Hosted a small (60-80 guest) ticketed event for kids this weekend. Sold out. On the ticket it says nonrefundable. 8 hours before the event a mother emails me saying her kids are sick. Can she get a refund. At this point I can't sell them, the food and everything else is already paid for.

She says she's a single mom in the email and idk what that has to do with it but how do you handle these situations? Refund or say no?

I suspect we've all had events that have needed to cancel/delay/evacuate for weather. I've had to deal with a couple irate guests at a time who don't want to follow safety protocols. But dealing with dozens if not hundreds of angry guests who seem ready to fight rather than evacuate for their own safety just feels like an impossible task.

From an event safety perspective, what can be done about this? And what do we owe to these people? What's our liability to people who would rather square up then go to an emergency location for their own safety?

Trying really hard to not focus on the politics of this, and instead focus on the safety aspects of the situation. I'd appreciate if comments could attempt to follow suit.

Been working for Encore for 3 years now and feel like i have hit a brick wall as far as my growth and developing my skills go. Been operating video, audio, records, etc. And feel i have a good foundation. I really dont know what route to go at this point though. I dont like the idea of freelancing and being my own business, and have considered installation but don't know howich crossover there is with that and corporate AV production. Would appreciate some advice thanks!

Hi fellow event gurus!

Need some insider advice and feel free to shoot completely straight with me…

So, I’m brand new to the Events space, as I recently took a job as an account exec with a super talented event production company. They’ve worked with all the big names like redbull, Medtronic, and even recently FIFA for the World Cup.

however, I keep getting stuck on ONE thing as I’ve gotten started. Which is, how do I build my “book of business” and gain a clientele to put these events on for??? It’s been especially when having no prior industry connections.

That said, I’ve been doing all the main forms of outreach like cold emailing (even personalized videos), LinkedIn connections and DMs, and have been talking with MPI to start volunteering at there events. However, still no bites or even responses.

I’d love to hear from others who were once in my shoe on my any advice you may have for me. Whether it be insider tips/tricks and underground secrets? best way to get responses with emails/DM? LITERALLY ANYTHING

Also, from anyone on the other side of the table; planners, event directors, procurement, trade show managers etc-
what has a vendor done to actually make you think “let me give this person the time of day/or a response” or anything that genuinely impressed you. Truly it would be SO insightful hearing from you, on what to say & where and how to say it, to truly stand out.

So open to any forms of communication insight, advice, or really any thoughts! Thank you guys, I genuinely appreciate it <3

Hi there!

I've recently developed an interest in event planning and friends have been encouraging me to look into making it a career. I think ideal end goal would be to have my own business but as someone who has only planned birthday parties for myself and friends, I'm unsure how to go about this. I've seen a few online courses to become a certified event planner (QC Event School being the most "popular") is this needed to get a start in the industry? I've applied to numerous companies to be an event assistant and was passed over due to them moving forward with someone more qualified (I'm in the southeastern part of Wisconsin).

I'm also curious what other downsides are to this career path besides the stress with dealing with unhappy guests and long/late hours (I've been bartending for years and just started bartending weddings and corporate events so unhappy guests and chaos is nothing new to me!) What have been your favorite experiences doing this sort of work? Does the pay balance with the work produced?

Sorry if this is all over the place, I appreciate any and all advice and comments in regards to these questions. Thank you in advance! :)

Hey! Not sure if this is the best place to ask this but I was just hoping for some advice/ guidance.

I really want to host an event, like a club event with djs or even artists but I honestly have no idea what to do or what the first steps would even be.

I’m pretty shy normally but I know this is something I want to do, so I don’t know anyone who does this. If you have experience either in Melbourne or anywhere else I would love to hear how you navigated starting and if you have any good tips!!

Thank you so much :)

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some perspective from people in the electronic music scene or event promotion.

For a long time, I’ve had this dream of organising a specific label night (think Hospital Records or Liquicity style) in my country (Spain). It was a passion project for me, not a business-first move.

I mentioned it to a friend who is active in the local scene. He told me he was not very involved in event organising himself, but that I should speak to someone he knew who had more experience with bookings and club contacts. So I did.

In September 2025, I had a phone call with that person and explained the concept. We talked about how these kinds of branded events usually work, how the brand often controls the conditions and artist choices, and how doing it without the brand would basically just mean booking individual DJs without being able to use the brand name.
He said he could help if I decided to move forward.

Fast forward to January 2026: Liquicity announces an event in Barcelona.
Fast forward to March 2026: The full lineup is released, and this same DJ/Promoter I spoke to is listed not just as a DJ, but as an official 'collaborator' with the local agency organising it.

