What does a meetings & events manager do?
Meeting and Events Managers are responsible for overseeing virtual or live events and meetings for a company or private individuals. Their duties include implementing event strategies, assist in event venue research, create vendor networks, and conduct contract negotiations for event support services. They are also involved in handling pre-event activities, facilitating post-event reviews, monitoring event budgets, preparing management reports, setting project milestones, and tracking event team performance. Meetings and events managers also work closely with clients to identify individual needs and assist in staff development programs.
Meetings & events manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real meetings & events manager resumes:
- Manage and mentor team of alliances coordinators and business development representatives.
- Submit RFP's to convention and visitors bureaus and hotel partners to secure travel industry funding for all events.
- Solicit vendor RFP's and effectively negotiate optimal client savings.
- Develop several best practices to include interactive event microsites, event twitter campaigns and in-booth think leadership presentations.
- Prepare meeting details for SMERF, corporate, and government markets such as set-up, menus and audio-visual needs.
- Coordinate all aspects of educational meetings for medical specialty associations, including requirements for approval of CME accreditation.
Meetings & events manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Meetings & Events Managers are proficient in Event Management, Event Planning, and Site Inspections. They’re also known for soft skills such as Negotiation skills, Problem-solving skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Meetings & Events Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Event Management, 15%
Provide event management services for external clients and internal constituencies utilizing GT facilities to conduct training classes, conferences and meetings.
- Event Planning, 15%
Manage event planning department staff and recruit and train volunteer staff for all Chamber events, over 250 events per year.
- Site Inspections, 7%
Conduct site inspections at hotels and other off site venues for conferences, staff & board dinners, etc.
- Client Satisfaction, 6%
Maintained proactive, positive, open-line of communication with client to ensure understanding of expectations and client satisfaction.
- Cost Savings, 5%
Negotiated contracts which resulted in over $10,000 in cost savings for internal client.
- Event Logistics, 5%
Collaborated with meeting planners and client contacts in coordinating event logistics for conferences at a 20K sq.
"event management," "event planning," and "site inspections" are among the most common skills that meetings & events managers use at work. You can find even more meetings & events manager responsibilities below, including:
Negotiation skills. The most essential soft skill for a meetings & events manager to carry out their responsibilities is negotiation skills. This skill is important for the role because "meeting, convention, and event planners must be able to secure quality products and services at reasonable prices for their clients." Additionally, a meetings & events manager resume shows how their duties depend on negotiation skills: "served as project manager responsible for overseeing contract negotiations, staff training and venue, vendor and supplier selections. "
Problem-solving skills. Many meetings & events manager duties rely on problem-solving skills. "meeting, convention, and event planners must be able to anticipate potential issues and prepare creative solutions that satisfy clients.," so a meetings & events manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways meetings & events manager responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "partnered with internal clients to assess their objectives and recommend solutions to meet their goals. "
Interpersonal skills. meetings & events managers are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to meetings & events manager responsibilities, because "meeting, convention, and event planners must establish and maintain positive relationships with clients and suppliers." A meetings & events manager resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "generated brand recognition with a relationship based approach using excellent interpersonal skills to solidify long-term loyalty. "
Communication skills. For certain meetings & events manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a meetings & events manager rely on this skill, as "meeting, convention, and event planners exchange information with clients, suppliers, and event staff." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what meetings & events managers do: "manage all aspects of biannual board of directors meetings, including communication and site selection. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in meetings & events manager job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what meetings & events managers do. Meetings & events manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "meeting, convention, and event planners must multitask, pay attention to details, and meet tight deadlines." You can also see how meetings & events manager duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "utilize creativity in developing and implementing strategic marketing and event management plans assuring that strategies align to organizational goals. "
The three companies that hire the most meetings & events managers are:
- Marriott International19 meetings & events managers jobs
- Allied Universal
7 meetings & events managers jobs
- CBRE Group3 meetings & events managers jobs
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Compare different meetings & events managers
Meetings & events manager vs. Party coordinator
A site coordinator is responsible for organizing special events and programs based on a client's specifications or a business's needs. Site coordinators ensure that the plan will go well by monitoring their resources, coordinating with third-party services, researching the best settings, finalizing the list of attendees, and managing the budget goals. A site coordinator usually works with the marketing department of an organization for promotional strategies and addresses any concerns that an attendee might have.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a meetings & events manager are more likely to require skills like "event management," "site inspections," "client satisfaction," and "cost savings." On the other hand, a job as a party coordinator requires skills like "kids," "cpr," "allergies," and "pos." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Party coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than meetings & events managers. In fact, party coordinators are 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Meetings & events manager vs. Site coordinator
A conference coordinator organizes professional gatherings and meetings according to a client's needs and preferences. There are also instances where they may plan reunions, parties, and other events. Their responsibilities begin at meeting the clients to identify their needs and preferences, including the event's purpose or themes. From there, a conference coordinator develops plans, secures venues and speakers, books caterers and other equipment, prepares and processes requests, and maintains records of all transactions, presenting invoices to the clients. Moreover, a conference coordinator must be proactive and resolve any conflicts or issues should any arise.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, meetings & events manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "event management," "event planning," "site inspections," and "client satisfaction." Meanwhile, a site coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "data entry," "cpr," and "direct supervision." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Site coordinators earn a lower average salary than meetings & events managers. But site coordinators earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $41,125. Additionally, meetings & events managers earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $46,047 annually.site coordinators earn higher levels of education than meetings & events managers in general. They're 7.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Meetings & events manager vs. Conference coordinator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from meetings & events manager resumes include skills like "site inspections," "client satisfaction," "cost savings," and "budget management," whereas a conference coordinator is more likely to list skills in "conference calls," "audio visual equipment," "conference planning," and "reservation system. "
Conference coordinators earn the highest salary when working in the telecommunication industry, where they receive an average salary of $48,429. Comparatively, meetings & events managers have the highest earning potential in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $46,047.When it comes to education, conference coordinators tend to earn higher degree levels compared to meetings & events managers. In fact, they're 5.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Meetings & events manager vs. Manager and event coordinator
Types of meetings & events manager
Updated January 8, 2025
