Attendees at Prevue’s Visionary Summit at Nobu Eden Roc in Miami Beach March 21-22 experienced firsthand various ways to transform their meetings, beginning with an opening reception that combined art, culture and wellness. Several stations allowed people to choose from various activities, from creating a collage to honor Women’s History Month to relaxing with a chair massage to designing their own mojitos. An icebreaker designed by Sharon Fisher of Play With a Purpose had attendees donning boas and tiaras for a green screen photo session that resulted in a brilliant group video. They also took home their own Bulova watches as a special gift.
The following day’s education was designed from the results of a reader survey, where people were asked about the forces that are transforming their meetings—among them CSR, multiple generations in the workforce and sustainability. Ira Almeas, president of CSR consultancy Impact 4 Good, spoke of a new way to measure giving back, return on emotion (ROE). Katherine Manfredi, CMM, CSS, managing director of Manfredi & Associates, shared numerous strategies for greening meetings without breaking the budget.
A highlight of the day was a session by Hallie Sculler of The Great Office Escape, who introduced techniques from her toolkit for incorporating wellness into events, including yoga, aromatherapy and Tibetan singing bowls. A panel of DMCs shared their expertise in designing authentic local experiences for groups in destinations ranging from New Orleans to the Dominican Republic. Interspersed with these sessions were roundtables where attendees had the chance to to discuss topics they had voted as being the most influential to their events.
The lovely and legendary Eden Miami Beach Resort pulled out all the stops for the group of 30 meeting planners, creating vibrant revolving room sets and offering a sneak hardhat tour of the new Nobu Tower rooms, which will be opening later this year. Attendees had a chance to sample Chef Nobu’s specialties at lunch, as well as those from the new Malibu Farm restaurant, which opens on property this spring.
Special thanks to Nobu Eden Roc as well as the Summit’s other sponsors: Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Silversea and Bulova.
