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Each episode of GAIN Momentum focuses on timeless lessons to help grow and scale a business in hospitality, travel, and technology. Whether you’re a veteran industry leader looking for some inspiration to guide the next phase of growth or an aspiring executive looking to fast-track the learning process, this podcast is here with key lessons centered around four questions we ask each guest.
GAIN Momentum episode #91: Deeply Human Events and How Media Technology Is Evolving | with Rachelle Peterson
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Adam Mogelonsky: Welcome to the GAIN Momentum Podcast. We are now in our third year of recording and we are starting the year incredibly strong with timeless lessons from Rachelle Peterson, gain advisor and event specialist. Rachelle, how are you?
Rachelle Peterson: I am really well Adam. Thank you for having me. This is great. It's January and New Year Podcast, first week. Brilliant. Love it.
Adam Mogelonsky: Awesome. So we have also our co-host here of Vincent Somsen, and Vincent is coming from Valencia and Rachelle is coming from London, and I am from Toronto.
Rachelle Peterson: But you got two on, on the podcast. So if we into into, into.
Vincent Somsen: I mean, Adam's touch is pretty good. Yeah.[00:01:00]
Adam Mogelonsky: So Rochelle, to start off, let's talk about your global background.
Rachelle Peterson: Uh, gosh. Okay. So I've lived in three of the best cities in the world, New York, Amsterdam, and now London. So I moved from Amsterdam to New York when I was 18 years old, um, back in the mid eighties. Um, then I'm giving my age away, big time here. Um, and absolutely loved it. Lived there for seven years.
Um, uh, did a bit of hospitality background. It's really the only hospitality background. That I have. You know, working in, in restaurants mainly. Um, and, uh, absolutely loved living there. Um, it taught me, New York taught me grit, um, how to move, uh, and adapt, uh, read a room in seconds. Uh, I think hospitality does that to you, right?
Um, it, it really does help you sort of. Learn how to read a room. Um, and it's a great learning [00:02:00] experience. Uh, and then I got married and moved to London 27 years ago. So, um, I think what it's like is, is that you are, you know, like London, uh, New York teacher is your grade, and a London sort of teaches you a strategy and, and partnership and bigger picture.
And I've got the Dutch sort of, you know, straight. Directness. So it's a bit of a mishmash to be honest with you.
Adam Mogelonsky: Or just a synergy,
Rachelle Peterson: Synergy. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it's, it's, I just love to sort of have all of these combinations of all these different cities, um, and all of these different experiences that I've had over diff over the course of, of my adult life. Um, and it's really helped me, I think. You know, communicate in a very effective way.
Um, because I can put myself into other people's sort of, you know, I, I can, I can [00:03:00] relate to a lot of different people from, from lots of different areas, uh, because I have lived in three major cities, um, across the world.
Adam Mogelonsky: Well, another big part of your career path has been mentoring and supporting women in the hospitality industry. Could you start by giving us that one statistic that that points to, uh, employment in the industry, both on the frontline as well as, uh, manager or executive?
Rachelle Peterson: So, um, this is a, a stat that I, I took. Probably about six months ago. Um, and up to 65% of of people that work in hospitality are female. Um, but it's about 13% that are in the C-suite roles. So there is a really big disconnect between C-suite roles and women that are working in hospitality. And I work in.
On the tech side, so on the media side of hospitality. [00:04:00] And you can see that even with CIOs and CTOs, I mean, I don't think anyone can name more than two or three female CTOs of hotel groups. Um, and that's just part and parcel of what is happening in the industry. And, you know, I'm trying to help bring a little bit more of a balance there.
Uh, and I think it's really important that there is a balance there. And, and at the moment, uh, unfortunately there still isn't any of.
Adam Mogelonsky: So along that note. What advice would you give to women and how are you helping women to advance? Uh.
Rachelle Peterson: I think honestly, it's, it's use your voice. Uh, don't wait to be invited to, into a conversation. Uh, do everything you can to build a network, uh, before you actually need that network. Right? Hospitality is a relationship business. Um, this is something that women know how to do [00:05:00] really, really well. So get that coach, um, try to get, uh, you know, learn from, from experiences, from others.
