IRF Education Invitational, Las Vegas, 2023

Jun 11, 2023, Industry Education

Last week I had the privilege of being an invited buyer at the 2023 Incentive Research Foundation's yearly Education Invitational.  I hadn't attended since before Covid and I could sneak in the time to do so this year. The event brings together over 500 of the world's leading incentive suppliers and buyers, with over 50% of the attendees being CEOs or owners.  So everyone was a top decision-maker, yet we all had something to learn from each other. 

The educational forums were informative on various levels, depending on one's role in the industry.  As a DMC supplier to my clients I could compare notes with other DMCs on the new post-Covid difficulties facing all of us, learn about collective preferences of what makes an appealing incentive program and review the key findings from employee participant surveys.  We also discussed sustainability issues and the differences between American and European efforts and interest in sustainability which are not yet on an equal level.  And perhaps most importantly, almost all topics came back down to effective communication between every level of buyer and supplier in the chain so that expectations are met at every phase of an event. What was most concerning to 91% of those surveyed was the difficulty in staffing and service levels in the  properties we use for our clients.  The next area of concern was the cleanliness of properties and the food and beverage outlet availability.  All of these concerns are certainly the result of lost jobs in the hospitality industry, where we have been the slowest recovering ndustry in the world. 

During our social meals, parties and activities we got the chance to meet old friends, old and new clients, and supplier-partners and learn the latest news from the hotels, resorts and convention and visitors bureaus.  The IRF event is a valuable tool for DMCs to keep up-to-date on the destination information that our clients rely upon us to know and to help inform their decision-making.  I look forward to attending next year's event and seeing how the industry will evolve in the coming year.