What Event Planners Do

Many people associate event planning with weddings or other personal milestones. This article will detail how event planners work and their value outside of personal occasions. 

What All Event Planners Do

• Meet with clients to discuss the purpose of the event
• Determine the scope of the event, including its time, location, and cost
• Solicit and receive bids from venues and service providers
• Inspect venues to ensure that they meet the client’s requirements
• Coordinate event services such as rooms, transportation, and food
• Monitor event activities to ensure that the client and the attendees are satisfied
• Review event bills and approve payments

Convention Planners

Convention planners organize a variety of social and professional events, business conventions, educational conferences, and business and trade conferences. They manage every detail of these events, including finances. Before planning a meeting, for example, planners meet with clients to estimate attendance and determine the meeting’s purpose. During the event, they handle logistics, such as registering guests and organizing audiovisual equipment. After the meeting, they make sure that all vendors are paid, and they may survey attendees to obtain feedback on the event.

Wedding and Party Planners

These planners search for potential meeting sites, such as hotels, farms, vineyards, botanical gardens, and resorts. They consider the lodging and services that the facility can provide, how easy it will be for people to get there, and the attractions that the surrounding area has to offer. Once a location is chosen, planners organize the meeting space and support services, such as catering and interpreters. They negotiate contracts with suppliers and coordinate plans with the venue’s staff. They may also organize speakers, entertainment, and activities.

The following are examples of types of meeting, convention, and event planners

• Meeting Planners plan large meetings for organizations.
• Healthcare meeting planners specialize in organizing meetings and conferences for healthcare professionals.
• Corporate planners organize internal business meetings and meetings between businesses.
• Hybrid and Online event planners organize events that may be in person or online and held either within corporate facilities or offsite to include more people.

Event planners provide a valuable service that facilitates individuals, organizations and businesses fundraising, networking, lead generation, public relations and communication goals. They can also provide creative services that make the event exciting, beautiful, unique, and memorable.