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Mastering Event Contracts: Essential Negotiation Strategies for Meeting Planners in 2025

Smart Meetings

Avoid pitfalls and protect your event Contracts are the lifeblood and backbone of the meetings industry. Negotiating contracts is the first step before confirming speakers, color themes or catering options. By negotiating F&B pricing upfront, planners can ensure a cost cap clause to avoid dramatic price hikes.

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Fake women event speakers? We need to think bigger!

Conferences that Work

Fake women event speakers? Meeting professionals: this is a golden opportunity! Fake speakers Creating fake women speakers is just one tiny step in the right direction. Fake speakers Creating fake women speakers is just one tiny step in the right direction. How hard is it to make all your speakers fake?

Speakers 392
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Getting More Value from Conference Keynote Speakers

Velvet Chainsaw

Not long ago, becoming a professional speaker was a third step in a thought leaders career path. Keynote speakers should be chosen wisely. From a conference design perspective, we believe the current best practice is to bookend your conference by opening with a strong-thought provoking speaker and closing with inspiration.

Speakers 278
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Key Takeaways from MPI Northern California ACE 2025

Smart Meetings

Here, Smart Meetings brings you the key takeaways. #1 1 2028 is Poised to Spur a Significant Market Shift With the demand for meeting space continuing to soar, event planners are increasingly feeling the pressure to lock in venues ASAP.

2025 147
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Win at Negotiating AV Services with Hotels

Smart Meetings

Date, venue and rates are critical and typically given priority in the earliest stages of the meeting planning cycle. However, leaving audio visual (AV) equipment services to the end could be a costly mistake, especially when negotiating these services with a hotel. You have the most negotiating power before signing the contract.

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The fairest rules for meetings

Conferences that Work

What are the fairest rules to use when running meetings? ” I think it’s reasonable to concentrate on fairness to participants : the majority of those involved with the meeting. All meetings have rules, whether overt or covert, conscious or unconscious, that influence how they proceed. Status and power at meetings.

Meetings 358
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How Planners Can Manage The “Easy Button” in Events

Smart Meetings

Smart Meetings chatted with Michelle Crosby, CMP, CITP, an account executive at Bright Spot Incentives and Events, and Yvette Campbell, CMP, a meeting broker at Meetings Made Easy, to explore how planners can seek out third-party agencies and independent planners that fit their needs and how to integrate resources into their organization.