Meeting Planner Careers

Food and beverage trends pertaining to meetings and events are constantly changing, with some tried and true standbys staying in the mix, as well as many new ideas coming into play. Some changes in F&B trends are influenced by the economy and the increasing need to lower costs and find innovative ways to accommodate shrinking budgets, some are influenced by the growing green movement, and some have resulted from an increasingly health-conscious audience that demands healthier fare. Staying up with meeting and event planning trends is important to your success as a planner and to ensuring that your attendees enjoy your events.

To assist you in keeping up with the current trends in F&B, here is a quick rundown of four of the most prominent trends taking hold:

1. Smaller portion sizes and lighter food options – Smaller portions and lighter foods are becoming popular in response to both shrinking budgets and attendees that prefer healthy eating.
2. Green, organic, seasonal, local foods – This trend comes from the expanding green movement and is taking the meeting planning world by storm.
3. Food doubling as decoration – Using colorful food trays as centerpieces is a great cost-saving option that allows you to forgo expensive centerpieces and table decorations.
4. Comfort foods – This is one of those tried and true options that will always serve you well. It is hard to go wrong when serving comfort foods, particularly if you remember to include one or two options that are healthier or suitable for vegetarians or vegans.

Some clients have special needs or desires. That’s all part of event planning and you learn to go with the flow.

Most hotels can adapt to any physical or dietary need with enough advance notice. A small number of clients will insist on accommodations that totally fit in with their lifestyle. What if your client is vegetarian and prefers a vacation with like-minded people?

This can be an interesting challenge. Many omnivorous restaurants offer vegetarian alternatives to their meals but finding a resort that actually caters to vegetarians gets a little tricky. Veggie Snow is a good resource for finding resorts that specialize in ski trips especially for vegetarians and vegans. You can book a trip in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, or the United States.

Wait, France? The French are known for many things but not their vegetarian cuisine. La Source Ski and Adventure Ltd. promoted and sponsored the first Veggie Snow tour. Just because it is vegetarian does not mean the chef has to forsake his beloved cream, cheese, or butter.

Special needs are not insurmountable problems for the experienced meeting planner. It may take a bit more web surfing to accommodate these clients but it’s well worth the effort.

One thing that meeting planners must cope with is picky eaters.  When you are planning an event for many people, you are bound to have several picky eaters in the group.  Planning for meals is one of the many tasks meeting planners carry out.

Most people know vegetarians, and maybe even a vegan or two. If you have ever entertained for them, you can imagine how difficult it can be to choose edibles for meetings and events that include sensitive eaters. Understanding dietary differences will go a long way to help you. Read more…