Um, I really wish that I had that. I'd done that years and years ago. I do coach other young females, um, but I didn't start talking, um, to, to women in the industry until much, much later in life. And I wish I would've started that a really long time ago. Um, you don't have to reinvent a wheel, you can learn from others.
Um, and I think it's really important to sort of protect your boundaries. Um, you can be warm and generous, uh, without being available 24 7. And I think a lot of women are, are, you know, constantly available. Um. The women that are in this industry that, that are at C-suite level, they're super, super powerful.
Um, so, so yeah, I think that is a really key component of, of the advice that I would give women, um, if they [00:06:00] wanna, you know, build their careers in hospitality, but not just in hospitality across the board really.
Adam Mogelonsky: One other aspect to this is maternity, which is a second job, and if multiple kids, a third and a fourth and a fifth job. Right.
Rachelle Peterson: Absolutely.
Adam Mogelonsky: what advice would you give to women who. Have a very prominent career path and are ambitious in hospitality, but also have, have, uh, another whole job at home. What advice
would.
Rachelle Peterson: Um, Mary, well, um, I am really lucky. I've got two children and, um, you know, uh, my husband and I really do share, uh, childcare. Um, he actually stayed home, um, for quite a few years. When we first moved to London, um, he was. At home far more than I was. Um, it's really hard to combine. Um, and you need a partner that, um, understands that.
And if you wanna continue with your [00:07:00] career, which a lot of women do, um, then, you know, you need to be able to, to help each other out as much as possible. Um, and, it's not easy, but, um, it, it, you know, you can incorporate, um, incorporate that.
Adam Mogelonsky: Okay.
to shift gears a bit here, um, you know, your, your career has been along the intersection of media, technology, and hospitality. Before we define where that intersection is and the exciting opportunities, could you give us just a brief definition of what we mean by media technology?
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah. Um, so I'm really, uh, I started off in media. 30 odd years ago. Um, so that's working with studios. I started out in theatrical, so working with cinemas, um, and in the print department. And then, um, and I really enjoyed that. So, you know, I worked with all of these different studios, uh, and then at one [00:08:00] point, about 20 years ago.
Um, I got a job offer to work for a company that distributes content in hospitality and airlines and cruise ships. And I thought, Ooh, that's interesting. Um, and, you know, I absolutely adore how media can shape how guests feel. Um, I think media is super, super important. Um, you know. Aspect, especially to get that home away from home feeling.
So when I was able to combine hospitality and media, that was like the ultimate for me. Um, and I absolutely love how that sort of, those windows sort of things come together. Um, you get experiences that you know, during that, that stay where they have these experiences. They will take that with them long after they check out, uh, of a hotel.[00:09:00]
Vincent Somsen: So what kind of content, uh, do we need to think about Rochelle? Is that just for example, in, uh, in a, in a guest room, or can it also be in public spaces? Um, what do you see currently that, that, that is working, that has worked in the past, but might be, you know, shifting.
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah, well things are shifting, right? Um, short content, uh, people's attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. So, you know, the sort of movie that you would've gotten 10, 15 years ago. I mean, I started out, you know, distributing movies in, in hotels, and once that is still part and parcel of the sort of entertainment systems that you have in hotels.
People don't have time anymore to, to, to really delve into it. So you can see the shift in, uh, bring your own device. So even in airlines, people are bringing their own laptops, their own, you know, tablets, their, their, their phones, and they have that content and they bring that content with them. So [00:10:00] things have moved quite significantly, especially with the advent of social media.
Um, so short form content. Um, and then I think what's really important to recognize for hospitality specifically is content in different languages. Um, yes, a lot of people speak English, but if you have a hotel that, you know, get a lot guests from. The Middle East, you really wanna make sure that you have content that suits that demographic, right?
Especially if you have a leisure hotel. There's a very big difference between business hotels and leisure hotels. If you have leisure hotels, and you know, I know you've got kids as well, when kids make the decisions in the household, they also make decisions when you travel. Um, so you've gotta make sure that you've got, you know, a little bit of everything but.
