Event Architects To Know in 2024 - Teresa Bacal, JTGrey Unlimited
Teresa Bacal, of JTGrey Unlimited, discusses how she builds and plans meetings and events in the evolving hospitality landscape of 2024.
Luke Whalin
Aug 21, 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: Teresa Bacal
Company Name: JTGrey Unlimited
Job Title: Senior Account Manager
Can you briefly tell us about your background in event planning and how you got started in the industry?
I have been in the event planning business for 30+ years. I began my career as a Trip Director with BI Worldwide in Minneapolis. I worked with BI for seven years and then started a boutique event planning company, which I sold to my business partner at the time. I then went on to launch JTGrey Unlimited, which I still run today.
How do you go about selecting the perfect hotel or venue? What factors weigh most heavily in your decision?
Selecting a perfect hotel or venue depends on the event and the client. What is the objective of the event, what is the budget and what inclusions does the client want as part of the event are all pertinent to determining the perfect hotel or venue. The perfect hotel or venue is different for each project. A hotel that checks all of the boxes that are important to the client and can accommodate the needs of a particular event is the perfect hotel.
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?
The initial phase of securing a venue starts with an in-depth conversation with the client to understand the event objectives. Then, the necessary information is entered into an RFP and distributed to hotels that match the criteria. Once I get responses back from hotels included in the RFP, I sort through them to see which hotels meet all or most of the criteria. Once I have a short list, I talk with the client and determine the top 3 that I am going to get more detailed proposals to compare them in more detail. Then, based on conversations with the hotels, the concessions, and the willingness to be flexible to meet the client's needs, I recommend the top two and discuss them with the client again. Finally, it comes down to which hotel can and will accommodate the event while offering the best overall event cost, which includes comps and concessions.
The biggest financial challenge is staying within budget when clients start adding or changing event inclusions. The best way to mitigate any financial challenges with the client is to be transparent and upfront. If a client decides to add or change something with the event and it is going to put them over their budget, I discuss if they want to cut something out or have them sign a budget addendum if they make a change that puts them over the initial budget. The second most common challenge is when I put a budget together for a client, and they have sticker shock with the cost of food and beverage and audio-visual costs. These seem to be the areas that shock clients the most. I then walk through the budget in great detail with clients, showing them catering menus and AV pricing sheets that support the budget costs.
How do you leverage technology to boost efficiency during the planning, execution, and post-event stages? What does your “event tech stack” look like? (For example, using Survey Monkey for surveying attendees post-event)
Over the years, I have created templates and processes that I use for planning and execution. I am an independent contractor with HPN Global, which has a proprietary software program I use for my RFPs and hotel sourcing. That has saved me a great deal of time sourcing hotels. They also have quite a few other resources I use in the planning process. For post-event surveys, many clients have a preferred program they like, or I use programs such as Survey Monkey.
Do you use frameworks, templates, or other tools/documents to help you stay organized and manage the event planning process?
I have quite a few templates I use for preplanning and on-site execution, which include templates for budgets, timelines, Run of Show, staff schedules, VIP handling, transportation tracking, arrival and departure schedules, F&B detail, AV inclusions, vendor and team contact information and more. Event planning is all about the details so having templates to keep you on track and remain consistent in your planning steps is critical.
Do you have any specific strategies or insights for enhancing the attendee experience at your events?
I believe one of the best ways to enhance the attendees' experience is for the event staff to interact with the attendees. It is important to make the attendees feel welcome, learn their names when possible, direct them to meetings or group meals, ask if there is anything you can help them with during their stay, talk to them while they are waiting in line to pick up badges or registration packets, help them find a seat in the meeting or simply say hello when you see them around the hotel. They took the time to attend the event to make them feel welcome.
Effective communication is crucial in any planning process. How do you ensure you and your event stakeholders are always on the same page?
To make sure my team and the client contacts are on the same page, I have weekly meetings to keep everyone updated on the timeline, current tasks, changes that need to be made, and any challenges. Once on-site, I have a team meeting a day or two prior to the attendee's arrival to walk through the event in detail. That gives anyone a chance to ask questions or make any last-minute changes before the event starts. I make sure to include the client decision makers or VIPs as it is always better to make a last-minute change versus having a client's executive team or VIP be surprised or unhappy.
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?
I have found the best way to facilitate networking is to have welcome receptions with some interactive activities. It can also be helpful to have meals with assigned seating, so people meet the other attendees during meals. I will walk around the welcome reception, and if I see people standing alone, I will introduce them to other people to start the conversation. Sometimes people just need a little help getting started.
I have a written protocol for emergencies or unexpected situations. There are specific steps my team is to take depending on the situation. The most important thing is to handle any emergency calmly.
I have had an engine catch on fire on a charter flight. Luckily, it was right after takeoff, so the plane was able to turn around and land, and then I had to find an alternative to get the attendees to the event location as quickly as possible. I was able to get the attendees on commercial flights and had my DMC meet them as they arrived at the event airport. It was a lot of work, and I had attendees wait in a lounge I was able to get them into while I booked as many flights as possible. Good thing it was a smaller group, so I was able to pull it off, but it did create a domino effect for the afternoon activities, reception, and dinner.
What are the typical steps you take in the post-event phase?
Typical steps for the post-event phase start with distributing a survey to the attendees, and then I hold a post-con with the hotel. We walk through the event details and cover all areas, such as hotel room check-in, food and beverage, meetings and AV, preplanning, convention services, hotel staff, and billing. We walk through what went well, what areas could be improved, and how they could be improved. Then I hold a post-event call with the client and do the same thing. We walked through all the details and discussed what went well and what could be changed for their next event. Taking notes is important for these meetings, especially if these events are annual meetings, so you can refer to them when working on the next event.
What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you use to evaluate the success of an event?
I determine if the event is a success based on both the attendee surveys and the post-event follow-up with the client. Attendee surveys can be somewhat subjective as what is great for one attendee is just okay for another attendee, so the comments matter. The most important indicator is if the client believes they met their objectives. Did they meet their attendee goals, did they meet a certain percentage of product sales, did they meet the level of training needed for all attendees, etc.?
What advice would you offer someone just starting their career in the meetings and events industry?
For someone just starting in the industry, I would suggest learning as much as possible about all areas of planning, from venue sourcing to budgeting to estimating the room size needed for a group to learning about audio-visual inclusions. Sometimes, working for a smaller company is better because you are involved in more areas of planning. Also, be open to learning and know there will be "uh ohs" on just about every event. Things that happen that are out of your control, but how you react to and manage those situations makes a difference. You learn something new at every event as location, clients, inclusions, and attendees are different, so be open to learning and adjusting on the fly.