As you know, there are different types of agencies: communication agencies, congress organization agencies (OPC), incoming market agencies (DMC), outgoing agencies (outgoing market) or production agencies, among others. Today I would like to talk about the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) segment.

Access to the world of events itself is not difficult, as you can enter from different fields, disciplines or studies; the spectrum of profiles is unlimited. Freelancers do not necessarily and only come from the tourism sector, as is often believed. Some even combine more than one professional activity. That said, there are three freelance working dynamics: office-based (on-site or teleworking), operational (execution of the event in the field) and mixed (combination office/operational).

Office freelancers work on a project basis and at a fixed daily rate, while operational freelancers work on a service basis and at hourly rates. The ideal way to have year-round work is to be able to combine both options. A good level of English is essential and the more languages the better.

The office profile is usually in high demand as agencies require their collaboration to cope with work peaks. Depending on the project, we can work for days, weeks or months. To fill your schedule you will probably have to work with several agencies, so you will have to adapt to different work methodologies and be flexible, since each agency and each client is different.

To work from project to project, having good Excel and PowerPoint skills, as well as being efficient, meticulous and orderly, will help you a lot. If you recognize yourself in this profile, it will be relatively easy for them to count on you.

You can be a project manager or assistant. You will have to pay attention to the briefing, make proposals, prepare presentations, prepare quotations, create and design the program and manage the invoicing. You will be able to lead the whole project (from quotation to closing the accounts) or a part of it (managing transportation, accommodation, activities, dinners, etc.). When you receive the file of a project that is already underway, it is important to review all the details.

By the way, do you know how many people are involved in the organization of an event? How well do you know the different suppliers? Transportation, hotels, restaurants, caterers, activity companies, audiovisual companies, assemblers, industrial suppliers (stands, carpentry, lighting, decoration, furniture, plants, graphic design, illustration, writing, printing…), official guides, interpreters, translators, hostesses, security, cleaning staff, protocols, official procedures (e.g. permits), etc. Without a good production and logistical coordination of all the actors, the show cannot go well.

This profile is the one who executes the event program. It is the first and last contact that the participant will have at the destination, therefore, friendliness and flexibility, the ability to manage and improvise, plus a good knowledge of the city and suppliers are essential. They represent the quality of the agency’s services.

They are the “face of the event” or the “shadow actors”. Together with the agencies’ project managers, they are responsible for the success of the event, as contracted. There is no point in creating a super event if it is not well coordinated, if mistakes are made, or if a part of the event is screwed up because all the details are not taken into account. They can be very intense days with little sleep. Are you comfortable with it?

Of the operational freelancers or on-site coordinators, agencies tend to work with those they already know. Even so, this is usually the most unstable option in terms of income.

Operational freelancers can be very helpful to agencies by providing feedback on services, pointing out new suppliers and helping to resolve unforeseen issues. Keeping up to date is important.

In both profiles, you have to be very capable of accepting last minute changes (program modifications, cancellations, flight variations…), and have a good knowledge of new technologies: registration with iPads, meeting apps, etc., and, increasingly, knowledge of sustainability in events.

You will get work by applying to agencies and through peer referrals. There is no freelance association in the MICE sector.

With respect to rates, the range is very wide. Each agency usually has its own. In the incoming market (receptive), office work is usually a fixed amount per day and the operation depends on the type of services. They are highly variable. In the outgoing market, it is a flat rate per day, also depending on the agency. But beware, don’t be dazzled by the initial numbers. Break them down well. Think that you don’t work all year long, that you have to subtract from the rate the 15% income tax and the self-employed fee, which is increasing.

In order to be able to invoice, it is mandatory to be registered in the IAE (Tax Authorities) and in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (Social Security). Please note that you will have to complete different administrative formalities throughout the year: quarterly VAT, annual VAT summary and other forms, depending on your particular situation. To reduce the risk of inspection, it is advisable to remain registered even during the off-peak months.

On the other hand, some agencies may ask you for the Contractors Certificate and it is highly advisable that you get well informed about the retirement issue. For all these reasons, it is advisable to have a good advisor.

No job is perfect, but if you are passionate about dealing with people, immersing yourself in different cultures and discovering new places, as well as management and organization, and you are adaptable, flexible and decisive in handling the unforeseen events that always arise and don’t mind long working hours, then: Welcome to the world of events!

Are you up for it?

