of Las Vegas glamour. This modern-day supper club blends an imaginative American menu with live entertainment, all amid a dramatic, see-and-be- seen room that starts with a dramatic staircase entrance and promises an evening that’s equal parts elegant and seductive. Las Vegas also continues to maintain its status as a shop- ping mecca, with more designer boutiques concentrated along The Strip than perhaps anywhere else in the world. Wynn and Encore excel above all others in showcasing the best of the world’s fashion, jewelry and watch labels, with recent store openings including two-story flagships for both Louis Vuit- ton and Gucci, joining coveted retail locations for Chanel, Dior, Cartier, Watches of Switzerland, Christian Louboutin and much more. Finally, if you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas this month, don’t miss the most thrilling moment to arrive on The Strip since Sinatra: the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix, set to take place November 16-19, with the world’s fast- est cars careening along a custom-designed track that passes directly in front of Wynn Las Vegas. From November 10-19, Wynn and Encore have planned an “Ultimate Race Week Cal- endar” to highlight this multiyear partnership, beginning with Concours Wynn Las Vegas, a weekend celebration of the world’s finest automobiles in a juried exhibition. Just a few days later, Formula One inaugurates its newest race, with Wynn at the cen- ter of both official events and exclusive happenings. Is it any wonder Wynn and Encore Las Vegas continue to build upon their status as award-winning resorts? To experi- ence the best of the city, guests trust Wynn and Encore to offer the ultimate in plush accommodations and outstanding ameni- ties — and always with attentive, personalized service in mind. Wynn and Encore Las Vegas are worlds away from ordinary. C&IT 52 November 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com CONTACT Wynn Las Vegas Encore Las Vegas 888-320-7117 | wynnmeetings.comI n a world full of distractions, meeting planners have a taxing task: to move their attendees’ distractions to hyper focus. To engage a person in an activity that is particularly fun or interesting to the point where they can “tune out” everything else is an art form. To mas- ter it, the setting requires a comfortable environment where attendees can take an active role in the event, lending more time to think about its sole purpose. Before a planner can capture attendees’ full attention, they must address life’s everyday distractions. From fam- ily to finances, technology is the number culprit, they have found. With mobile phones, tablets and so many other elec- tronic items available in the market delivering a constant flow of emails, social media information and notifications, is it any wonder why attendees are having a difficult time focusing at their company’s event at all? “Everyone’s got a million things on their mind,” said Scott Schoeneberger, managing part- ner, Bluewater Technologies, a Mich- igan-based event management company that produces cor- porate events. “You only have a few minutes at a time that you’re keeping people’s attention and then you have to recap- ture their attention again. Just being in competition with the whirlwind of everyday life is probably still the biggest chal- lenge to keeping attendees’ focus and keeping attention.” Overcoming Distractions Dr. Jackie Mulligan, development director of Game Republic, the largest and longest established games indus- try network in the north of England, noted, “Distractions will always be a factor when we have our social, personal and professional lives in our pockets (in our smartphones). However, what I have noted at our Game Republic events is that, when at live events, attendees seem to be more in the moment, more present than I have witnessed previously.” The reason for that, Mulligan noted is that “there is less sharing online and more sharing in per- son going on. This may be because the The Art of Attendee Engagement BY MARLENE GOLDMAN From Distractions to Hyper Focus Courtesy of Scott Schoeneberger 54 November 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com PLANNER TIPS Finding a unique way to capture attendees’ attention is important. Pictured: Bluewater’s Forbes 2022 Under 30 Summitsector I work in is very digital and so in person events provide a chance to put down devices and focus more on making con- nections in real life.” The network runs 12 events a year and works with the industry on conferences and festivals curat- ing programs, speakers and design related to video games. One tactic Schoeneberger suggests is eliminating the dis- traction altogether. But while removing the devices from the equation may seem like the perfect solution to the problem, that’s not always possible. For many attendees, a smartphone means a direct line to their families. They need to be reach- able at all times, most especially in case of an emergency. Asking attendees to put their cells in lockers during an event may not be realistic but to switch them to silent, or put them out of sight