Season of Gratitude

Director’s Note

Hi friends,

Travel is finally on my shortlist this winter season. It has been years since I have been on an airplane. I have always been inspired by travel and will never take it for granted again. 

Speaking of travel, this past Friday saw the highest single-day number of travelers in more than 20 months since the pandemic shut down air travel, with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration screening 2,242,956 passengers. Hotel metrics are also up and, according to a new report from Knowland and ConferenceDirect, sixty-five percent of meeting planner respondents have events on the books for the fourth quarter of 2021. Sixty-two percent expect to plan at least the same number of meetings and events in 2022 that they did in 2019! 

While on the subject of event planning, attending, and hosting holiday gatherings can be joyous yet stressful so it’s important to make self-care and rest a priority as we prepare for the season. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, thirty-eight percent of people said their stress levels increase during the holidays. The key to coping with holiday stress is to anticipate your potential stressors. Equally as important is noting what brings you happiness and making it a point to maximize those moments during the holidays. For more tips on how to have a more enjoyable and less-stressed holiday experience, I recommend reading the U.S. News article, “Why Are the Holidays So Stressful?”

I encourage all of you to take time to reflect on the small wins in 2021, practice gratitude, and pay it forward whenever you get the opportunity. Just think what could be possible in 2022! 

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season,

Suzanne

Executive Director

Meet our Newest (and Cutest) Member: Owen!

We are hiring: Join Our Team

 We are excited to announce that we have added a brand-new role to our department and are looking to fill the position now!

 The Housing Administrator (HA) will lead and manage a broad range of department projects and housing IT endeavors. The HA will lead short and long-term planning efforts for Yale College and Yale Conferences & Events with occupancy management, data integrity, and room draw efforts, as well as provide operational and logistical support. The HA will be a primary user of the StarRez housing system, and act as technical lead and training facilitator. For a complete job description and to apply, please click here. 

 We are also looking to fill various seasonal positions that will support a wide range of projects for our Program and Operations teams: 

• Program Assistant 
• Hospitality Coordinator 
• Office Manager
• Operations Coordinator
• Operations Lead 
• Resource Coordinator

For more information on each position and to apply, please visit our Employment page. 

Looking for more events-related roles at Yale? See below for a small sample of our open positions, and be sure to search Yale’s career portal for even more. 

• Assistant Director, Event Management (Yale Athletics) 
• Senior Admissions Operations and Events Specialist (Yale School of Management)
• Assistant Director, Operations and Events (Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale) 

Cvent Attendee Hub: Elevate Your Virtual and Hybrid Events

By guest contributor: Kathryn Vieillard, Deputy Director, Strategy, Sales & Program Development, Yale Conferences & Events; Director, Greenberg Conference Center

A few years back, Suzanne, my executive director, came to me and said: “I think you should look into these virtual events and see what they are all about.” I dutifully added it to my To-Do list and it eventually got put on the back burner as more pressing projects sprung up.
Flash forward to the spring of 2020 when our lives changed and we quickly pivoted into the world of virtual events. The YC&E staff did not miss a beat as they grabbed ahold of the situation, did their research, and learned everything they could from others on campus and beyond. After ironing out some wrinkles, we were off and running, hosting a series of virtual events. Along the way, we learned the most efficient ways to execute Zoom meetings and webinars to meet everyone’s needs. However, the Zoom platform left something to be desired, with a lack of simulated breakout rooms, virtual exhibit halls, round tables, and more. So we began the hunt for a platform that could accommodate the growing demands of our clients.

Searching high and low for the best platform for our clients

It quickly became apparent that we were living through a period of profound innovation that would make it challenging to keep up with and sort through all available platform options. When thinking ahead, we also realized that virtual events were only part of the solution and that hybrid events would be the next great hurdle to overcome. And so we decided that it was paramount to find a platform that could grow with the everchanging needs of our clients’ virtual events while still serving us once the pandemic had subsided. 

YC&E set out to find this diamond in the rough by conducting surveys, speaking one-on-one with our peers, attending many platform demos, and test-driving a few different platforms. After all this, all arrows kept pointing back to an already existing Yale vendor: Cvent. We were already familiar with Cvent as an event registration platform and knew they had recently purchased the floor plan software, Social Tables, that we’ve used for years. Cvent had also acquired Crowd Compass, an event app, which had piqued our interest in the past, but we had trouble convincing clients to go paperless and use an app instead. It was clear to us that Cvent was well poised to make the transition to virtual and hybrid, having already been in this space prior to the pandemic.