Short form content, content in different languages. Um, you know, if you are a business hotel, make sure you've got, you know, news, um, in, in, you [00:11:00] know, different types of news channels. Um, sports, um, always sells. And then wellness, um, especially. When you start at the beginning of the year, um, wellness content does really, really well in hotels.
Um, so, you know, make sure you've got some yoga videos and things like that. Uh, a lot of women don't like to go to the gym in a hotel, um, but they will, they will get their yoga mat out. Um, and if you've got some, some wellness videos on your, on your TV screen, I actually like to watch that kind of stuff.
So there is, there is, there are definitely changes happening within the industry.
Adam Mogelonsky: So just for clarity, when you say, uh, yoga videos. In the t uh, on the tv, in the room. You're talking about in room programming, um, for wellness. Uh, but of course the short form videos, uh, that content may be more applicable to getting people in the room, such as on Instagram and TikTok. Is that what you're
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah, in spam, [00:12:00] TikTok, YouTube, um, I think YouTube is probably the, the most watched, um, content in a, in a hotel room. Um, so, you know, just make sure that that. Guests have access to different types of content. I mean, there are always people that are not gonna even turn a TV on anymore. Um, but you know, realistically, uh, there's a lot of casting happening these days and there is a lot of short form content as if as a hotel.
As long as you look at your, at your own demographic, so you know, where do your guests come from, the type of guests that you have. You can you on your systems, right? And to see what are these people, what are for. Um, you can, you can see what these days with the digital technologies, you can see these days, what, what guests are watching.
Um, it makes no sense to have things that you're paying for as a Hotelier, uh, and have [00:13:00] an all singing, an all dancing sort of, you know, technology system and nobody's watching it. Um, so just be smart about it. Look at, um, what your guests are, are, are watching. Look at what your guests want, um, and then change accordingly.
Vincent Somsen: And how do you see the, um, the specific technology tools? So, um, con contributing to that, uh, I mean, nine outta 10 times when I check into a hotel, um, it's gotten better over, over the years, but the airplay function or costing function just doesn't work, or the password is incorrect, or you need a code or you need to call the, the reception.
And, um, how important nowadays, you know, is that, and do you see a lot of progress, uh, for example, for the last 12, 24 months in, in, you know, choosing the right technology to meet those media needs?
Rachelle Peterson: It is really, um, I think that the one thing that a lot of hotels do not understand is, is that their guest demographic is from really, [00:14:00] really young. To my parents' age. Um, if you have a hotel that happens to have a lot of, you know, older people, um, they do not my dad, my mom and dad. Not something that they know how to do.
Um, and so it's much more complicated and think when CTOs and CIOs make decision to have the all singing and all dancing latest technologies. How to do that. They know how to control that. They're very tech savvy, uh, whereas maybe a great proportion of the guests are not. So yes, costing is great. It a, it needs to work and it needs to work fast, right?
I mean, we all have very short attention span. So if something doesn't work in a couple of seconds, you've lost them. Um, but make sure that you just. Do, just do costing that there is something else there as well for, so that you do have a couple of TV channels. It doesn't [00:15:00] have to be great. You, you don't need 200 TV channels.
Nobody wants to go scroll through the GUI through 200 TV channels. No one wants to do that. You know, fi figure out which 10 to 15 TV channels are the most popular and make sure you've got those you don't need the best, uh, and then have a good costing solution. Um, and something with a QR code usually works pretty well, but the technology keeps moving.
And of course, these, these contracts that these hotels have can be easily seven years long. But by that time. After seven years, the technology has changed so much. So you've gotta be more adaptable, uh, and try to find a solution that is as adaptable as possible. It's actually a really difficult, you know, uh, it's a difficult decision to make because, A, it's expensive and b, contracts tend to be long, um, and technology moves so fast.
Adam Mogelonsky: I was gonna add a point there. You mentioned the word [00:16:00] expense and uh, I immediately think seven years lifecycle on any CapEx. Um, how do you, how do you predict what's gonna happen in five years time with regards to the physical changes that would happen to accommodate future media needs? And I'm thinking here that it is much easier to update some software systems than it is to rip out televisions and install new, new cabling.