certainly helps. The goal is to focus on the busi- ness at hand: the content. Distractions aside, a planner’s main objective is to pro- vide engaging content. “If you don’t have a well thought out story and schedule, it’s pretty easy to lose people. Focusing on your content is critical,” said Schoeneberger. Content is King Content is king. Done well, even financial presenta- tions that may be unavoidably boring, can wrap its content in a veneer of sailboats or golf courses — while just under- neath its surface are spreadsheets, illustrations, charts and boilerplate plans. Schoeneberger recalls a financial presentation by Mayo Clinic where Bluewater helped craft a story using the num- bers and charts within a story arc to keep attendees engaged. “If you have great storytelling along with some really cool visuals that essentially present the same data that you were showing in just a spreadsheet on screen, one is going to cap- ture a lot more of the audience’s attention and keep it. With the other, everyone is going to glaze over.” Adding a thread of vibrant color to a meeting is important, but nothing is more critical than the content itself. “Attend- ees value their time more than ever and meetings and events that do not support that value will result in lost confidence,” said Michael Clarke, senior director, B2B Events & Programs, Global Sales Organization — U.S. & Canada for Marriott International & Marriott International Luxury Brands. Relevant, valuable and engaging content not only ensures your event’s success and helps keep your attendees focused, it is an important facet of a company’s reputation and a criti- cal factor in achieving its business goals. The content educates attendees, but for it to be captivat- ing, the setting needs to be show stopper. Mulligan suggests providing comfort, hydration, pauses to process or apply learning and a call at the end on take-homes from the ses- sion. “Don’t balance them on beanbags or use gimmicks, relevant content delivered by the right speakers will always help attendees focus more than anything else.” Clarke, whose team plans customer related events that span from 20 to more than 1,000 attendees, added other insights on how to retain today’s attendees’ attention. “They want to find solutions to their challenges more quickly, so therefore, they do not want to be talked at; they want more interaction time with their peers to discuss those challenges and learn how to solve them. Further, attendees do not want to always feel pro- grammed at meetings and events. They want more choice, and they will determine if an event was worth their time if they are given more choice during their event journey.” Brainstorming & Networking Breakouts Some of the strategies his team at Microsoft uses for scheduling include more free time for brainstorming and networking during events. “We have shortened the length of breakouts, allowed for more interaction, which then also allows for us to offer a wider range of topics for them to explore than we have in the past.” Clarke also emphasized keeping attendees involved in driving the content for discussion, including dedicated peer to peer time where attendees determine the top- ics they want to discuss. “We let them provide the topics then use the event app to communicate when and where these discussions will take place. We have found that when attendees are able to share real-life experiences this Courtesy of Dr. Jackie Mulligan / Game Republic LTD Planners like having interaction time with their peers to discuss challenges and learn new solutions. Pictured: GameDev Day, spring 2022 TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | November 2023 55 When at live events, attendees seem to be more in the moment, more present than I have witnessed previously. DR. JACKIE MULLIGAN Development Director, Game Republicenables deeper discussions and uncovers new opportu- nities for them.” Focusing on expanded time for networking and working is also a priority and key to driving focus and engagement, according to Clarke. “We are building in more time for them to not only gather together as peers, but also giving them per- mission to work and stay connected with their offices and their customers during our meetings and events. This way they do not always feel like they have to leave the event to go and get work done because they have pressing issues or dead- lines. We build areas in our event space where they can do that work rather than them going back to their guest rooms.” Mulligan also believes leaving time for networking is vital to keeping attendees engaged in the meeting, as is mixing up the formats for education and learning. “Exercises or deeper dives into topics presented in shorter sessions are good. We are doing an event on XR and virtual productions, so we are mixing in presentations, panels and roundtables, alongside an expo too to provide learning and interaction, as well as tangible business opportunity, in one day.” Higher Recall While a good balance of sessions and networking is good, before planners get too far into content creation and provid- ing different