Source – Cristina Muñoz – https://www.eventoplus.com/preguntale-al-experto/quiero-trabajar-como-freelance-en-eventos-que-tengo-que-saber/

AFE: a decalogue and a sustainability roundtable

AFE (Spanish Trade Fair Association) published its decalogue in 2022, “a turning point for the sector’s trade fairs,” says its secretary general Juan Puchalt. Its main components? It advocates a communication effort (on its websites, headquarters, networks…) of its members’ commitments, energy improvements in its facilities and energy use practices, sustainable food practices, collective and sustainable transportation, circular economy in structures and carpets, accessibility, collaborations with NGOs and volunteers (taking advantage of the massive attendance that fairs represent), hiring criteria applying environmental and social criteria, and finally to reduce its carbon footprint. In fact, they have also joined the NetZeroCarbonEvents initiative.

NetZero Carbon Events, the most international initiative

This initiative, supported by more than 400 organizations in 55 countries, aims to make all events carbon-free by 2050. By the end of 2023, they will publish the roadmap for 2050, with an intermediate target of 50% by 2030. It is an initiative that applies to the entire value chain, with the idea of breaking down efforts by type of stakeholder. It has five main fields of action, including organizing events in an energy-efficient and green way or redesigning events to use materials.

IdeMice launches a decalogue for sustainable incentives

While this statement of intent from the incentive agency association emphasizes measures at the destination, it also speaks of commitment at home. It makes recommendations at the level of hiring more sustainable means of transportation (a key component of incentives), combating single-use packaging, hiring sustainable accommodations, more sustainable catering, reuse of materials, workers’ rights, and a key value provided by incentive travel: generating positive impact on the environment by encouraging participants to interact with local communities, with respect for local heritage. This local impact, together with the awareness of participants, is a key value of the incentives.

ADEAZA launches its best practices guide

ADEAZA highlights in its guide the importance of client relationships and the values that should govern these relationships: professionalism, integrity, excellence… The manual advises clients on variables to be taken into account when hiring a company (reputation, solvency, compliance with regulations…), on the difference between the client’s needs and the needs of the staffing company or on the specifications when drawing up a budget.

France defines a sector commitment

UNIMEV, the alliance of associations in the events sector in France, brings together 400 companies from the entire value chain of the events sector. In collaboration with the French government, it has defined an industry commitment focused on avoiding waste. The Decalogue details a series of commitments and circular design methods to be applied. An example of truly collective commitment, but also of prioritization of a few causes.

Source – Eric Mottard – https://www.eventoplus.com/articulos/las-asociaciones-cada-vez-mas-comprometidas-con-la-sostenibilidad/

The catering segment is the most important, with a share of 88% of the total. The value of this market stood at 3.1 billion euros, 15% more than in the previous year. Within the mass catering business, educational establishments were the most dynamic demand segment, with an increase of 17.2% and a value of 1,055 million euros. Demand from the healthcare sector remained the most important, reaching 1,365 million euros (+14.7%), while business services increased by 12.2% to 505 million euros.

Air catering, on the other hand, was driven by strong growth in the number of passengers traveling by air. 220 million in 2022, 76% more than in the previous year.

After growing by 67%, high-end catering reached 200 million euros, in a context of a strong increase in demand for events and celebrations thanks to the lifting of restrictions following the pandemic.

In 2022, the sector’s supply was made up of some 955 companies, which generated an employment volume of 75,000 workers. Both figures remained stable throughout the last fiscal year.

The solid position achieved by the main operators is reflected in the degree of concentration in the sector. In 2022, the top five had a combined share of nearly 45% of sector turnover, a percentage that was close to 60% when the top ten operators are taken into account.

Source – https://www.foodretail.es/horeca/mercado-catering-previsiones-2023_0_1769223072.html

The season of hotel terraces and rooftops begins, and a serious candidate is running for the number one terrace with a view in Barcelona: on June 8, Nobu Barcelona, a hotel with one of the best Japanese restaurants in Barcelona, will open what will be the highest hotel rooftop in Barcelona.

Located on the roof of the 25th floor of Torre Catalunya – a building that is eighty meters high and the sixth tallest hotel in Catalonia – Nobu’s new space will have a Japanese-inspired garden, a swimming pool and bar and restaurant service. The gastronomic offer will be inspired by the sea and mountain views, with dishes such as salt and pepper squid, sea bass ceviche with coconut or sausage dogs. And a selection of ‘onigiris’ and ‘monakas’ – a Japanese snack that would be a mochi ‘sandwich’ – will add the Japanese touch.

