Millennials are pushing new trends in the hospitality event landscape
Millennial meeting planner’s career goals can differ from those of a seasoned planner. Questions such as: Is this the most efficient way to do my job? Am I having fun while growing my career? Am I reducing my carbon footprint? are asked and evaluated frequently. With that being said, these young professionals are transforming the meeting and event industry at lightning speed. They seek advice regarding venue selections from social media peers rather than hotel sales managers. Decisions are communicated via text message rather than email; and when email correspondences are exchanged the professional structure is replaced with jargon, abbreviations and hashtags. Some planners have even turned to using FaceTime to conduct preplanning meetings when time or budget constraints do not permit them to visit venues.
This industry shift has also opened the door for cloud-based meeting planning platforms that can streamline the entire event planning process. Not only are they easy to use, social media structured and accessible from anywhere in the world; they also provide a sustainable option that replaces the 4” binder busting at the seams with paper. These new practices have forced facilities to evolve from their antiquated “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and test new methods of service that actually work better to keep everyone involved in the strategic planning processconnected and on the same page.
Venues now provide meeting planners with tablets containing event information and personalized concierge service for their every want and need. With the touch of a button, real time information regarding a function room change or a meal guarantee can be sent facility-wide. Archiving events no longer requires a filing cabinet and historical reporting is no longer a painful, time consuming task. As time progresses and more tech savvy millennials join the hospitality industry we are sure to see additional technology shifts and innovations in strategic meeting management that force us to rethink the best way to do business.
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