topics for attendees to discuss, they should think about whom they want to appeal to. Who are the attendees, and what can they stand to gain by immersing themselves in the content? Schoeneberger encourages clients to use a learning style dubbed VAK – Visual Auditory Kinesthetic. “Essentially, what that says is that everyone learns and consumes information in a different way. Some people are very visual so they need charts, graphs, words on screen, things they see. Some are auditory; they want to be spoken to. And then some are physical, which can be implemented as writing, or engaging in some kind of motion like stand- ing up and sitting down, things of that nature. So, when you combine all three of those, you end up with a much more compelling story. Your content will be taken up by a lot more people. There will be higher recall.” Tools like interactive polls, Q&A platforms and virtual breakout rooms can be used to enhance engagement and focus. Microsoft drives interactions through its event app. According to Clarke, “We are significantly increasing the use of our event app technology to gain real-time reactions to content being presented on the stage. The use of emojis significantly tells us how they are reacting to the content being presented and allows the speakers to pivot to be able to address those reactions and make sure they are delivering what the audience is seeking.” In addition, Microsoft is building more “play” into its events, Clarke said, “creating environments where attendees can physically come together and participate in interactive, not competitive games and activities that build on the con- tent and the messaging, spurring creativity and solutions.” While some planners like to engage attendees by hav- ing them use their phones, this activity can backfire. “I have never particularly favored use of devices if it does not add to the content or if it is not relevant,” said Mulligan. “The challenge when you ask an attendee to use their phone in a session, you risk losing their focus as a message comes in or it reminds them of something else they need to do.” Bluewater specializes in event production, which can also be utilized to help attendees maintain focus throughout the day. “Spending a little bit on production is always encour- aged,” Schoeneberger said. “It doesn’t cost a lot to bring some additional mood lighting and set the stage, bringing the lights down, changing lighting patterns. These are all things that are relatively inexpensive and can dramatically change the audience’s reaction and help recapture their focus in between different speakers or segments.” Courtesy of Michael Clarke. Jill McNamara Photography While distractions will always be a factor, providing engagement is key to keep attendees in the moment. Pictured: Marriott Exchange 2023 56 November 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comIt bears repeating that the most important component of a good content strategy is usefulness. Your attendees don’t come to your events to be talked at; they come because they believe you have something new and valuable to offer them. Breaking up this information with various elements, such as video, can help prevent attendees from losing their focus. “You might want to strategically place a video at a point where you’ve been talking for a while,” explained Schoene- berger. “We can then dim the lights and everyone’s going to say, ‘OK ... something is happening.’ And you can really crank the audio if you want. Louder tends to be better, especially if it’s good audio. And then you can bring the lights back up or it could be as simple as just the lighting cue change. People are going to sense that, so you’re creating more tension.” One production tool that is trending, according to Schoeneberger is incorporating LED walls. “We want to see very clean, very nicely designed backdrops, whether it’s an LED wall or large-format LCD.” Along with high-resolution projection, the audio needs to be clean. “You need to be able to hear from all parts of the room. You don’t want to have echo.” For clients using LED walls, Bluewater can create interactive games that can be projected in the lobby, for example. Those might include a giant LED floor with a back wall that has a digital game. By using sensors that track movement, games can be controlled by an attendees’ movement. Bluewater has had games deployed that are silly where you’re flapping your arms like a bird and that controls game play. One of Bluewater’s clients, ImpactEleven, a speaker train- ing and development community, stands out for Schoene- berger. “Even though they are in a much smaller conference space, than say a general session for Walmart, they pack the room, and they really spend time on the agenda, the schedule, the run of show. There are a lot of heartfelt stories that they incorporated throughout. The longest segment of uninter- rupted content is maybe five minutes. And there’s some kind of visual like video. They pump up the audio. They change the light patterns. They really spend time on the mood. It’s loud, it’s colorful. If I had to summarize it, they