Guests. Fans. Attendees. Whatever you choose to call them, they’re all the same: humans. And a human’s experience during an event is paramount to your venue’s success. We want to help you be successful, and that is why we focus on people so much at our annual GuestX conference.
“IAVM is pleased to announce a conference built on ‘smart practices’ regarding the guest/fan experience,” said Mark Herrera, IAVM’s director of education. “We are honored to have a session that will highlight what our guests from the professional leagues are doing to monitor the fan experience and ensure consistency across their organizations.”
The session Herrera mentions will feature representatives from the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer (MLS) who will discuss the most important element of any event day: the human element. When the unpredictable happens, your people, your team members, are the ones who will respond based on your proper, and prior, planning and training. During this panel session, attendees will hear about and discuss incidents from all types of venues related to guest service recovery from the perspective of those having to deliver it.
Larry Bowman, vice president of stadium operations and security for the Atlanta Braves, will moderate a panel that includes Robert Gallo, vice president, club business development, NFL; Paul LaVeau, stadium director, stadium operations, Oakland Athletics; and Jeff Stonebreaker, security advisor, MLS. More panelists will be named later.
“League representatives attending our past GuestX Conference were able to also take back ideas from the venue industry that were incorporated into their respective business plans,” Herrera said. “Again, the focus from this session will be on fan/guest interaction and also how to plan for the unpredictable and assess options in the moment to create an immediate recovery when issues arise. The session is focused on creating a winning fan experience.”
Other GuestX content includes a session on creating successful front line supervisors, excellent customer service the Ritz-Carlton way, and an off-site exercise for attendees at American Airlines Center. Check out the GuestX for the full schedule and to register to attend.