How do you, how do you future proof.
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah, it's almost impossible to future proof, especially, you know, when you're looking at life cycles of TVs. Forget about cabling. Even in, you know, especially in Europe where hotels have, you know, they're older, they've, they're in old buildings. Uh, they don't necessarily have, you know, all of the infrastructure, their zones with the wifi.
Um, it, it can extremely complex. Um, it's easier in, you know, I don't know, in the Middle East where, [00:17:00] where, you know, cities are being built from the ground up and, and you know, you don't have problems. But in Europe it, you know, it is really, really difficult. Um, are you able to future proof you can only do so much, um, lifecycles of televisions, it's really interesting because I was in Tokyo, um, year before last, and I was in a really, really nice five star hotel in the middle of Tokyo. lovely hotel, little bit tired. Um, the first thing I do, because it's part and parcel of my job, is to look at a TV and I look at a TV and I check the model number of the, the television. The TV was 17 years old. It was. It really did need to be changed. Um, 17 years old that TV was so, so, yeah. So it, it, it wasn't, it wasn't great, but because these things, you [00:18:00] know, these upgrades can be super, super expensive.
You have to have a really good, uh, CTO, um, that can. You know, understands, um, the different players within the market, and that's what consultants and advisors can come in really, really handy, right? They, they, they know a lot of these things. Um, costing is definitely the future, but there, there's a lot of things that still need to be done, uh, in order to get it right.
Said. You know, some of this technology is a little bit older and you start, go into costing too soon. The leaps and bounds that that technology takes, by the time four, five years roll around, it's, it's obsolete.
Adam Mogelonsky: Pretty profound point, uh, to touch on there in terms of giving people some ideas for what they gotta prepare for. Um, Rachelle, one other key [00:19:00] area where you're, you're involved in is, uh, leading and curating events and looking at events. Perspective, but also looking at them from the social and community perspective and storytelling.
Can you talk about what makes an event memorable in 2026?
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah. Um, so events are changing. Um, events that you did before, COVID were very different events. Now, uh, I hear this all the time and, and I'm the best example of this, right? So I buy tickets to major hospitality and media events because those are the two types of events to, um, and I get the tickets. Um. I don't even show up on the show floor anymore.
I definitely don't go into the conference. Uh, I mean, it sounds really horrible, right? I don't go to the conference. Um, I don't go into, [00:20:00] into, onto the show or a trade floor. Uh, maybe I'll just do a quick. No, everything happens at the executive breakfast that are being, uh, that are being organized at the, the drinks that you have, you know, in the evening with a bunch of clients at dinner.
Much more intimate settings, uh, that will actually help you business grow. Um. Yes, everyone gets together at the same place, and that's what's so important and what is key. Um, but as far as I'm concerned, the businesses being done outside of these events at the little intimate sort of parties. And it's the one thing that we do really, really well again, is, is to bring people together in one space, whether that is for an executive breakfast or whether that is for a VIP party.
Um.
20 years I went. [00:21:00] How many business cards did you get? And I said, oh, two three. And it was like incense. He was like, how? Like, how are you gonna follow up? I said, don't worry about it. I spoke to the, you know, CEO of this, the CEO of that. I had a lovely conversation. He'll remember like, whatcha talking about? He'll remember I said, he talks about.
Or we had a conversation about his father-daughter dance that he was having. The week after, I'll give him a call or I'll send him an email asking him how that dance was, how did little Sophia, how, how was it for her? Because that is what, what is memorable is the storytelling, and it's the connection that you make.
That is memorable. And the, the story about little Sophia is actually a true story because within a month I had a six, a six figure order that came in because I followed up not with my product, uh, they knew who I was, but because I actually took the time to ask [00:22:00] him about his father-daughter dance. Um, and I think that is what, is what makes an event memorable.
Um. It was like that five years ago, and it's like that in 2020. Stop selling your services, start talking to people on a human level, um, because you'll be much more memorable and you will be much better at your job overall.
Adam Mogelonsky: So that whole idea of the business cards there and. It comes back to, I guess, um, the whole idea of what we measure in order to gauge success of a conference event, trade show, whatever. And you're talking about more human and qualitative efforts, asking about, uh, connecting with people. What, what should people measure?