treat it like a rock and roll show.” The art of attendee engagement comes down to one thing: Great events serve a need. Planners should think about what that is and why it will cause attendees to not just hear it, but to share it with others. The best way to keep them engaged and hyper focused on the content being presented is by using creative ways to make their lives and work easier. In the end, no matter what distractions may lurk around them, their eyes will be fixed on the content if they believe it has something to offer them. C&IT “We are always looking for new and creative ways to keep attendees engaged during our Informa Markets Fashion events. Here are a few elements that I take into consideration when planning event programming.” — Don Pietranczyk, vice president of experiences & education, Informa Markets Fashion • Define the goal. I always look at these three let- ters, E-I-E, and ask myself: Does this Educate, Inspire or Entertain? Whatever is being pre- sented must hit a minimum of one, two is ideal, but all three usually makes it a complete success. • Know your audience. Understanding your audi- ence and what drives them will guide your onsite programming. You can have the best ideas, but if the subject matter doesn’t land with your customer, then it may not draw them in. • Get people excited. Audience engagement starts before the show. Pre-event communication is key to generating excitement and anticipation. • Visuals help. Be bold but intentional. Make sure what you’re presenting contributes to the mes- sage versus competes with it. It’s not just children that respond to bright colors and wild images. • Active participation. Whether it’s a “step- in” selfie moment or asking the audience in an education session for questions, be sure your attendee is part of the action. They are more likely to attend and most definitely likely to remember the experience if they’re an active participant. On Event Programming Step by Step TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | November 2023 57 It doesn’t cost a lot to bring some additional mood lighting and set the stage, bringing the lights down... SCOTT SCHOENEBERGER Managing Partner, Bluewater TechnologiesA fter months of heightened elevated growth, new travel forecasts show that it is expected to remain strong. This is great news for the travel industry, most especially for hotels as they are benefiting from the demand across different segments. At the same time, this surge is making it difficult for meeting and events planners to book rooms that leadership and attendees desire. “We’re seeing a trend of people traveling more, and in return, have seen instances of hotels reducing their group ceilings to accommodate a higher leisure travel occupancy,” said Lynne Amori, global account director, Amex GBT Meetings & Events, which provides software and services to manage travel, expenses, and more, for meetings and events, in New York, NY. “If a group requests guest rooms only, the hotel may achieve higher revenue from leisure bookings with onsite F&B outlets and other ancillary spend.” As a result, many of her clients have changed their venue or destination due to capacity. These decisions have also been accompanied by requests to identify locations that are equally as favorable as the initially preferred hotel or city. In some cases, to avoid this need, Amori suggested groups try to be flexible with dates and day patterns to secure avail- ability in the preferred hotel and city. That strategy of shifting dates and patterns can work if the destination is truly the ideal for a particular meeting; however, Amori noted, the type of meeting is also a factor. For example, she said, “Annual events, board of directors events, pharmaceutical drug launches, etc., typically don’t offer much flexibility in date patterns due to executive cal- endars and/or government mandates.” Hotel partners work tirelessly in collaborating with them, she said, to offer alternative dates, recommending other properties or creatively offering to split room blocks across multiple properties (within their brand) in close proximity. Besides working closely with the hotel, planners may also want to reach out to the local CVBs. They can often offer rec- ommendations and perhaps spotlight solutions that the plan- ner never thought about. They also can let planners know about citywide events and other activities happening that might substantially impact venue capacities. Offsite Options | Rising Costs Finding a room or meeting space is not the only factor that planners face. If they want to have a meeting or get together in a local restaurant, they may have a problem as more people book up space. In addition, some restaurants are becoming more high in demand than others. Amori explained, “As more and more hotel restaurants are looking to bring in executive chefs, they’re quickly becoming destina- tions on their own. This can create challenges in securing a group reservation or buyout.” In terms of price increases, the U.S. has not been the only country to be affected. There’s been an increase in pricing across the