Connection 2024, held at the stunning Conrad Punta de Mita in Riviera Nayarit, was one of our most successful events yet. Bringing together planners, partners, and sponsors, it offered an enriching experience filled with education, networking, and innovative discussions. Here’s a comprehensive overview of the event and its highlights. 

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Educational Sessions 

Decoding 2024 Global Business and Travel Trends

Catherine Chaulet, President & CEO of Global DMC Partners, led an insightful session on global business and travel trends, covering topics like the geopolitical climate, inflation, airline and hotel trends, sustainability, DEI, and generative AI. She addressed top planning challenges such as higher costs, budget management, availability, timely approvals, and contract negotiations. Attendees engaged in dynamic roundtable discussions to explore these trends and share best practices for adapting to the evolving environment.

 

Leverage Your Strengths to Elevate Your Career

Tracy Judge, CEO of Soundings, presented an impactful session on the correlation between strengths and job roles in the events industry. Attendees had the opportunity to take a Clifton Strengths Assessment to identify their top five strengths and left with tactics to ensure these strengths never become weaknesses. Soundings identified that the top five strengths within the events and meetings industry are Achiever, Relator, Responsibility, Strategic, and Arranger: 

 

Unleashing the Power of Giving Back: Strategies for Meaningful Sustainability & CSR Initiatives

Sustainability, CSR, and giving back to the local community are critical components of programs, but determining the most effective ways to incorporate these and how to get creative in doing so isn’t easy.  During this panel, Tom Edelen from Thrivent shared some helpful advice on how meeting and event planners can get started with incorporating CSR into their events: 

• Start Small and Scale Up: Begin with manageable projects and gradually expand them to integrate CSR activities without overwhelming resources or participants. 
• Integrate CSR with Incentives: Combine CSR activities with incentive programs to create meaningful and memorable experiences for qualifiers, such as planning an incentive around building projects with Habitat for Humanity (this is what Thrivent does!). 
• Gain Leadership Buy-In: Secure support from leadership by involving them in projects and demonstrating the impact of CSR activities. 
• Choose Diverse CSR Activities: Explore various initiatives like working with orphanages, food insecurity programs, and educational projects to cater to different attendee interests or passions.
• Emphasize the Impact and Experience: Highlight the transformative experience of CSR activities to change participants' perspectives and promote these initiatives to attendees and stakeholders.  

Interactive Learning Hubs 

The peer-to-peer learning hubs featured focused and interactive sessions that provided attendees with practical insights and collaborative opportunities: 

• Creativity Mash-Up: This session covered various aspects of creativity in event planning, from themes and décor to sustainability and budgeting. Attendees engaged in brainstorming activities, sharing innovative ideas and solutions for creating memorable experiences on a budget. 
• Contract Negotiations and Working with Vendors: This hub focused on essential tactics and strategies for successful contract negotiations, covering key terms, Force Majeure clauses, and payment terms. Attendees shared experiences and best practices, enhancing their negotiation and contract management skills. 
• Engaging the Attendee: Ensuring high attendance and engagement at events is a constant challenge for planners. This session focused on strategies to cater to diverse audiences, boost attendance, and maintain engagement before, during, and after the event.  

Sustainability and CSR Initiatives  

This year, during Connection 2024, we took integrating CSR and sustainability into our event very seriously, making a significant impact not just on our attendees but also on the community. Here’s a snapshot of some of the initiatives we embraced: 

• Eco-Friendly and Reusable Dining Decor: At our dinner at Mina Restaurant, our partners and hosts, Tropical Incentives, wowed everyone by using fresh fruit as reusable table centerpieces.  
• Sustainable Gifts: Our event gift bags were made entirely from recycled materials by a local organization and replaced the need for plastic bags to be used during our event at activations such as our evening event pop-up market. A special mention goes to Colors for Good for providing eco-friendly event badges designed with reuse in mind—the badge straps double as chic sunglasses straps!  
• Community Engagement: One of our event highlights was our CSR activity, where we painted the local "Telesecundaria" school. We also donated essential school and art supplies, supporting the next generation of leaders. 

You can download our complete Connection 2024 Takeaways here – which includes event poll responses and a more detailed view into trends and insights discussed during the event! Additionally, you can also watch our event recap here.