We recently shared the success story of the inaugural Caesars Entertainment Global Wellness Summit and some of the key insights from the education sessions.
But meeting planners know better than anyone that so much goes on in advance and behind the scenes to make an event successful. The key is keeping any challenges behind the scenes, which is perhaps more important than ever when holding an event created specifically for 115 meeting professionals.
We spoke with Reina Herschdorfer, director of marketing, national meetings and events for Caesars Entertainment, about the planning process and overcoming challenges for an event that served as “an unparalleled preview of Caesars’ new wellness offerings through a blend of luxury, relaxation and self-discovery.”
MPI’s monthly wellness spotlight brought to you by -copy.jpeg?sfvrsn=bbfa4a55_1){kind=logo}
Attendees were wowed by the yin yoga/forest bathing excursion. Can you give us a look behind the scenes at your planning process?
Securing permits for the yin yoga was organized through the local forestry department. They also worked with us in securing the location and the guides for our forest bathing hikes. The planning and paperwork were relatively easy and reasonable but took about a month. It is through a government agency, so you just need to follow the process. They did a site visit with us back in March when we had snow on the ground and then met us again just a few weeks before when we came back to see the spot for this past June. The guides who are all volunteers were incredibly knowledgeable and engaged. It was a pleasure to hear them tell the stories about the forest and nature. I would strongly recommend using them in the future for group events and even just for fun!
I understand that a venue change was required for the yoga excursion. Why did you make a change, and what new challenges did that present?
When we originally booked the site, there was snow on the ground. Then a few weeks prior, we wanted to see the location again, especially for the yoga since we were bringing mats and would be on the ground. When we arrived, it was immediately apparent that we would not be able to be in the meadow especially as they had lots of small flags for the butterflies in the meadow, which was a beautiful initiative but limited our ability to use this space. We could have moved to another location, but we wanted the backdrop of the beautiful mountains. To stay in the same location, our only option was to consider the parking lot adjacent to the butterfly meadow.
My initial reaction was concern, as the environment is so beautiful and the idea of being on asphalt was not appealing. But we shifted gears and instead of having each attendee bring their own mats we now wanted to stage them so that the first impression was more impactful. This now required transporting all the yoga mats in advance with the yoga towels, and then we decided to add a fresh flower in a water tube. the yoga mats were all in individual boxes, so we needed a van to bring everything home in advance. This required renting one last minute, but it all worked out. In the end it looked beautiful and we were on a flat surface, but the process required us to be flexible and creative.
Tell us about some of the other challenges that had to be overcome to ensure the summit attendee experience was valuable and, on the surface, seamless?
Yes, from an attendee lens, the experience was amazing, but there were definitely some learnings and pain points. First of all, our attendance kept on growing, and this was challenging as we had so many special touches, merchandise etc.—and every time, we needed to order more and make sure we could accommodate the increases.
Then we had planned to provide everyone an Uber code instead of limos. This doesn’t seem like a big deal but when attendees start making changes, when you have limos, you need a dedicated person to manage this as there are always so many questions and changes all last minute. As a result, our planner was working on transportation changes, especially on the day before departure, which took her away from other areas and resulted in a domino effect. Nothing too serious, just small details that were not as perfect as we had planned such as the entrance that was used for the afternoon session on day two. The room looked amazing, we had stunning furniture, and the attendees entered from the side instead of the back where the room had the biggest impact—nothing major just a miss.
And last, when we hosted the summit, we had a heat wave. We had already taken this into account and had made a conscious decision to only have an outdoor event in the evening. When the temperature, which traditionally would have been in the 80s, went up over 100, we moved the closing dinner inside last minute but kept the finale—sound bath at the five-acre Garden of the Gods—outside, and it was epic!
What did you learn from the planning and executing of the summit that you can apply to planning the next one?
Next time, we will agree on the number of attendees and not have a moving target. Second time is always easier as we know what to expect and we will ask our sponsors to commit sooner. We will provide multiple tracks so attendees can choose their journey. We will also have more support for the event so that we can be that much more focused and be able to manage more of the last-minute situations that always arise.
Much of the food served at the summit was healthy and vegan. Can you tell us how you were able to put the menus together in order to demonstrate the healthy options and strategy of Caesars Entertainment?
As far as the menus go, last October, we launched healthy options on our catering menus. Each item has a green leaf to designate that these are part of our wellness options. We went through the menus and selected the items that resonated with us most. Then we worked closely with the chef to enhance and come up with additional ideas. At Caesars Entertainment, we are fortunate as we have a talented culinary team, many with awards who are just as enthusiastic about our wellness initiatives as I am. Quite a bit of time was spent on healthy sweets, as this is always tough. It was a lot of fun to pull this together!