globe. “With an increase in volume for meeting Demand Dilemmas BY CHRISTINE LOOMIS How Increased Leisure Travel is Impacting Meetings Courtesy of Brianna Mark Planners can effectively combat the challenge posed by leisure demand by leveraging relationships. Pictured: A Mozilla Corporation event at the Palais des Congress in Montreal, QB, Canada 58 November 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com INDUSTRY TRENDSrequests and a desire for leisure travel, there doesn’t seem to be a slowdown in demand, which may, in fact, be the driving force behind the higher rates,” she said. Brianna Mark, CMP, senior manager events at Mozilla Corp., a company that coordinates and integrates the devel- opment of Internet-related applications in San Francisco, CA, said her groups are switching things up these days and changing where the company books rooms or even where the meeting is held. “We’ve decided to use different hotels (or hotel brands within a city), switch to different neighborhoods, cancel entirely or push to another city. Sometimes we’ll even aban- don a block of rooms and book through a third party (in our case, Navan) if the destination is final and we can find meet- ing space elsewhere, such as at an office or co-working space or other creative location,” Mark said. Mark has not yet changed meeting dates, as they are usu- ally booked a year or more before the event through a third- party. For a smaller meeting, she sometimes switches to not booking a block of rooms, but rather space out attendees in multiple hotels. Unfortunately, she’s not seeing hotels being much help, except for some brands. Many seem to use a “take it or leave it” approach. So, she tries to go to a city with a really good DMO or CVB as they often come up with good solutions. They see the value of an event coming to their city, she said. “For the smaller events, they basically just say ‘no’ and I move on,” she added. For Mark, coming up with solutions has been more about leveraging her relationships than negotiating. “In a recent city, I could have booked all my rooms in two hotels but I chose three so we had a bit more breathing room at each. They all ended up being sold out over my event, so I know they had an influx of leisure travelers. Luckily, I snuck in before they could.” There’s no question that increased demand is driving prices up, but it’s probably not the only culprit. How much prices rise may change according to the destination. Mark has seen the rates going higher, anywhere from 20-70% in locations like San Francisco, NYC and Toronto. Unfortu- nately, she is also seeing fewer concessions or incentives to book. But there is a solution. Second-tier cities. Second-Tier Cities Second-tier cities offer attractive alternatives for plan- ners seeking to host smaller, face-to-face or hybrid meetings. Now, to be clear, for those planners who are new to meeting and events planning, the “tiers” that destination cities fall into — First, Second and Third — are not to be confused with first, second and third place or good, better, best. Tiers are simply based on city size. In light of that, Mark’s group is considering second-tier cities for the next large event in 2025, but nothing is booked yet. “We just had a conversation last week about which sec- ond-tier cities could even accommodate us, which isn’t a conversation we’ve had to have before,” she said. Elizabeth McKenna, CMP, CED, senior shows & events manager, with Revlon, a cosmetics beauty and skincare company in Jacksonville, FL, has faced challenges booking room nights due to the surge in leisure travel. Her group has changed locations as one strategy. They’ve also changed dates. “We recently rescheduled all our Q4 events to Q1 next year due to the room shortage and overcrowding issues.” Like Amori, McKenna said she’s also noticed leisure demand impacting more than room blocks. “Leisure travel- ers are impacting dining reservations and the availability of venues for group and team dinners, both within and outside hotels,” she said. Unlike some other planners, she has noticed that hotels and CVBs have not been that helpful. “Given the high demand, hotel companies have not been very accommodat- ing, and planners are finding it challenging to negotiate for additional rooms or favorable terms. And while CVBs have been helpful in suggesting alternative hotels, there haven’t been extensive suggestions beyond that in terms of address- ing room shortages,” said Mckenna. Destinations such as Orlando and Las Vegas, which are significant draws for both leisure and business attendees, can be more challenging than others for some groups. “We’ve faced room availability challenges in Las Vegas, necessitat- Courtesy of VISIT MIlwaukee Meeting groups are critical to the health of many destinations. Pictured: Northwestern Mutual Annual Conference at the Fiserv Forum, 2022 TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | November 2023 59 In a recent city, I could have booked all my rooms in two hotels but I chose three so we had a bit more breathing room at each. BRIANNA MARK, CMP Senior Manager, Events Mozilla Corp.Next >