Connect with us

Events

Skift Meetings – Meet in Fort Myers With Eco-Friendly Event Options

Published

on

Spread the love

As meeting planners seek out more sustainable options, the Fort Myers area is carving out a thoughtful space in the meetings landscape where scenic beauty meets purpose-driven planning. With more than 290,000 square feet of meeting space and 12,500 hotel rooms, Fort Myers’ islands, beaches, and neighborhoods offer everything planners need to design meaningful events. 

Getting there is easy, with seamless access via Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) and local transport options to accommodate groups of any size. The area’s off-site venues — set against the backdrop of the Gulf — add something truly special. Not to mention local professional event planners to help your event go off without a hitch. 

But what truly sets the greater Fort Myers area apart isn’t just the logistics — it’s the atmosphere. Known for its calm pace, restorative natural settings, and iconic white-sand beaches, this is a place where attendees can truly unwind, connect, and recharge. 

And in a time when travelers are increasingly mindful of their environmental impact, Fort Myers and its surrounding neighborhoods also offer planners something increasingly important: a variety of eco-friendly venues and hands-on community programs that invite attendee participation.

Convene and Go Green

Fort Myers’ local officials and organizations have been working for decades to preserve and protect the area’s unique environment. That commitment evolves every year — and it’s one that meeting planners can be part of.

“Many planners are looking for opportunities to give back to the communities where they hold their conferences, fulfill their sustainability objectives, and nurture lasting attendee connections with one another,” said Jill Vance, Director of Sales at the destination marketing organization for Fort Myers- Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods. “We have quite a few options that check all three boxes.”

Popular corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities include beach cleanups, oyster bed restoration, and mangrove planting — hands-on group experiences that support local ecosystems while encouraging team bonding. Recently, one corporate group planted 1,800 sea oats along the beach to help prevent future flooding. Sea oats naturally build dunes, offering a lasting environmental benefit. Many participants return in the future to see the lasting impact for themselves. 

These hands-on efforts help companies elevate their brand reputation and resonate with sustainability-minded sponsors and attendees. They also allow teams to connect with the natural beauty that defines the Fort Myers area, from the mangrove forests of Sanibel to the turquoise waters of the Gulf.

Photo Credit: Fort Myers – Island, Beaches and Neighborhoods

A Countywide Commitment

The area’s sustainability efforts extend far beyond team-building opportunities. Fort Myers and surrounding areas are home to more than 120,000 acres of conserved land, including over two-thirds of Sanibel Island, which remains protected as conservation land. 

At J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, groups can spot up to 245 bird species, alligators, manatees, and bottlenose dolphins. Guided tram rides and mindfulness walks with local naturalists also offer memorable ways to immerse attendees in nature.

The county’s Conservation 20/20 program — an environmental land acquisition and management initiative — has already protected over 31,000 acres across 170 properties, including 52 nature preserves. The county continues to invest in new conservation opportunities to ensure that these green spaces remain accessible to both residents and visitors.

Through the destination’s partnership with Kind Traveler on an initiative called Every Stay Gives Back, it’s easy for planners and organizations to have meeting attendees back as part of their events. This turnkey program supports one of four local charities: Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Keep Lee County Beautiful, Coastal Watch, and Captains for Clean Water. Whether planning a leadership retreat or a company-wide offsite, Every Stay Gives Back offers a turnkey way to make a meaningful impact.

Where to Educate and Engage

Perhaps the best example of sustainability, innovation, and community coming together is the BEC at EFC Farm in Fort Myers. Born from resilience in the wake of Hurricane Ian, this working farm and event venue recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Education and Event Center: a purpose-built space that integrates education, sustainability, and community engagement.

The BEC offers a distinctly local alternative to traditional meeting venues — one that’s equal parts experience and education. Groups can participate in hands-on workshops, aquaponic farm tours, and sustainable agriculture programming. Its zero-waste model and aquaponics/hydroponics systems use up to 90% less water than traditional farming, demonstrating how innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.

The BEC fosters creativity and connection in a peaceful, natural setting for corporate retreats and gatherings. Custom food and beverage packages, curated by an exclusive catering partner, feature fresh, local ingredients with sustainability at the forefront.

“Attendees want more than just a change of scenery,” said Vance. “They want to walk away with a sense of purpose. That’s exactly what venues like the BEC deliver.”

Photo Credit: Fort Myers – Island, Beaches and Neighborhoods

Key offerings include:

  • Corporate Retreats & Gatherings: A space designed to foster creativity, collaboration, and connection.
  • Sustainability & Education: Hands-on workshops, farm tours, and programs focused on sustainable agriculture.
  • Zero-Waste Commitment: Dedicated to minimizing environmental impact through innovative aquaponics and hydroponics systems that use 90% less water than traditional farming.
  • Curated Food & Beverage Packages: Provided through an exclusive catering partner with a focus on sustainability.
  • Community Engagement: Interactive sustainability programs that invite businesses and local groups to participate.

From conservation-driven venues to immersive CSR activities, Fort Myers’ islands, beaches, and neighborhoods offer planners purposeful ways to foster connection, ignite inspiration, and leave a lasting impact.

For teams looking to slow down, engage with purpose, and meet in a setting that reflects their values, Fort Myers and surrounding areas offer a fresh perspective — and a breath of fresh air.

For more information about hosting an event in the Fort Myers area and to submit RFPs, click here

This content was created collaboratively by Fort Myers – Island, Beaches and Neighborhoods and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.

Events

Expo 2025 Osaka, Part Three: More Experience Design Ideas from the Pavilions

Published

on

By

Spread the love







Expo 2025 Osaka, Part Three: More Experience Design Ideas from the Pavilions – Event Marketer


















































Please enable JavaScript to view this website.


















































Continue Reading

Events

Cvent’s AI Makeover Targets Planners, Hotels, and the Future of Sourcing

Published

on

By

Spread the love

Cvent has launched CventIQ, embedding AI across its event management and sourcing ecosystem. 

