What is the Hotel Event Planning Department
Hotels are the main suppliers of the MICE and events sector as they can provide and plan necessary services such as accommodation, spacious and functional rooms for work, restaurants, meeting rooms, spaces for activities not strictly work-related, swimming pools and equipment for the well-being of guests through a variety of departments.
To better understand what the event planning department in hotels deals with, it is possible to divide the tourism sector according to the main motivation that drives tourists to make their individual trips. Two macro areas are commonly considered: “Leisure Tourism” end “Business Tourism”, each with its own characteristics and peculiarities.
Within the Business Tourism category the “MICE Tourism” segment should be highlighted.
The term MICE is in fact an acronym that identifies four different products in the tourism sector: “Meetings“, “Incentives“, “Conferences” and “Exhibitions“. It is a subcategory of the well-known “Business Tourism” and therefore refers to a specific type of tourism whose users can be united by different reasons, such as a profession, an objective or simply a particular interest. The participants then gather in an agreed place, which can provide the services necessary to satisfy their needs and desires.
Meetings are considered meetings consisting of a group of approximately 10 people to a few hundred. The origin of the participants is generally corporate. The company brings together its managers and collaborators in a specific place, according to a pre-established or specially developed scheme. Some examples include annual company meetings, board meetings and sales meetings as well as product launches, presentations or training sessions. The main purpose of these meetings is to share information, discuss and solve problems. During meetings, additional services such as coffee braks but also light lunches and dinners may be requested, while the average duration varies depending on the type of meeting.
Incentive trips, on the other hand, are a tool used by companies to reward and motivate employees, such as sales representatives, retailers, distributors, production workers, support staff and sometimes customers themselves. Among the most popular are the former, i.e. trips that the company offers to sales representatives who reach certain sales goals. These are trips that usually last three days and include hotel stays, tourist tours and planned activities, dinners, parties and entertainment. They usually aim to reward good performance, motivate employees' work effort and increase their loyalty to the company.
Conferences, similar to meetings, are meetings of people with hundreds or thousands of participants, who usually share a common goal or interest, such as work, culture, religion or a hobby. In fact, they aim to encourage the exchange of ideas, points of view and information between participants. They are often organized by associations which, for example, each year deal with a theme linked to the interests of the association itself. Those who are willing to register to participate usually pay a membership fee to be able to take part in all sessions, discussions, dinners, activities and sightseeing. They are particularly distinguished from meetings as they are usually large-scale events, lasting several days and involving a social programme. They are also, as mentioned, mainly organized by professional or commercial associations, which profit from the event on an annual basis and not by individual companies.
Exhibitions are activities organized with the aim of presenting new products, services, information and know-how to interested people and who therefore constitute potential customers, consumers and influencers. In fact, they are usually invited to the exhibition or have to pay an entrance fee to access the dedicated areas. Furthermore, various professionals work within the exhibitions such as the company, which displays and presents its new products and the exhibitor, which typically rents an area from the organizers and sets up an exhibition stand where it can meet its potential buyers.
Lesure tourism
Leisure tourism is mainly characterized by consumers' desire for fun and the desire to explore new destinations and learn about new cultures and traditions. For leisure tourism it is possible to identify individual tourists, tour resellers and travel agents and events required may vary from weddings to other parties.
The role of the hotel in the events
Hotels are the main suppliers of the MICE and events sector as they can provide necessary services such as accommodation in spacious and functional rooms for work, restaurants, meeting rooms, spaces for activities not strictly work-related, swimming pools and equipment for the well-being of guests. guests. Depending on the type and activities required, the hotel plays different roles; it can in fact provide guests with both the accommodation and the rooms needed for meetings, so almost all meeting-related activities take place inside the hotel or it can only host participants.
Hotel Event Planning Manager duties and skills
Events can offer a huge amount of revenue for hotels and having an in-house event planning team is the best way to maximise that income. From acquiring new business to planning, budgeting and staffing events, this team can get very busy.
An event Manager is responsible for all of the hotel’s events spaces and he or she works with many different hotel departments. From the housekeeping staff to the catering crew, an hotel event Manager is in charge of all the team members who make the event run smoothly. To help make it happen, he/she has got to have a knack for hiring people on the inside and testing partnerships with third-party vendors on the outside (before a make-or-break event!). Great communication and people skills are required to shepherd such a large team, especially in the hustle-bustle of high-stakes situations.
What are the duties and responsibilities of an hotel event manager?
- Prepare budgets and ensure adherence.
- Source and negotiate with vendors and suppliers.
- Plan event from start to finish according to requirements, target audience and objectives.
- Coordinate all operations.
- Lead promotional activities for the event.
- Supervise all staff (event coordinators, caterers etc.).
- Approve all aspects before the day of the event.
- Ensure event is completed smoothly and step up to resolve any problems that might occur.
- Analyze the event’s success and prepare reports.
