In early February our Account Manager, Abby Homol, had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI) Conference in Houston, Texas. The three day conference brings together the top International Destination Management companies to share in education, best practices and an awards ceremony.
Day one consisted of a kick-off general session featuring Jonathan Sprinkles. The session focused on the power of connection and three points to get across when dealing with client; 1. Think about how the client feels, show them that you understand how they feel 2. Show your clients why you care 3. You must show them you can be trusted. The first day concluded with a reception at the hotel with time for networking and catching up with friends and colleagues.
Day two started with a general session presented by Crystal Washington on the latest technologies in the event world. She introduced new apps to make your life easier and ones to set yourself apart in your client’s eyes. Crystal is always engaging and a crowd favorite at ADMEI. The next session was on emergency preparedness with insights from DMCs in cities that we effected by emergency situations; Houston, Vegas, Puerto Rico and New Orleans. All speakers on the panel gave wonderful insights into how their company and city reacted in these situations, what they had done well, and areas of improvement. Breakout sessions made us the remainder of the day with tracks for sales, operations and owners. Day two’s evening event was held at Lucky Strike with time for food, drink, competition and conversation.
The final day of the conference included the announcement of next year’s conference location, Puerto Rico! Additional sessions that day were The Five Languages of Appreciation, a session on how to show your workers you appreciate them, and Power Up Your 5 Voices. Sessions ended early this day to allow attendees time to get ready for the awards gala that evening.
Roberts Event Group was nominated for Best Public Event for Camden Night Gardens: Tides of Change and had the honor of taking home the win. Additionally, Roberts won the Members Choice Award, voted on my conference attendees. We are thrilled to add these two wins to our list of ADMEI awards!