Meeting Planner Careers

Planning meetings and corporate events at ski resorts is an excellent idea for a variety of reasons. The most obvious reason – of course – is the delight that will exude from your attendees when they find out their next business trip is to the top of a mountain with their skis or snowboard. Additionally, meeting and travel planners will find that there are some exceptional deals to be had if you do a little online research to find the best group travel deals for ski resorts. However, one of the biggest benefits that may not be quite as apparent in the planning process is the excellent networking opportunities that come with meeting at a ski resort.

When not in meetings, attendees will have the opportunity to hit the slopes, hang out in the resort’s lounge, cross-country ski, snowshoe or even take their family sledding, if they have come along as well. All of these activities provide the perfect environment for networking while on the ski lift, trekking through the forest or sharing the sledding hill. If your group is smaller than 20, you may also consider opting for a private vacation rental near or in the ski resort, which can save money on lodgings and provide a more intimate networking environment.

There are plenty of cost-effective ski destinations within the U.S. and Canada, as well as a plethora of options overseas. Also, keep in mind that the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter during our summer, allowing you to plan a meet and ski event in the middle of the summer by opting for New Zealand, Chile or other options to the south.

The Web has helped create a movement toward simplifying the everyday tasks of event and meeting planning through the use of Web applications or “Apps” for short. Following are four Web Apps that can make your life easier.

Which Date Works?
This Web app is an all-in-one tool that allows you to handle contact lists, has a calendaring system that helps you see who is available and finalize dates for meetings or events that work for everyone. Which Date Works can be found at http://whichdateworks.com.

My Punch Bowl
This event planning application helps you organize an event from conception through invitation. It even handles creating the date, online invitations, supplies and sharing via different social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. My Punch Bowl can be found at http://www.mypunchbowl.com.

Set Dot
Set Dot is an events management Web app for creating and managing events and meetings. You can create the event and stylize it with a theme, send out invitations to the event and manage guest responses and messages. This app will even allow you to find maps and directions to your event. Set Dot can be found at http://www.setdot.com.

Anyvite
This application uses more than just the Web to help you plan events. Anyvite works with mobile, IM and SMS tools to help you invite associates to different events. It features a plethora of invitation designs, ease of use, location search and the ability to incorporate photos or video. This handy tool also features a way to export a guest list. Anyvite can be found at http://anyvite.com.

If you are looking for a career in event planning, you are certainly on the right track. Event planning is a brilliant professional field, promising loads of activity and excitement.

Unlike most other sedentary jobs, an event management job offers many challenges. An event planner needs to supervise a plethora of activities and the variety of work is plenty- surely something like a day-to-day treat for someone who loves to meet people and make their lives better!

Starting from exhibitions to conferences and seminars to business parties, the list of events can just goes on and on. An event planner is always at his/her feet when the stage is set and even otherwise, he/she needs to constantly build contacts or a network base that will fetch future work. Call it a constant workflow or professionalism on the move, an event manager sure needs to have a passion for the work. Read more…