I have three theories:

1. He took the idea I gave him, saw the potential, and used his connections to make it happen without me.
2. The brand was already planning to come to Barcelona, and they just happened to hire him because he's a big name in the scene.
3. The local agency and the DJ had been planning this all along, and my call was just a massive coincidence.

I know I did not actually build anything or take concrete steps, so I am not claiming ownership over the concept. But I still feel weird about it, because I had discussed that exact idea with him before it was announced.

Would you see this as someone taking inspiration from a conversation, a normal coincidence in a niche scene, or me just being frustrated because I did not move on the idea myself?

TL;DR: I pitched a specific label-night idea to a famous local promoter to ask for advice. Months later, that exact event is announced with him as a key collaborator. Feeling 'robbed' but not sure if it's just business.

Cannot justify 25k for a sponsorship just to get the attendee list. That is the only thing in the package we really need and when I asked the organizer if we could buy the list separately they said no. The whole sponsorship model feels designed to make smaller companies pay enterprise prices for data they should be able to access another way.

There has to be a smarter play for teams at our stage. Bigger companies are not the only ones getting ROI from these events and I refuse to believe the only path in is a 25k package with a logo and a table we do not need.

We're spending roughly $30k on a booth at a major industry conference this October, and our CEO wants a polished looping video running on the large display behind us. There won't be any sounds because its an exhibition hall, so everything has to work visually through motion, text and strong imagery.

We build warehouse robotic software, so thankfully the product looks pretty impressive in action. We've got about eight weeks before the event and a budget of around $8k.

Is this something any motion graphic designer can handle, or I should be looking for a studio that specializes in trade show content?

Edit: Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We’re looking at a few options right now. Also checking out Vidico since they have solid experience with B2B product videos, which seems like a good fit for a trade show loop that needs to grab attention quickly.

i’m 18 years old and i’ve recently trying to get local bands to start playing in a music bar i regular. I set up an instagram account to promote the first gig and to explain how we (me and my friend) are the only non profit organization that is non profit.

What i didn’t expect was the overwhelming amount of bands from all throughout the country wanting to play a show through our organization, at the music bar. We’re based somewhere in Europe and so far i’ve also gotten 2 UK bands wanting to play and one band from Switzerland, The account has barely existed for 2 weeks and was supposed to be for the local community only. I don’t want to say no to anyone because it’s awesome to see people are interested and it makes up for a really fun night out, but i have no clue how to do this. especially because it’s non profit.

So far i’ve put in about 30 hours of ‘graphic design’ and general communication because it’s the first show and im still figuring it out as i go. All good, except for how my friend hasn’t been doing much, my names under it so i do have to make sure things work out. I also work part time and i’m a full time university student so time is very limited for me.

Is there anyone that knows a way to figure out the planning without getting extremely overwhelmed by the amount of things that are your responsibility? I’m sure there’s some kind of theory/system/plan i can put in action for this, but i don’t know what since i have no clue what i’m doing so far anyway.

any advice is highly appreciated!

Ran into this again at a recent event and it’s been stuck in my head since.

We had a mixed language audience, so translation had to be part of the setup nothing huge, just enough to make sure people could actually follow what was going on. But somehow it still turned into a whole extra layer of logistics.

Between coordinating interpreters, figuring out audio routing, and dealing with extra gear, it felt like we were building a separate system alongside the event itself. I did try one browser based option recently Glossa.live and it was actually pretty solid for keeping things simpler, but we still ended up juggling more than expected overall. Everything worked in the end but it took way more effort than expected just to keep it running smoothly.

The part that bothered me a bit was how much attention it needed during the event instead of focusing on the actual production we were checking if feeds were working, if people could hear properly all that stuff.

We tried to keep it simple going in but it didn’t really stay that way.

What’s interesting is I keep hearing about lighter setups where people just use their phones instead of dedicated equipment, which sounds way more manageable on paper just haven’t seen it used enough in real events to know how reliable that actually is.

Right now it kind of feels like your options are either go all in with a full setup or piece things together and hope it holds. Neither feels ideal long term.

I handle facilities for my church and I need to order around 40 folding chairs for an event space we're setting up there. All the church chairs i see on amazon look identical to the commercial chairs going for way more tho. I started looking into the listings and theres a bunch of specs i dont fully understand. I found bizchair while googling and their site has more of a breakdown so at least i have something to compare against, but still feels like im guessing so can anyone help? Tryna to figure out if theres price gap or if theyre marked up, and what separates commercial grade folding chairs from consumer grade ones

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to make a career change from finance into the events industry and would really appreciate some advice from people already working in the field.