Rachelle Peterson: I mean, you can measure, you know, the orders that you end up because [00:23:00] you know an event costs money, right? And so if you, as a company spend, I dunno, for the sake of thousand. Go to an event because you've got a booth and you got, and you got flights and you got all of that, you know, within your sort of 12 months, you need to sort of be able to figure out how much money did, did this event generate.
At the end of the day, it's the, it's, it's how you do it. The ROI will be there. Uh, you know, in my opinion, the ROI is better when. You connect with someone on a human level than when you try to sell your services. Because I tell you something, especially in hospitality tech, the competition is huge.
I mean, the number of just. PS systems and wifi providers and all of that's unbelievable. How are you gonna stand out, right? How not by your product? Your product may be amazing, but you know what? [00:24:00] The CTO of that hotel group that you've been trying to court, he is gonna be talking to 20 other people that sell a very similar product to yours.
How are you gonna stand out? You're not gonna be standing up by, by by explaining your product. Yes, they need to know fundamentally how your product works. But if you do not connect with someone like that on a, on a, on a personal level, if, if, if you, if you, you know, you just do your job, um, and you don't look beyond, you've lost them.
Um, and as far as I'm concerned, ROI, for me, has always worked better if I connect with someone on. A human level on a storytelling level.
Vincent Somsen: It's, it's funny that you say that, Rachelle, because um, you know, we've been, you know, you've joined GAIN, I think, what is it, half a year ago, a little bit more. Um, and since then we also connected on LinkedIn and it seems that you take that human level or personal approach, [00:25:00] you know, from an event point of view, uh, to LinkedIn as well.
You, you, you write very personally and, um, make it more human than, uh, pitching or ilsy. Um, is what, what it seems to me at least.
Rachelle Peterson: Absolutely true. I, I decided when I, when I went through redundancy 18 months ago, and I stopped working in corporate and I had a corporate career for 30 years. Uh, and I thought, I really enjoyed my corporate career. Don't get me wrong. I really, really did. Um, but what I realized quite quickly was, is that, you know, working in corporate, so I worked at CNN.
Very easy to get through a door. When you work at a major corporation like that, much more difficult when you have a consultancy called LO Group, um, to get into the door. Um, so I realized quite quickly that, you know, people are not buying from companies. They're buying from people. And so, [00:26:00] you know.
LinkedIn is my, my social media of choice. I am on, on on some of the others, but I'm not very active. Um, but because I'm building my own business, LinkedIn made a lot of sense for me and I realized quite quickly that human personal stories work a lot better. Get me a lot more interaction in my dms because that's where the business happens, uh, than anything else.
So even if I were to, and, and, you know, you can look it up. I mean, when we did in to Marsala, I did. Quite a few, uh, LinkedIn, you know, stories, but there were always stories that also talked about the event. Um, we have no vacancy coming up in February. I'll be doing some LinkedIn stories, but there will be stories that will have a component and that.
Talk about the gain event at no vacancy, [00:27:00] but it'll also have some other bits and pieces in there. And I weave my personal, my personal life into that. Uh, and I think that is what really helps to sell. Um, because like I said, people buy from people. They don't necessarily buy from businesses. Branding Right.
Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah. And, and, uh, you mentioned, you mentioned two events here that I'd like to segue into. You mentioned in Selita, Marcala and No Vacancy London, two events that gain our organization is, is involved with designing events and specifically around your points of warmth. Um, developing personal relationships at events and really adding that deeply human premium.
I'm wondering if you could touch base on those two events and how you have helped design those events to really maximize audience [00:28:00] engagement.
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah, I was my favorite last year. It was small. It was, you know, intimate. It was, uh, it was a local event. It, you know, it was all about wine and food and technology and, uh, connecting with a community and building something special. Um, it was a hundred percent different from anything else. And I think that's what makes an event memorable,
especially for
game.
Adam Mogelonsky: Sorry to interrupt your, but could you start off and just tell people what Selita Marcala is? Uh, you know, where is Marcala? Yeah.
