The meetings and event business is the backbone
of many cities’ economies. Often times, the lack of tourism to an area
following a natural or man-made disaster is more devastating to the local community
than the actual disaster. The natural and man-made disasters that impacted the
world of events in Q4 2017 alone, brought that message close to home. Additionally, the importance of utilizing a certified
meetings management professional to manage your programs has never been truer.
Hurricanes in September
This year saw the most expensive U.S. hurricane season in history, as storms caused more than $200 billion in damages across the country. If you had a meeting booked in Florida or the Caribbean (like andgreat did) in September, you likely heard the words “force majeure” more than once. Most meeting planners, including andgreat, were easily able to rebook their clients’ programs at other venues or rebook later into the New Year—with no penalty.
This year saw the most expensive U.S. hurricane season in history, as storms caused more than $200 billion in damages across the country. If you had a meeting booked in Florida or the Caribbean (like andgreat did) in September, you likely heard the words “force majeure” more than once. Most meeting planners, including andgreat, were easily able to rebook their clients’ programs at other venues or rebook later into the New Year—with no penalty.
Shooting and Fires in October
andgreat was exploring Cuba on a FAM trip the first
week of October, and many friends and family were worried about safety. andgreat was safe. Safer than most Americans in America. The mass shooting in October at
the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, really forced planners
to take a hard look at event security. And again, threatened the tourism and
conference business that supports Las Vegas.
Other Natural Disasters in November
The natural disasters didn’t end with hurricane season. Later in the month of October, a series of wildfires broke out in Napa and Sonoma counties, as well as other Northern California cities, destroying almost 9,000 structures, forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate, and killing at least 41 people. Sonoma Valley is home to many events—especially wine tastings and corporate retreats. And as such, planners again had to rise to the occasion. Needless to say, it is times like these when planners have two or more programs coming up and there are fires raging at the contracted venues’ doors, your local contacts and CVBs are priceless resources. andgreat is happy to say that both our programs in Sonoma in November went forward as planned, with no side affects or negative feedback. It felt good to bring business to an area that needed it.
Have you thought about how your company would handle these types of disasters without the knowledgeable assistance of a
The natural disasters didn’t end with hurricane season. Later in the month of October, a series of wildfires broke out in Napa and Sonoma counties, as well as other Northern California cities, destroying almost 9,000 structures, forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate, and killing at least 41 people. Sonoma Valley is home to many events—especially wine tastings and corporate retreats. And as such, planners again had to rise to the occasion. Needless to say, it is times like these when planners have two or more programs coming up and there are fires raging at the contracted venues’ doors, your local contacts and CVBs are priceless resources. andgreat is happy to say that both our programs in Sonoma in November went forward as planned, with no side affects or negative feedback. It felt good to bring business to an area that needed it.
Have you thought about how your company would handle these types of disasters without the knowledgeable assistance of a
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