Event Architects To Know in 2024 - Lauren Andrews, EvSo
Lauren Andrews, of EvSo, discusses how she builds and plans meetings and events in the evolving hospitality landscape of 2024.
Luke Whalin
Feb 28, 2024
Welcome to the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series, where we highlight event professionals making waves across the events industry to share lessons learned and raise awareness of their invaluable contributions.
Name: Lauren Andrews
Company Name: EvSo
Job Title: Owner
Can you briefly tell us about your background in event planning and how you got started in the industry?
I began my hospitality journey learning from the best of the best at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, working in the sales department, where I managed corporate groups of all sizes as well as the pharmaceutical market.
After leaving the Ritz-Carlton, I embarked on a successful 17-year career at Meeting Expectations, now known as Etherio Group. During my time there, I learned every facet of the event, meeting, and conference management industry, growing from a site selection manager to department director to an executive, overseeing multiple large accounts. I finished my time with Etherio as the Vice President of the meetings and events, co-leading the department responsible for the sourcing team, registration department, and meeting planners.
How do you go about selecting the perfect hotel or venue? What factors weigh most heavily in your decision?
Select the perfect venue by:
o Most importantly – listening to my clients to truly understand your goals and desires.
o Leveraging the decades of city, hotel, and convention center relationships we’ve built to identify—and request proposals from—the best potential venues for your meeting, conference, or event.
o Thoroughly review each proposal, and present them in a concise way, so my clients can understand the ins and outs of what’s being offered as well as the pros and cons of each venue.
o Negotiate not just the price, but every aspect of the client's preferred venue’s proposal so you can get exactly what the client—and their attendees—need and want for their event.
o Helping to ensure that the client and their organization are thoroughly protected in the final contract.
Our team of experienced event professionals collaborates closely with clients to understand their unique requirements, whether it's a conference, sales kickoff, or incentive. We consider factors like location accessibility, capacity, layout, service needs, and aesthetics, and we also take into account budget constraints.
Relationships are key! It is our passion every day to learn what new hotel and event venue inventory is coming to market, who is renovating or under construction as well as the newest trends in the marketplace (venue staffing, labor shortage, food, and beverage pricing, audio-visual pricing, etc.). We use this knowledge to research the best venue for their event.
What does the initial planning phase of securing a venue look like for you? Could you walk us through your initial steps?
What common financial challenges often arise when organizing an event, what strategies do you use to mitigate them, and how do you avoid them?
We host a discovery call with the client to understand the key objectives the event wants to accomplish. We request the client's previous history with the event and any budgetary parameters we should be aware of.
A realistic budget isn't given at the beginning, and/or dates/space/event programming changes after the RFP has gone to market. We ask if leadership has reviewed and approved the details before moving forward to sourcing.
Do you use frameworks, templates, or other tools/documents to help you stay organized and manage the event planning process?
Yes, I have cost savings templates, hotel contract addendum templates, site selection questionnaires, presentation templates, etc.
Do you have any specific strategies or insights for enhancing the attendee experience at your events?
Not my specialty but I would hire a DMC or planner to conduct this research.
Effective communication is crucial in any planning process. How do you ensure you and your event stakeholders are always on the same page?
The Ritz-Carlton provided the foundation for responding to any calls or emails within 24 hours. We are an extension of the client's team, and we collaborate closely with the hotel to ensure the event is a success, from the beginning of site selection to the event coming to fruition.
How do you facilitate networking opportunities among attendees? Are there any specific tactics or strategies that you recommend?
What's your go-to plan for handling emergencies or unexpected situations during an event?
Can you share an example of a significant challenge you faced while planning an event conference and how you overcame it?
Not my specialty but I would hire a DMC or planner to conduct this research.
A pre-con with the hotel is a necessity to ensure we are aware of the venue's protocols for an emergency. This information would be shared with all event staff, including EAs and any extended team members.
A hotel canceled one of my 450-person conferences 7 weeks prior to the event start date. Fortunately, the event was being hosted in Orlando, so there were multiple large hotels I could research to find availability for the same dates. Within 48 hours, I found 3 options for the client's consideration, we conducted site visits 24 hours later and in contract within 2 business days later. The CEO was grateful for my clear communications/recommendations, sense of urgency, variety of options presented, negotiations with the hotel that canceled the contract, and how we transferred all terms/items from one hotel to another.
What are the typical steps you take in the post-event phase?
We request the hotel's final pick-up and F&B spend. We keep a history grid with the night-by-night pick-up and final spend in F&B.
What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you use to evaluate the success of an event?
Feedback from senior leadership, attendee surveys, lead planner/planning team feedback, budget reconciliation
What advice would you offer someone just starting their career in the meetings and events industry?
Be a sponge - Listen to the advice of other planners and find a mentor who will let you listen to calls, shadow emails or projects, and invest in your future.
Join a planning association like MPI, SITE, PCMA, etc.