Rachelle Peterson: It's marsala in Sicily. Uh, it's a beautiful sea coast town, uh, in, in Sicily. Um, it's where Marsala wine comes from. So we visited quite a few vineyards, which is one of my favorite things, by the way. It's great. Um, but I think what made that, uh, that [00:29:00] event so special is the intimacy and. The whole local community is, you know.
Participates in this event. It is a, it's an event where, where, you know, uh, all of the local hotels, and they're very, they're small hotels, right? It's a small town, but all the restaurants, um, everyone comes together, um, to try and, and, and, and help marsala to become more of a tourist attraction to help the local hotel schools.
Um, it's a small event, but it's.
Explains a little bit more about, you know, the, the, the connection of the community with hospitality and restaurant business. Um, they have two, I think they have two. I was three hotel schools in Marcala alone,
Vincent.
Vincent Somsen: Yeah, they have a lot of hotel schools, a lot of students that, that, uh, are really eager to, to learn. And also it, it's, um, you know, Sicily, it's a, um, [00:30:00] it, there's a lot of opportunity, uh, to, to, you know, invest into the island in the local community and hospitality is, is one of the best ways to do so. To make a lively city, to make a lively neighborhood.
Um. The fact that, you know, there were so many students and, uh, that they really wanted to, you know, uplift this entire city, um, uh, through their expertise, through their skill, through their passion. Um, well, it's a really community, community driven, uh, events. I, I'd say.
Rachelle Peterson: Yeah, and it sort of helps the, the, the, the city to retain their youth. What you don't want to do is that, you know, for them to all, to go to Milan and Rome and, and you know, you want the tourists to come to Sicily and, and, and explore the wines and explore the restaurants and make it a thriving community.
Um, and if you have two or three hotel schools, um, and everyone leaves. Then, you know, you educate these, these, these young [00:31:00] teenagers, but then they go, but, you know, try to attract them to stay, um, is, is, is really what this is all about. And it's trying to, to build that up and build that community and, and, and have people come in and, and enjoy, you know, Marcala and, and all it has to offer.
Um, and, and giving these kids a reason to stay and, and to build and to build that themselves in, in Sicily. And so it was so different and it was, you know, everyone that went, um, they only had lovely things to say about it. It was so well organized. It was so well done. Um, it was fabulous.
Adam Mogelonsky: Um, on a, on a different scale now, uh, looking ahead to no vacancy, London for reference, we are recording on January 9th and no vacancy is February 25th and 26th. [00:32:00] Center.
Rachelle Peterson: Yes.
Adam Mogelonsky: Tell us about this event. Uh, what size? Oh, best weather ever. Yeah. Not raining at all. No. Chance of rain?
Rachelle Peterson: None whatsoever or snow or ice or anything like that? Um, no. No. Vacancy is a, is a, is is brand new to London. It's, it's originally an Australian show. It's been going on there, I think seven or eight years. Uh, and they now brought it to London. Um, and uh, we are very, very lucky to be involved with them, um, with the organizers called Terrapin.
Um, and. It, it's, it's creating, and I live in London and it's already creating quite a lot of buzz. We've about seven, eight weeks out, um, at the moment. And it's a conference. You know, it's, it's a, a middle size, I'd say. Um, it has, you know, the, the usual, the boots, it has a conference, [00:33:00] it has stages.
It has a fantastic, um, sort of startup program, so especially for hospitality technology startups, which is brilliant. Um, and then, uh, we have a fantastic, uh, VIP party, um, just outside of the Excel Center. Waterfront, um, which is organizing, um.
Adam Mogelonsky: So with a VIP event, you're getting people, um, after a long day, uh, standing on their feet at a, at a expo. And then you use this tool for social lubrication, uh, called alcohol.
Um,
Rachelle Peterson: Absolutely there will be alcohol available. There will be bites and a little bit of food with conversation. Um, it's a relaxed atmosphere. Um, it's right on the [00:34:00] Thames. Hopefully the weather will help. It'll be beautiful. Um, and yeah, it's just, it's just. A chance to connect with people in a different type of setting.