The drinks menu will maintain an ultra-local character, with beers from Garage Beer, natural wines from producers such as Montrubí and cocktails that mix Japanese flavors such as yuzu with Mediterranean elements such as basil and white vermouth.

One thing is for sure: the views from the 25th floor will be worth a visit. The panoramic view offered by the Nobu restaurant, from the 23rd floor, is breathtaking and transforms Barcelona into a kind of model that we can see in 360º. The rooftop will be available for guests not staying at the hotel from sunset.

Nobu is not the tallest hotel in Barcelona: it is the Hotel Arts, which at 154 meters high is also the tallest building in Barcelona. But the top 9 floors of the Arts are occupied by luxury apartments.

Source – Ricard Martin – https://www.timeout.es/barcelona/es/noticias/el-rooftop-mas-alto-de-barcelona-abrira-en-junio-050923

In case you didn’t know since January of this year we have a new Food Waste Prevention Law, in our last issue of Magazine events special sustainability (which you can read here) we tell you this and more keys about sustainable catering.

The purpose, according to the association, is twofold. “On the one hand, it responds to the growing need derived from the increase in social and environmental awareness among catering companies and customers, thus providing added value to professionals in the sector certified to this standard.

On the other hand, pre-defined criteria are provided to meet sustainability requirements at all stages of the productivity and service chain”.

They offer this service from two different alternatives: accompaniment and certification or only certification (for those organizations with the requirements already implemented).

Source – https://www.eventoplus.com/noticias/aec-lanza-una-nueva-certificacion-de-sostenibilidad-para-caterings/

As we explained in our last magazine, generating legacy in the destination is one of the main challenges for event organizers today. Although it will not be an easy task, it is true that more and more tools in the form of associations, organizations or foundations are being made available to convention bureaus to work on it. Here are some examples of tools you can use to make your events leave a legacy at the destination.

#MEET4IMPACT

As destinations become more aware of the impact of the legacy, new organizations have emerged to accompany them on their journey. This is the case with the non-profit #MEET4IMPACT, a collaborative project designed with the vision of transforming the events industry. This will be achieved by generating a movement to create a positive impact with its actors and events. Its mission is to help organizations and communities define, manage, measure, communicate and maximize positive social impact through events.

Flanders has already benefited from their support: its convention bureau is working with the organization to develop a strategy for legacy creation and impact measurement, with which they will try to guide the region’s events agenda over the next two years. Their fields of expertise will be the starting point of a conference roadmap with broader legacies and concrete impacts, working on four specific event cases.

GDS

Sustainability “seeks to mitigate the negative effects that our activity generates on people and the planet,” says GDS Senior Changemaker, Impact &Events, Beatriz Ibáñez. Ibanez’s company’s acronym refers to the Global Destination Sustainability Movement, the platform specializing in identifying or helping to create “thriving places and communities enabled by tourism and regenerative events.”

From this movement, they annually launch one of the most important global rankings on sustainability, in which the 30 most experienced cities in this area are evaluated: the GDS-Index. Of the three categories in which destinations are awarded, one Spanish city is in the top three in the ranking of destinations that have improved the most with respect to previous editions in 2022, winning the bronze medal: Barcelona.

The development of this index uses a methodology based on 70 criteria, both qualitative and quantitative, which evaluates four key areas of each destination’s sustainable performance: the city’s environmental strategy and infrastructure, its social sustainability performance, support for industry suppliers, and the destination’s management organization strategy and initiatives.

Ship2B

The Ship2B Foundation is another great initiative that has emerged in the quest to generate legacy, although in its case, working from the companies at the destination. Their mission is to drive the impact economy: they seek to promote change, inspire, generate knowledge and valuable connections through the Ship2B Impact Forum. This annual event – which in its last edition was attended by more than 400 business leaders, investors and administrations – seeks to drive an impact economy where businesses, in addition to being profitable, contribute intentionally and measurably to solving societal and planetary challenges.

Eventsost Key

In addition to providing information on how to organize a sustainable event, countries and cities can have their own tools to monitor the sustainability level of events. Without leaving the city of the Pilarica, Zaragoza CB works with Eventsost Key, a digital platform that offers organizers instruments for sustainable events: a carbon footprint calculator, a database of resources or a list of the most sustainable suppliers in the city, among other tools.

Source – https://www.eventoplus.com/articulos/4-herramientas-que-todo-destino-debe-utilizar-para-iniciarse-en-el-legado/