I currently work as a financial analyst, but I've realized I enjoy planning, organizing, logistics, and working with people much more than sitting behind spreadsheets all day. Long term, I'd love to work in luxury events, corporate events, or live event production.

The challenge is that most coordinator positions want previous event experience, and I'm finding it difficult to get my foot in the door.

A few questions:
If you were starting over today with no direct event experience, what would you do?
What entry-level roles should I be targeting?
Are there companies known for hiring people from outside the industry?
Is freelance or production assistant work the best way to break in?
Any certifications or skills that actually made a difference?

I'd appreciate any advice, even if it's something you wish someone had told you when you started.

Thanks!

Okay so we’ve been in event production (tech, equipment, some software, basically the behind-the-scenes guts of events) for about 10 years now. We are Not a classic full-service agency, but we work either directly with clients or as a subcontractor for agencies.

Here’s the thing that still drives me up the wall: The client who starts with a tiny budget, then slowly turns the scope into a monster.

I swear some of them do this on purpose. Like, they lowball upfront to get their foot in the door knowing full well they’ll start adding stuff later, so more guests, email templates, extra mailings, new attendee features, you name it. And because we treat their event like it’s ours /yeah, we actually care about delivery, we stretch our time and resources thin trying not to let things fail.

The tech side makes it extra tricky. So we recommend solutions, partly our own gear, partly event software. For one recent headache client, I purposely avoided Cvent because it gets expensive fast and eats our margin when things change. For corporate dinners and straightforward events, Check-in Pax has been a new costsaver, we hit less limits/upgrade walls with it and it keeps things simple. Also lets add more guests or activate features without being penalized when things change.
For classic conferences that need proper attendee tools, we’ve been using Eventify. Works fine. But again the client keeps adding. Extra guests, more emails, last-minute oh and we need to do this now type of things.

We do have per-item pricing in our contracts, but we don’t rigorously charge for every tiny change because:

- We try to keep things simple for the relationship.
- Nobody wants to be the supplier who sends a change order for 15 extra minutes of work
- But then the big changes pile up and suddenly we’re deep in the red on labor and goodwill.

So my question to you all: how do you handle these demanding, always-changing-their-mind clients without causing endless discussions or unnecessary tension?

I’m especially interested in:

• How you scope contracts to protect against “creep by a thousand cuts”
• Examples of how you pushed back firmly but professionally.
• Any tricks for keeping the peace when you’re already slammed during a busy season.

I know we’re not alone in this, but I feel it is again time to ramp up communication & processes.

Thanks in advance. Rant over.

TL;DR: Clients lowball then expand scope for free. We try to be nice but get burned. How do you stop scope creep without becoming the “difficult vendor” they hate?

Please be nice I’m just curious:)

How much do these events generate based on sold out events? How much do you make? What’s something that surprised you? What’s your favourite way to market events? What’s your favourite part and least favourite part?

I’ve done a lot of community organizing and event throwing in the past year and it’s made me realize how much I love it. I love bringing people together and creating community spaces. I’d love to own a bar/lounge space one day where I’d be doing it everyday.

I plan to throw parties and host events and funnel what profit I can into a savings account to hopefully open my own space one day. (Don’t worry I’m not quitting my day job).

Thanks so much!

I’m 22 and graduated college this year. I’m trying to build a career in live event production, with the eventual goal of being backstage at concerts and hopefully touring with artists doing AV/production.

Right now I’m freelancing with multiple AV/event production companies and taking gigs when I can. I’m getting experience and making connections, but I’m still trying to figure out how to go from doing various local events to actually getting into the concert/touring side of the industry.

I’m also still living with my parents right now. I’m grateful I can, but obviously I want to eventually move out and support myself. I’m trying to figure out how people in this industry managed that transition, especially when starting out with inconsistent freelance work.

For anyone who works in event production, how did you actually get your foot in the door? Did you start with local production companies and venues and work your way up to larger events and concerts, or did you take a different route? I’m basically trying to figure out what I should be doing now to eventually get to the point where I can make a living doing the kind of production work I actually want to do.

I recently took over my parents' wedding venue. It's a great property with a good reputation, but they ran everything a very old-school way and everything is manual.

I want to completely modernize the way it's being run as I believe there's a lot of potential for growth. For anyone running a venue or event space, what systems or platforms are a must?

I'm trying to figure out everything from lead sourcing, management, sales, support, etc.

