The crucial role of Event Service Professionals
By Paola Bowman, CMP, CMM - Arlington CVB | ESPA
Event service professionals have always played an important part in meetings and events. From putting out fires, and adjusting on the fly, often juggling multiple items at a time. Event service professionals (convention services, event coordinators, etc.) are trusted partners with meeting planners, who rely on us from event conception to site selection visits to “game day.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has changed things, it has also reaffirmed and highlighted our mission to elevate the event experience from CVBs and conference centers to hotels and resorts. It has also driven up the value that we bring to our industry.
Here is a quick look at the updated value proposition Event Service Professionals deliver to meeting planners, with an emphasis on how we play a key role in the return to in-person meetings:
Problem Solving
Event service professionals are masters at problem-solving. They are proactive, talented problem solvers who have a thorough understanding of their destination and site. As concerns and issues develop following COVID events, our knowledge and viewpoint continue to bridge the gap.
That’s why in collaboration with the Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA), I championed a very special repository of knowledge last year. The innovative ESPA Recovery Roadmap for Convention Services is a living document that guides service professionals through today’s changing event landscape so they can assist meeting planners. The Roadmap initiative is a collective effort by peers in the event services industry to create a list of new and changing services for CVBs, hotels and convention centers to consider. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of service changes needed across all destinations or venues, nor is it intended to be perceived as best practices or guidelines.
New Rules Guides
As we move through the recovery to Face-to-Face meetings, our tasks and questions have gone from space optimization, options, and what’s on the menu to the evolving local climate. Planners are now asking about local restrictions and local case numbers, etc. Masks or no masks? How many feet apart are the tables? Between tables? Cleanliness was always important, but it’s make-or-break now. In fact, cleaning is out. Now, it is all about disinfecting.
As service professionals, we tend to “eat where we live,” so we completely understand what’s going on in our locales. We are reliable local resources who are up to date on the ever-changing government regulations and recommendations involving COVID-19. Your local event service professional is the best source of a one-stop-shop for information.
Assistance with Changing Technology
Meeting planners know that a hybrid conference isn’t just one event; it’s actually two events — one in-person and one virtual — that happen at the same time, typically without additional staff to support.
Technology plays a much larger role in events today. Meeting planners have been forced to quickly learn new bells and whistles on new platforms created in the last six months, just to keep pace with the new part of their responsibilities. Evolving AV can bring together audiences near and far away to present a seamless, integrated event.
Service professionals know the teams of tech personnel in their locations that can provide state-of-the-art AV, which means they can quickly intervene with troubleshooting since they own the relationship that has become mission-critical.
Delivering Delightful Experiences & Memories
Though not often thought of as revenue generators, event service professionals are certainly a powerful tool to any venue’s bottom line. It is not by chance that we’re often called the “VPs of Rebooking,” frequently being a deciding factor for a planner to return to a destination or venue, all while increasing value and revenue.
The most valuable type of business is repeat business. No extra time or marketing spend is involved. Your client had a terrific experience, so they want to come back again and again. The whole sales cycle at a destination begins with reputation, which is what venues build at every touchpoint with your client at events. Service professionals are on the front lines at those destinations and venues, scrapping plan A for plan B at the last minute when needed to ensure that the show indeed goes on. When the sighs of relief turn into smiles, we know we’ve done something more than help produce a successful event — we’ve helped build a reoccurring book of business that helps our industry.
In order to bring back the industry, venues must bring back their event service professionals, who are more valuable than ever. Above all, the passion combined with the knowledge, experience, adaptability and creativity that Event Service Professionals bring to our industry makes us an invaluable asset for meeting planners and the return to safe and successful meetings.
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About Paola
Paola Bowman is currently the Destination Services Manager at the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau. As an experienced hospitality and events professional, Bowman has worked in numerous positions, from the front of the house to sales and services. Prior to her current role, she worked with the Grapevine CVB leading the Destination Services team. Her previous roles include Visit Fort Worth for over nine years, where she succeeded in a variety of roles from tourism to convention services.
As an events and destination services professional, Bowman has worked with event planners to build attendance, select partner services, assist with marketing efforts to promote, and welcome the group, and overall help design a successful event and destination experience. In her current role, Paola enthusiastically oversees the destination services offered and enhances the planner and visitor experience in Arlington, Texas.
Bowman holds the CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) designation from the Events Industry Council and earned her CMM (Certificate in Meeting Management) from Meeting Professionals International. Recently, she was named to the Smart Meetings Magazine “100 Women Who Inspire Us” list, and she was recognized in the Connect Association 40 under 40 group of 2019.
She is active in the Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) currently serving as President-Elect, and on the conference, DEI, & continuing education committees, as well as remaining engaged through the mentorship program and the webinar series. Paola is also involved in the local DFW MPI Chapter and was recently elected to the 2021-2022 Board of Directors. Her passion for the hospitality and events industry drives her to remain engaged with industry organizations.
Events Industry Council