Incentive travel trends point to a need for event marketers to provide bespoke experiences with a more mindful, authentic and memorable approach to program design.

The luxury event participant wants experiences that are unique, handcrafted and personal and offer the opportunity to learn about a destination through hands-on and engaging activations.

Luxury is not a one-size-fits-all concept; it evolves with us as our expectations change. As event designers, we must continually evaluate and elevate our programs through personalized, immersive and human-centric experiences. 

In her new column for Meetings Today, Laurie Sharp explores the evolving definition of luxury, how it’s taken on a new form in meetings and events and what planners can do to deliver high-quality luxury experiences. 

After three months abroad in France, Laurie Sharp has returned to her home in Sausalito, California. Here are some of the lessons she learned while living and working remotely overseas.

Laurie Sharp shares tips, insights and use-case scenarios from her conversation with European luxury experience consultant Victoria Taylor that can help you stay on top of current trends and approach your events in a more customer-centric way.

By the time you read this, Laurie Sharp will have been living and working remotely in Les Praz, France, in the Chamonix Mont-Blanc Valley, for over a month. Here are a few of the venues she’s explored and people she’s met thus far.

After decades of event marketing leadership roles in technology and producing corporate meetings and events around the world from her home base in San Francisco, Laurie Sharp has decided to temporarily relocate to Chamonix, France, just outside of Geneva, for three months.