Hey community - this week we're going somewhere I know really well. Hotel negotiation. Specifically: the gap between what most in-house corporate event planners walk away with, and what was actually sitting on the table the entire time. This is one of the areas where my background in hotel contracting through HPN Global directly translates into real, measurable value for you. I know what hotels expect you to ask for and what they're quietly hoping you won't. This week I'm handing you the insider playbook. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 1. WHY MOST PLANNERS LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE, AND IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT Here's something the hotel industry doesn't advertise: their first contract is almost never their final offer. Hotels build their proposals with room to give. Concessions are already factored into their margin. The planner who asks gets. The planner who doesn't ask, doesn't. The problem isn't that in-house corporate planners can be bad negotiators. It's that most of them were never given a complete picture of what's actually negotiable. They learned their craft through doing, not through a deliberate education in hotel commercial structures, group sales incentives, and what motivates a hotel's Director of Sales to say yes. That knowledge gap costs companies thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars per event. Multiply that across an annual event calendar and you're looking at a serious number. This post is the starting point for closing that gap. 2. THE FULL NEGOTIATION MENU - WHAT'S ACTUALLY ON THE TABLE Let's get specific. Here is a working list of what experienced hotel negotiators routinely request and regularly receive: ROOM & ACCOMMODATION • Complimentary suite upgrades for VIP attendees (1 comp per X rooms booked is standard) • Staff and planner rooms at significantly reduced or fully comped rates • Early check-in and late checkout guarantees written into the contract • Room block flexibility, the ability to release rooms without penalty closer to the date

Hey everyone! Welcome back to this week's deep dive. Last week we talked about the big picture: Why understanding AI is becoming a competitive edge in our industry. A few of you messaged me privately to say it resonated, but also that AI still feels a little overwhelming or out of reach. That response told me exactly what we need to talk about this week. This post is for anyone who's thought: "I'm not a tech person. I wouldn't even know where to start." You're in the right place. Let's go slowly, practically, and without any jargon. 1. FIRST — LET'S ACKNOWLEDGE SOMETHING REAL Admin is quietly stealing your career. Not dramatically. Not all at once. But hour by hour, the emails, the proposals, the briefing documents, the follow-up messages, the checklists, they suck up your time. Many hospitality and events professionals spend more time on documentation than they do on actual creative or strategic work. That's not a personal failing. It's a structural problem with how our industry has always operated. AI is the first tool that genuinely addresses it; not by replacing your judgment, but by handling the mechanical parts of the job so you can focus on the parts that actually need you. 2. WHAT "USING AI" ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE Forget the sci-fi images. Forget the robots. In practice, using AI for admin looks like this: you open a browser tab, type a description of what you need, and get back a solid first draft in under 30 seconds. You read it. You adjust the tone. You add the specific details only you know. You send it or save it as a template. That's it. That's the workflow. It's less complicated than learning a new piece of event software, and the payoff is immediate. You don't need to understand how it works. You just need to know what to ask it for. 3. THE ADMIN TASKS AI HANDLES BRILLIANTLY (RIGHT NOW, TODAY) Here are the things AI is genuinely great at for our industry: • Client emails: first contact, follow-ups, difficult conversations, thank-you notes

Hey everyone! I have some exciting news to share and some good news specifically for YOU. Starting April 24th, this community is officially becoming a paid membership. This means new members will pay $27 to join, which will allow me to invest even more into the content, resources, and support I bring to this space. But here's the thing: because you were here from the beginning, you're getting in FREE — for life (or as long as you stay a member). No charges, no catch. This is my way of saying thank you for believing in this community early on. One important note: please don't leave and rejoin the community, as you'd lose your free access and be prompted to pay like any new member. I'm grateful to have you here, and I can't wait to share with you what's coming next. — Teresa

One of the trends in 2025 is smaller, smarter, impactful Events (Micro-Experiences) Large-scale conferences aren’t going anywhere—but planners are seeing big ROI from smaller, high-touch gatherings like masterminds, pop-up experiences, and invite-only forums. These micro-events drive deeper connections and higher engagement. Are you seeing this from your clients?