Following more than a decade in Las Vegas, Cvent’s marquee event relocated to San Antonio in 2024 (where they’re returning in June 2025), welcoming approximately 4,000 planners, marketers and sourcing and travel experts along with representatives from venues, vendors and destinations to the Henry B. González Convention Center. (San Antonio will also host MPI’s 2026 World Education Congress, June 2-4.

"Cvent CONNECT is an event for the event industry ecosystem. No audience appreciates in-person events more than this audience, and they come to collaborate, brainstorm and experience what we at Cvent do to pull off such a huge event," says Rachel Andrews, senior director, global meetings & events for Cvent. "Cvent CONNECT draws thousands of event, marketing and hospitality professionals from all corners of the country—and even several international locations—to explore the latest industry trends and network with their peers. It is one of the largest event technology conferences in the world."

CONNECT offers professional development opportunities, keynote speeches, peer networking sessions and a chance to explore the surrounding city. Andrews says a personal favorite is the Cvent Excellence Awards Gala, an opportunity to recognize customers and partners who harness the power of the Cvent platform to drive their event programs and group business strategies.

While CONNECT is a hybrid event that offers a strong virtual component, the in-person component is invaluable for attendees.

"Bringing them together for an in-person event is crucial for building meaningful connections and facilitating face-to-face interactions," Andrews says. "Live events allow room for spontaneous conversations, networking opportunities and the chance to organically make connections. While virtual and hybrid events have their place—they can make events more accessible for those who can’t travel, for example—in-person gatherings are really the gold standard for events."

APPEALING TO SPECIFIC NEEDS

While planning an event of this size can always have challenges—managing the budget, coordinating logistics and ensuring each attendee has a seamless experience—Andrews says one of the main challenges with Cvent CONNECT is balancing offerings to make them useful for event professionals, marketers and hospitality professionals.

"We help attendees craft the experience they want by having different content ‘tracks’ that appeal to their specific needs," she says. "That also contributes to our event’s uniqueness, as we offer attendees a personalized experience with tailored sessions so they can garner actionable insights while at CONNECT that they can take with them when the curtains close."

Ultimately, the success of CONNECT comes down to how effectively the planning team is at bringing the community together.

"We look at numerous metrics, including attendee feedback and key performance indicators such as session attendance, networking interactions and satisfaction ratings from our post-event surveys," Andrews says. "One area [in which] we invest is RFID tracking to make sure we are really paying attention to attendee behavior and what is most popular. We make adjustments to the next year’s agenda and meals based on the RFID timing. It really helps make critical decisions. Many of these tools are already built into Cvent’s platform, so this is really an opportunity for us to put our own tools to use to collect and analyze data so that we can continuously improve our event."

SHOWCASING TECH TOOLS

A major theme of Cvent CONNECT 2024 was something pretty much every meeting professional is paying attention to these days: the value of leaning into artificial intelligence (AI) for event technology. Cvent announced some new AI-powered solutions meant to aid both event professionals/marketers and hospitality professionals.

"Our CEO Reggie Aggarwal spoke about these tools, mentioning our team of more than 200 people in R&D working on AI enhancements and solutions such as our AI Writing Assistant," Andrews says. "For planning Cvent CONNECT, we actually put these tools to use to help with writing content for our event website, attendee communications and other materials, so it was an excellent opportunity to showcase how the newest technology everyone is talking about can be used for something like an in-person event."

Andrews says the most gratifying part of her job is getting to see the positive impact on CONNECT attendees.

"I have a tough crowd considering the main audience for CONNECT is event profs," she says. "Getting the chance to work with other dedicated event professionals to build a four-day event in a premier city is an unmatched experience. We plan for Cvent CONNECT year-round; we are well underway with planning this year and future years, and I look forward to again seeing this event come to life."

A CITY THAT’S A NATURAL FIT

Holding Cvent CONNECT in San Antonio versus Las Vegas means it could become a citywide event.

"We rely heavily on collaboration with the Visit San Antonio team to execute an event that spans multiple city properties and venues, and to showcase all that the city has to offer," Andrews says. "We’re excited to show our attendees again this year how that works and all that it entails compared to working with a single very large venue."

She says Cvent has always had a great partnership with San Antonio, and their city partners know Cvent CONNECT well from the exhibitor and sponsorship side.

"So, hosting our annual conference there felt like a natural fit," Andrews says. "San Antonio’s central location is also something that attracted us given our attendees are spread across the country. The city has so much to offer—it has a deep cultural and historical heritage—and the cuisine and shopping options are another plus. Last year, we organized Cvent CONNECT so attendees would have plenty of time to enjoy San Antonio’s River Walk and other attractions, and we are doing the same this year."

Mario Bass, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Visit San Antonio, says it was a thrill to host the successful Cvent CONNECT 2024, and robust plans are well underway for the 2025 meeting.

"The Alamo City was a hit, with meeting professionals experiencing our destination’s legendary history, culture, cuisine and hospitality," he says. "This was just another example of how we work together in San Antonio, with more than 100 local business partners and organizations collaborating with us to curate experiences and highlight the city’s most treasured assets. Immersion tours were provided across the city to over 300 meeting planners in 2024, and we cannot wait to show off exciting new developments at this summer’s conference."