Skift Meetings Forum 2026圆桌探讨会展业人才短缺与留存挑战

Skift Take

Meeting and event organizations can't solve retention challenges by simply hiring faster. Hiring from new talent pools, telling the real story of the work, and pairing flexibility with structure give people reasons to stay.

At a Skift Meetings Forum 2026 roundtable presented by Hyatt, Katie Winther, vice president of commercial strategy for The Lifestyle Group Americas & EAME at Hyatt, joined planners, suppliers, and consultants to ask whether the industry faces a talent gap, a retention problem, or both. The group discussed career paths, hiring solutions, and ways to improve employee retention.

Hospitality Must Train the Talent It Wants

Entry-level candidates face a catch-22: Employers want experience that new graduates have no way to earn. Universities that do teach event management often say little about incentive travel, and many hospitality graduates head toward real estate and other fields rather than meetings, narrowing the pipeline for potential employees.

Participants said the fix starts with casting a wider net. Two-year colleges and retail, where staff already manage customer volume, are natural places to recruit. Getting people in the door is only part of it, though. Event work is skilled, and pay and career paths need to reflect that if new hires are going to stay. As AI takes on more routine work, events will only become more central, and so will the people who run them.

One participant noted that tech and consulting firms hire cohorts months before a start date and train them in-house. Participants agreed that hospitality can do the same, and that training is part of the job. Internships tied to seasonal volume let employers test fit, and trial stints in other roles help place people where they belong.

Retention Starts With a Truer Story of the Work

But finding the right people is only half the job. Keeping them is the other half. One participant cited an average tenure of about two years. Another participant said low starting pay and a long climb make the early grind hard to justify. Attendees said the industry tends to dwell on long hours and client mishaps. Outsiders, meanwhile, picture a more glamorous job, when in reality planners often work the concert rather than watch it.

Participants suggested a sharper pitch. “We help clients with their business agenda,” one said, and live events keep growing in an era when in-person experiences are harder to automate. Each event is its own project with a start and an end date, which appeals to people who want variety. One participant said that rhythm is what makes the industry great: tasks get accomplished, and every new project keeps the work interesting, rather than one effort that takes years to finish. “I think we need to tell the story better,” another said.

Balance Matters, and So Does Time on Site

Younger employees prize wellbeing and balance, and attendees saw that as a fair challenge to long-held norms. Employers are starting to respond. Some hotels have adopted four-day, 10-hour schedules, and some planners allow recovery time after late-night events and remote work in between. Others offer sabbaticals, and one incentive travel company gives a longtime team member the off-season to walk the Camino. “They’re a lot more productive when they come back having recharged,” one participant said. The payoff extends to retention: flexibility builds loyalty, and employees who feel their wellbeing is valued are more likely to stay, which lowers turnover and the cost of replacing experienced people.

Others cautioned against going too far. Learning happens on site, and visibility drives promotion. Remote employees can miss the five-minute meeting where decisions get made. Leaders are building in mentors, casual check-ins, and coffee talks to keep people connected. Geography adds pressure. One participant said hiring in Austin, for example, is far harder than in New York City, which sometimes means making roles remote.

Contractors Ease the Load, but Don’t Remove the Pressure

One participant cited research indicating that 55% of planners hire contractors or freelancers to manage their workload. These hires often become long-term partners. “We don’t have to train anymore,” another participant said. The model suits seasonal businesses, which can bring in experienced help during peak periods and scale back in the lulls.

The quiet months, though, are shrinking. Summer is now preparation time for fall events, and compressed fees and packed calendars leave full-time staff stretched. Contractors can ease the load, but one participant said something in the business model has to change. 

Even so, participants described working in events as a privilege. For many, the reward is bringing people together and creating experiences that stay with them. The role also puts them in rooms with professionals from around the world, and the people and perspectives in those rooms can change who they are, personally and professionally.

This content was created collaboratively by Hyatt and Skift Studio.