Hyatt Addresses Hot Topics at IMEX America

This content was created collaboratively by Hyatt and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.

Hyatt’s listening tour of meeting planners’ needs continued at IMEX America. Among the key findings is that planners — many of whom are working on shorter timelines with smaller teams — are seeking partners who can take some of the load off their full plates.

This desire for greater efficiency and support — from planning to sustainability — is at the heart of Together by Hyatt. This customer-centric philosophy is built to anticipate requests, facilitate important tasks, and emphasize the wellbeing of attendees and meeting planners.

A few days after attending IMEX America, Hyatt Senior Vice President of Events, Steve Enselein, sat down with Skift Meetings to discuss the trends he heard from meeting planners. According to Enselein, the three biggest takeaways were:

1. There is genuine optimism for the future of meetings and events, with planners anticipating they will sustain or increase their number of events in 2025.
2. Planners are seeking help to create efficiencies that relieve stress related to shorter booking windows, fewer team members, and reduced budgets.
3. Planners are also seeking assistance and guidance about creating more sustainable events.

“I heard a lot about the need to support each other,” said Enselein about his IMEX experience. “How can we work together more efficiently? How can we streamline processes? How can we make the entire experience feel better?”

Enselein is encouraged that Together by Hyatt – the company’s refreshed approach to meetings and events – addresses these stress points. Key components of Together by Hyatt include:

• Hyatt Planner Portal: This self-service tool stores reservation information, event room diagrams, historic booking and billing information, and more.
• Event Experience Guide: Planners can access current and seasonal menus, meeting room diagrams and video tours, tips for local off-site experiences, wellbeing activity choices, and an entire section dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of your event. This is also where you will find frequently asked questions covering need-to-know information.
• Event Concierge App: This allows for rapid adjustments to temperature, room setup, food and beverage, and other important on-site details.

Additionally, Hyatt complements these digital tools with dedicated teams, including its chefs and experienced planning managers, and a commitment to sustainability — providing sustainability fact sheets detailing each individual hotel’s environmental practices and event-specific impact reports to help planners meet their goals and feel more impactful.

Many Hyatt hotels are offering the Menu of the Day initiative, where daily menus are designed not only to make planning your event easy but also sustainable because the chef uses the same product across multiple events at the hotel. This is designed to help planners reduce planning time, ensure menu items aren’t repeated during a program, and be more environmentally conscious.

When it comes to energy efficiency, budget constraints, and AV costs, planners could consider fewer but more impactful breakouts and individual events such as receptions. Enselein noted that everything from reducing carbon emissions to saving time and money falls under the larger theme of “less is more.”

“Quality over quantity is a really important piece now,” Enselein said.

This content was created collaboratively by Hyatt and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.