And I think if you are going and if you are on the show floor or if you have a booth, then you get a certain number of people. If you then also either attend or sponsor, uh, the game VIP event, you are basically. Extending your investment in no vacancy with, you know, adding all of that and having all of these VIPs come that are coming through the door at the front.
Um, and, and I think that's what it's all about. It's, it's, it's extending your, your day over a glass of wine or over a beer. Um, and, and just talking to people on a, on a much more casual level is what we talked about earlier, right? In, [00:35:00] in the podcast. I think it's so important.
There's a, there's a time and place for having, you know, conversations in booths and talking business, but there's also a time and place for having a different type of conversation. Um, a little bit more human and a little bit more.
Adam Mogelonsky: more.
warmth.
Rachelle Peterson: Connection. That's it. Exactly. And I think this is this, this conference will be doing a bit of both. So you get the best of both worlds, which is what I think is brilliant. It's what I do it for. It's what? It's what it's all about is being able to do, you know, you do the business side of it, but you also are able to go and then have a relaxing drink with. This Hotelier or with that supplier?
Adam Mogelonsky: So to close out here. Let's look at this event, the VIP event that you and Vincent have crafted. And let's draw it back to this whole idea of [00:36:00] audience engagement through a community and what goes into a VIP event. You obviously have the ones that people are always thinking of. You have the alcohol, uh, light bites, great food, uh, relaxing setting, maybe a live band, maybe some good media technology that's in there.
Yeah, What are some other things, Rochelle, that people aren't thinking of in terms of designing a great event that builds community?
Rachelle Peterson: Ooh, that's a, I mean, you know, with social media, um, it, it is very much a, um, you know, we all go, um, we'll have a, we'll have a great time. It's all being sort of. Photographed and filmed, um, to be ready for social. Um, it's all about storytelling and, and, and giving people that sort of sense of warmth and community.
[00:37:00] Those are the kind, the types of things that make an event worthwhile and that make, you know, people keep coming back to, to something like that. Um, and it's just a way, it's a different way of connecting. It's, you know, you can start a conversation with someone at a booth and then find. You're, you're meeting up with them at a, at a VIP event and your conversation takes a, a total turn.
You actually get to know someone. Um, and I think that's the, that, that's probably the, the best way I can describe why this is so important, um, that you just don't do your sort of nine to, but you also, you. Different types of conversations with, with, with people that, you know, you wouldn't necessarily talk about in a booth.
Um, and you being a, you're being able to be a little bit more relaxed and, uh, it doesn't, you don't need a lot. You just need the right atmosphere, the right [00:38:00] and the right people. Uh, and I think we got all three. Um. Done. We we're doing all three at, at no vacancy, London. We'll have to, we have the right event, we'll have the right people and the right ambience and, and we've got beer.
I mean, it's brilliant.
Vincent Somsen: What else?
Rachelle Peterson: What else?
do we
need?
Adam Mogelonsky: Wine.
Rachelle Peterson: Uh, yeah, that's, I'm not a beer drinker because, and even though I'm Dutch, I'm not a beer drinker.
Um, so yeah, one will be really good.
Adam Mogelonsky: Well, that's a great way to end it off in terms of how to craft a great event, bringing together events and media and crafting that all for, uh, a modern day audience that is overloaded with technology and looking for human connection.
Uh, Vincent and Rachelle, is there anything important that we haven't covered that you wanna close out with?
Rachelle Peterson: Um, not really, except if you, you know, if there is any interest in, in sponsorship, um, DM me, look me up on LinkedIn. Uh, I'm always on LinkedIn every single [00:39:00] day. Um, I know crazy. Um, and yeah, I'm, I'm happy we're happy to craft something special for you. Just, just let me know.
Vincent Somsen: If you're a listening to this, uh, feel free to d us as well to get an invite for the party. If you're offender, we'll think about it, but uh,
Rachelle Peterson: I think, I think we have to get the, the, the ratio of vendors and hoteliers really. Right. And, and I can tell you that, you know, the ratio, um, has to be at least 50% hoteliers. Um, and once you get that ratio right, um, you.
Adam Mogelonsky: Magic. Thanks so much for coming on the show.