The Cost of Choices: Budgeting Strategies for Seamless Events

In today’s climate of rising costs and shifting attendee expectations, every decision has an impact—on your budget, your event experience, and your bottom line.

Join us for an afternoon of practical strategies, expert insights, and real-world examples that will help you stretch your event dollars further without compromising quality. This in-person program brings together event professionals across budget forecasting, A/V production, and F&B planning to share tested tools, creative workarounds, and cost-saving ideas.

What to expect:

• Smart Forecasting & Contingency Planning with Kyle Jordan, CAE, CMP
• Maximizing the Value of Your A/V Budget with Brian Monahan, Prestige AV & Creative Services
• F&B Strategy Panel: “More Taste, Less Waste” featuring Aaron Mayo (Loews), Annette Suriani (AMS Meeting Solutions) & more

See below for detailed information on sessions and speakers.

Date:

August 20, 2025

Location:

Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle
2121 P St NW, Washington, DC 20037

Agenda: 

12:45pm – Registration Desk Open/Check-in

1:00pm – 2:00pm – Pre-Event CPR Training Workshop (optional; separate registration required)

2:00pm – 5:30pm – Spark Education Event

5:30pm – 6:30pm – Reception

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Click here or email [email protected] for more information

Coming in from out of town?

Discounted room rates are available at the Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle. Follow the steps below, and reserve your room today!

1. Visit the Royal Sonesta Dupont Circle’s website (link “website” to https://www.sonesta.com/royal-sonesta/dc/washington/royal-sonesta-washington-dc-dupont-circle)
2. Select your stay dates
3. Click the “Rates” dropdown, and enter the “Corporate/Promo”  code FAF
4. Click “Update”, and the discounted room options will display on the next page
5. Select an available room and follow the steps to complete your reservation.

Sessions and Speakers:

Scenarios and Contingency Planning: Navigating Budgeting and Risk in an Uncertain World

Speaker: Kyle Jordan, CAE, CEM-AP, CMP, DES, Director of Meetings, INFORMS   

In an environment defined by rising costs, labor unpredictability, and global uncertainty, budgeting for events requires more than just plugging in numbers. This session starts with a quick refresher on key budgeting principles, from setting assumptions to evaluating fixed and variable costs, before diving into how forecasting tools, scenario planning, and risk analysis can create more adaptive, resilient budgets. You’ll walk away with practical methods to help you respond to unexpected disruptions while still delivering on attendee expectations and organizational goals.

After attending this session, participants will be able to:

• • Review foundational budgeting concepts and apply them to current event planning challenges.
  • Use forecasting and historical data to build more realistic, flexible event budgets.
  • Identify risks that can impact event costs and timelines — and apply basic scenario planning tools to prepare effective contingency strategies.

Maximizing the Value of Your A/V Budget

Speaker: Brian Monahan, Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Prestige AV & Creative Services  

As audiovisual takes its place among the top three line items in most event budgets, it deserves more than passive oversight—it calls for active strategy.

AV is not just a cost to be managed, but an investment to be leveraged. It sits at the intersection of technology and human connection, making it one of the most influential elements of the attendee experience.

This session peels back the layers of evolving exclusivity arrangements, padded fees, and often-overlooked or underestimated costs like load-in supervision and rigging surcharges. You’ll learn practical approaches to evaluate contracts, negotiate with clarity, and prioritize production choices that truly drive ROI—without losing sight of the human element your event is built on.

And in some cases, AV isn’t just an expense—it’s an opportunity. From sponsored content and branded tech touchpoints to repurposed media and on-demand access, we’ll explore how thoughtful AV planning can unlock new revenue streams and extend the life and reach of your event.

Topics:

• • The hidden costs of A/V – storage, security…
  • Contracting
  • ROI for Other Items/Attendee Experience and Engagement
    • Low-cost alternatives – swag
    • Other budget considerations?
    • Upping production

Data-Driven Events: Budget Smarter, Register Faster, Grow Stronger

Speakers: Amilie Parent, CPA, President, Showcare and Lisa Dyson, CMP, DES, Conference Director, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

Event leaders manage more than logistics; they shape strategy, forecast growth, and optimize revenue performance. This session explores how registration data can serve as a real-time compass for your event budget, helping you build momentum and uncover new sources of revenue throughout the registration journey, across all audience types. 

Discover how to pace registrations with intention, use segmentation to personalize outreach, and engage drop-off audiences with smart, timely reactivation strategies. You’ll gain a toolkit for planning events that are not just well-attended but financially and strategically successful.

What You’ll Learn: 

• • Build Smarter Budgets: Use real-time and historical registration patterns to forecast revenue and align budget pacing with audience behavior. 
  • Accelerate Registration: Design flows and messaging that maintain velocity and encourage early action, while keeping the experience seamless. 
  • Maximize Every Touchpoint: Apply growth marketing tactics to retarget abandoned registrations and convert warm interest into meaningful participation. 
  • Turn Signals Into Strategy: Read the cues behind your numbers to refine your content timing, pricing structure, and campaign sequencing.

More Taste, Less Waste: Mastering F&B Planning on a Budget

Food and beverage is one of your biggest line items—let’s make it work harder. This expert panel will share how to leverage seasonal menus, embrace low-to-no alcohol trends, and get savvy with ordering and vendor conversations. Learn what to ask, what to order, and how to reduce waste while still delivering a memorable  experience.

Panelists:

• • Aaron Mayo, VP Group Sales, Loews Hotels & Co
  • Annette Suriani, CMP, CFMP, DES, Business Events Strategist, AMS Meetings Solutions
  • Cameron Doucette, Senior Account Executive, Well Dunn Catering
  • Dan Rivas, Director, Food & Beverage, Loews Hotels & Co