The Connections Luxury team in Madeira events and marketing executive, Connections Luxury Hannah Whitney
I got my degree in International Events Management at the University of Surrey and immediately started looking for jobs. I started as an events assistant at Connections Luxury, which organises international networking events for those working in travel, and was later promoted to events and marketing executive. So far, I have coordinated 18 virtual and in-person events – in
Barcelona, Madeira, Seoul, Tokyo, Oman, the Philippines and the US. This includes finding venues, arranging travel and catering, checking audiovisual needs and building strong relationships
with suppliers, venues and destination management companies. What I love most is the ‘wow, I did that!’ moment when I see an event I worked hard on come together. People might perceive conference travel as boring or dull, but it can be really exciting – the experiential element of our events is what really brings them to life. It’s true that travel can be demanding when you’re going to so many different places – it’s a very fast-paced environment, and you have to keep ideas fresh. But despite the challenges, it’s a really exciting industry to be in, and I’d love to run my own team one day.
MY WEEK IN TRAVEL Our Connections events usually start on a Thursday – here’s what a typical event week looks like
THURSDAY: The day before an event, ^L OH]L H [LHT TLL[PUN PU [OL VffiJL HUK go through the agenda, coordinating who does what. I hand-write personalised welcome notes for all our delegates, pack everything we need and get ready for a SH[L UPNO[ ÅPNO[
FRIDAY:We land in the morning and head straight to our hotel, then set up our meeting room before heading out for a team dinner.
SATURDAY: Pre-event preparations continue with more than 200 bags, badges and collateral to set up, and a IYPLÄUN ^P[O [OL ]PKLVNYHWO` [LHT
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SUNDAY:We head to the venue, set up the event space and registration tables, then ensure everything runs smoothly throughout the day. Later, we guide attendees back to their hotels.
MONDAY: Today’s wake-up call is 5.30am! Back at the venue, we ensure the AV and video team are all ready, brief the photographer and help set up for lunch and dinner.
TUESDAY: On our last day, we transfer all buyers to our second hotel and head to our closing party. When we did this in Oman, we had dinner and drinks on the beach and I saw my idea come to life – a
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WEDNESDAY:We pack up all collateral HUK ZH` V\Y NVVKI`LZ ILMVYL Å`PUN home after a memorable week.
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Get as much experience as
’ you can and jump
at every opportunity – and always have your LinkedIn up to date
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takeoffintravel.co.uk
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