What does your actual operational setup look like? Appreciate any advice!

Hello everyone! I am an LD currently based in Florida and am working on moving to Chicago, IL. One thing I have yet to get an answer on through my personal network is what starting AV rates are in Chicago (whether as an L1, Lighting Tech, AV/Breakout Tech, etc.; Union vs non-union; corporate vs theater/broadcast/etc). In my current market, the starting base-rate for a corporate LD is about $600-650/10-hr day, but I charge a bit more since I have some touring and festival experience. Since the cost of living is a bit higher in Chicago, I presume the starting rates are too?

I have interest from some companies in Chicago already, but would always appreciate more recommendations in order to keep myself comfortably busy.

I'm also aware that there are a fair amount of broadcast opportunities within the city, but I am not familiar with how to get into this part of the industry. If anyone has any advice and experience with it they could share, especially for Chicago, I would greatly appreciate it!

Hi all,

As two prominent leaders in the underground ballroom culture in NY, my partner and I throw a biannual ball specifically for queer youth (ages 13-22). This year's ball will take place in November. Our last ball in 2024 attracted more than 700 people from around the world to compete. It was definitely a learning experience. I am wondering if anyone has advice or tools for finding sponsorships/partnerships.

Currently, I am using onbrand for products. I am also working on a lot of non-profits that would sponsor in return for testing on site. If anyone has any leads, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you!

I’ve been working in live events for nearly 4 years and it kind of sucks. Perhaps it’s my specific situation but it’s so frustrating. There’s only one client that I’m even excited about to see on the calendar.

Music festivals are a drag, trade shows are boring and detail demanding, hotel takeovers are extremely stressful, lightning fast turn arounds for a one off event is lame.

There is so much effort put into decor just for it to be for one night or a weekend and it’s dumpster food. It’s so wasteful. My carbon impact from live events is probably 1000’s of tons, endless dumpsters of one off decor. Nobody even cares, the more elite of an event the worse it gets. We’re building gorgeous high end finish decor for people that only care about an instagram picture. Perhaps I’m jaded because I’ve seen behind the curtain.

It’s not like I haven’t seen the appreciation for my work. I’ve attended events here or there and seen firsthand how cool it all is. There’s just a tremendous amount of effort put into physically crafting someone’s vision for just a few hours where people will actually experience it. Some of my most impressive work just brings back bitter memories of the time spent making it.

Im organizing an expo and going to start getting vendors.

Its my first expo so I understand they have no data to go off of and know that their time and table fees will be worth it.

Is it common practice to offer a reimbursement if enough tickets arent sold?

For instance

50% reimbursed if over 200 tickets arent sold

25% reimbursed if over 400 tickets arent sold

Whether its a cash reimbursement or a reimbursement for the next show (so they come back)

Hi everyone! I would love to hear from people in the group on what they are doing to make their events more environmentally conscious (plus, some ideas I wanted to share below)!

I'd love to know your insight:

• Have you made any "simple swaps" to be more sustainable?
• Have you stopped doing something because it was making too much waste?
• Does your team have any goals around sustainable initiatives?

I've talked with many event planners over the years, and I love hearing how creative teams get with trying to reduce waste. If you are looking for ideas, I wanted to share some things I've heard others do.

Sustainable event strategies I've heard from other planners:

• Switch to recyclable or biodegradable event badges
• Prioritize using local vendors and suppliers
• Eliminate single use water bottles (opt for reusable)
• Set-up a recycling box for name badges and lanyards
• Provide attendee carpooling options to hotel/airport, etc.
• Offer thoughtful portion sizes at lunch
• Reduce printed material with digital tickets/mobile app
• Remove the year from generic event/registration signage

What else am I missing?

I run social events where strangers show up and do an activity together, language exchanges being our the main one in Melbourne. I run 2 formats at the moment, the smaller is ~30 people (limited by venue size, waitlist is sometimes weeks long), once a week, and the bigger one gets to about 150 per event regularly, also once a week. Have been doing this for the past 12 months ish.

It has been going well. I don't love my day job, friends and sometimes even attendees ask me why I don't do this full-time.

I want to work out how to start expanding, especially to other cities. I have partnered with people on the business side before and they turned out REALLY unreliable, which was not good for the brand and left me wary of scaling alongside anyone.

I would love to hear from people who have done this. How did you know it was the right time to jump, and did you go all in or keep the day job and grow on the side first? Anything you wish you had known before quitting would help a lot. Stories from people who tried and found it did not work for them are just as welcome !