1. Zoom (up to 300 participants)
2. Zoom Meeting (up to 1,000 participants)
3. Zoom Webinar (between 1,000-3,000 participants)
4. Zoom Event, in its pilot phase (up to 1,000 participants) - Zoom Events is an event lobby-based software that integrates with Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars. It allows multiple sessions to be run simultaneously and provides a comprehensive conference landing page for speakers and attendees.
5. Cvent (Attendee Hub)
6. Other: We have demoed HopIn and All In the Loop but do not hold licenses at this time

YC&E’s process for determining the best platform for our clients is as follows:

1. Usually, we receive an initial inquiry through our website
2. We reach out to the client to discuss their event in detail
3. We determine the right platform and compiled a detailed quote based on the event’s needs
4. This quote reflects the level of assistance the event requires:
   1. If the event is self-directed, the client will manage their own platform build-out, and the event itself
   2. If the event is directed by YC&E, we will manage the platform build-out and the event itself for a fee
   3. If the event requires Cvent’s assistance, the client will be required to purchase additional services from Cvent
5. Once the quote is accepted by the client, a Memo of Understanding (MOU) is issued, which the client will sign and return to our team with a COA so the work can begin!  

Pricing for Cvent: At the time we receive the initial inquiry, we will price our services based on the event’s specific needs. For more information and to inquire about discounted Cvent pricing rates, please reach out to Kate Vieillard.

Out-of-the-Box Ideas to Spruce Up Your Holiday Party 

• Game/Trivia Night: A fun and interactive way to get everyone involved.
• Food and Drink-related Workshops: Take an Italian cooking class, learn how to make the perfect holiday drink, or simply sample delicious cheeses paired with the perfect wine.
• Elm City Party Bike or Escape New Haven (escape room) 
• Movie Night: Rent out a movie theater and watch a classic holiday movie.
• Friendly Competition: Take votes on holiday home décor or the ugliest holiday sweater and reward the winner with a special prize.
• Relay Race: Bring out everyone’s competitive side while having fun and supporting a great cause.
• Office Cookbook: Gather your team’s favorite holiday recipes and create an office cookbook that everyone will cherish for years to come.
• Food Truck Catering: Hire 1-2 food trucks to delight everyone’s taste buds.  
• Host a Donation Drive or Volunteer as a Team: Help others in your community by collecting donations (toys, coats, food) throughout the month or volunteering at a local food pantry as a team.
• Year-in-Review Video: Gather videos and photos from your team of the past year and compile them into a fun and lighthearted video to capture the memories for everyone.

‘Tis the Season to Give Back

Toys for Tots (deadline December 14th): Help the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation fill up their donation boxes with toys to bring joy and hope to less fortunate children in our community.

Winter Clothing Drive (deadline December 10th): Now accepting hats, gloves, socks, scarves, and new and gently used coats to keep our neighbors in need warm this winter.

Adopt-A-Family (deadline December 13th): Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays was created in response to the overwhelming interest in the Yale Community to lend a helping hand to families temporarily residing in the Hillside Family Shelter at Christian Community Action, Inc. To view current needs and to sign up, please click here.

32nd Annual Trees of Hope (December 4th - 12th): Support Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut’s mission of providing a “home-away-from-home” to children and their families who are being treated at nearby hospitals and healthcare facilities. Guests can view displays and purchase raffle tickets online from the comfort of their own homes throughout the entirety of the event, or in-person December 4th - 5th and December 11th - 12th from 10am-5pm.

Other ways to help: Consider donating your time to a local nursing home, food bank, soup kitchen, or animal shelter. And remember to support small businesses and buy local!

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Here’s a little sneak peek of our favorites:

• Favorite Food:
  • Antipasto
  • Overnight French toast
  • Broccoli and cheese casserole
• Favorite Drink:
  • Peppermint Mocha
  • Coquito
  • Coffee with Bailey’s Irish Cream
• Favorite Song:
  • Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
  • Jingle Bell Rock
  • Silver Bells
• Favorite Movie:
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
  • Home Alone
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
• Favorite Tradition:
  • Decorating cookies
  • Annual tree lighting parade
  • Latke competition for Hannukah

Hop on social media and let us know what you think of our favorites AND don’t forget to share yours with us too!

Stay in Touch

We would love to hear how you are doing and what you thought about our November 2021 newsletter. What would you like to see featured in our future newsletters? Send us a message.

For the most up-to-date information, be sure to follow our social media accounts. We will be sharing important University updates, helpful information on hosting meetings, and the latest on Connecticut’s COVID-19 response.

We’re taking a break in December but look for our next newsletter in your inbox in January 2022. Until then, stay healthy and safe!

To Subscribe:

• Go to the Yale Email Subscription hub
• Verify your email address
• Type in the search bar “Yale Conference and Events”
• Select “Subscribe” and click “Save”