At the Skift Meetings Forum last September, Aggarwal acknowledged that the company had lagged in AI innovation. At that point, Cvent only offered AI through writing assistants and basic integrations. The new updates represent a significant expansion of AI capabilities across the platform.

The reveal was the main focus of its Cvent CONNECT hybrid conference that drew 10,000 attendees. In-person attendee gathered in San Antonio for a second year running, but the conference is moving to Nashville for 2026.

Innovative Sessions Snapshots

Among the new AI-powered mentioned in Aggarwal’s keynote, “Snapshots” stood out as particularly innovative. This feature works through the Cvent mobile app, where attendees can view a live transcript of session content. When they hear something noteworthy, they tap the screen to “snapshot” that moment. The system saves that section and collects saved snapshots together, then AI helps it aggregate them into personalized highlight reels and daily session summaries.

The snapshots feature is intriguing and potentially a game changer because it uses proven AI technology for transcribing and summarizing content in a clever way. Beyond integrating it into the main event app, Cvent is empowering attendees to personalize takeaways, rather than leaving the summarizing entirely to AI.

If the system works and organizers promote app downloads, this should improve the personalized summaries and make attendees more likely to use them due to the IKEA Effect, which suggests people place higher value on things they help create.

This feature could prove popular and generate valuable data for planners, provided it works well and attendees embrace the technology. Understanding when a session resonates is key to demonstrating its value, while pinpointing the most interesting discussion points should generate uniquely useful follow-ups for attendees.

Navigating Sales

CventIQ is not only enhancing content consumption but also boosting the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN) capabilities, a platform used by more than 200,000 planners to source 48 million room nights worth $18 billion in 2024.

Targeting CSN’s valuable planner user base feels similar to using LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Sales teams see comprehensive planner overviews with event details and the entire organization. They can search for planners that are a good match for the property or for those sourcing in competing markets. AI can generate email notifications with a list of recommended planners and help craft a relevant message instantly.

The Cvent Event Marketing & Management Platform connects with LinkedIn’s marketing tools, enabling planners to share their database of potential event attendees to serve ads to on LinkedIn.

Boosting Property Appeal and Response Speed

CventIQ features extensively throughout Cvent’s used of 3D content. The platform now offers a full 3D immersive visualization of event setups at each property, using Matterport technology for property layout viewing and its own 3D room diagrams powered by Social Tables. The result is a Google Street View-like property listing that it is actively promoting.

“Investing in 3D rich meeting content is truly table stakes for being considered for high-value RFPs,” said Julide Tyrell, senior director, sales, hospitality cloud, Cvent.

3D is embedded in room diagrams with an AI-powered Diagram Assistant feature that allows planners to visualize rooms in various layouts through natural language conversations. This functionality is linked to pre-populated AI-generated proposals that sales teams can create almost instantly.

Cvent wants sales teams to know that response speed is key to winning bids. Cvent said 79% of RFPs are won by the first 3 hotel responses and that using Cvent’s new AI Response Assistant, sales teams can reduce proposal creation time to 81 min, which beats the average first response time of four hours and 10 minutes. Fast responses also trigger a “Top Responder” icon, adding visibility to properties investing in these tools.

The battle for planner attention on CSN is fast-paced, and using AI is becoming necessary to keep up. Smaller properties with limited resources will struggle, but fast movers embracing CventIQ should be ahead, at least for now. To balance the focus on automation and speed, Aggarwal reassured attendees that Cvent believes in a human-led future.

Cvent is providing opportunities for properties to gain more visibility in CSN not only through 3D immersion and AI-generated proposals. Cvent announced a “Sustainability certified” icon for listings to showcase sustainability initiatives, driven by a partnership with BeCause.

The Bigger Picture

Amid the updates and new features, some seem basic and overdue, like custom pages in the exhibitor portal for FAQs. Yet, among the mundane, there are tools that are part of a bigger picture.

The most significant update is Cvent Essentials, a simplified, low-cost, pay-as-you-go version of the Cvent Event Marketing & Management Platform. The product is designed to bring smaller events — including field marketing events — into the Cvent ecosystem. Cvent wants their larger clients to use the platform for all their simpler events, so these events can contribute data to each client’s central hub, “Events+.”

Cvent also announced Cvent Passkey Rooming List Essentials, a simplified version of the Cvent Passkey room block management software, aimed at smaller hotel properties.

Simplified Cvent tools may not feel revolutionary, but they’re essential for a complete strategic meetings management program. Large companies can roll out Cvent across different teams and geographies with varying resources, all on-brand with strict guardrails. The same applies to hotels and venues, where large chains and properties likely already use Cvent for RFPs. Now smaller properties can interface with planners using standardized room block tools.

Some announcements reveal integration of recent acquisitions into Cvent platforms. The AI-powered attendance insights feature from Splash is now integrated into Cvent, predicting final registration numbers four weeks out. Jifflenow’s meetings management and Reposite vendor marketplace are integrated, with vendors partnering with a property featured in the property’s CSN listing, boosting visibility.

Cvent appears to have made good use of its 200 staff dedicated to AI, with CventIQ’s AI upgrades visible across most of the Cvent ecosystem.

Correction: An earlier version of this story wrongly said that the “snapshots” feature used AI to summarize the saved sections of the transcript.

Continue Reading

Events

Trade Show Industry Updates: News, Data, Trends

Published

on

By

Spread the love







Trade Show Industry Updates: News, Data, Trends – Event Marketer
















































Please enable JavaScript to view this website.


















































Continue Reading

Trending

© 2024 247News.co.in | All Rights Reserved