Production

We began our engagement with Event Connections in 2019 and we use ECG for multiple events – from small groups of 20-30, to the biggest being our Top Performers trip (think 450 people, coming from 15 states, 5 days, award show, excursion, volleyball tournament, and gifting experiences). We began our engagement with Event Connections in 2019.

I could not do the trip without Jack & his team. I wouldn’t want to.

When our annual search starts, we give Jack a sense of where we want to go, (we are limited to event spaces that can hold 500+ in a ballroom, so it’s a pretty extensive search), and he finds us economy, mid-range and premium choice from which to tour and pick. They negotiate fiercely on our behalf and are always willing to go back when we feel like the venue needs to, and if we aren’t able to go lower, Jack finds other comps with the venue to add, things that I just wouldn’t think to ask for. They do all the heavy lifting on registration, airline ticketing, and securing spaces and vendors for us.

Having done it ourselves for smaller events – I can honestly say that at the end, we are always thinking – we should have given the contract to his team. They have put us in touch with the leaders at the resort, helped us make connections while we are onsite and really help foster that team approach to how we serve our teammates an outstanding experience.

As issues come up, it’s always with the venue or vendor, it’s never with the ECG team – they manage it with the speed and efficiency it requires. For example, pre-COVID, we negotiated a trip to the DR for our Top Performers trip. We had to postpone a year because of travel restrictions, and when we went back to the resort, it was evident that there was a bit of a change in the management style from when we had signed the contract. The staffing at the resort was not the same caliber as when we had signed the contract 2 years prior. Jack worked with the GM, had additional staff brought on, was able to address needs as the arose, and made it a perfect trip for our teammates. That’s the best part, that while we knew, as organizers, that we had issues with the venue, ECG made sure that none of our teammates saw the issues, and they walked away saying it was one of the best trips ever.

We have had other vendors in the past – they got the job done, but we constantly had to follow up with them. We don’t have to do that with ECG. The budgets come out clean, there’s no question on where the money went and where changes were made, which makes my controller VERY happy.

What I am guessing is another question – is the team worth the fee? And the answer is yes, the amount of time I save not having to do all the things, all the side conversations, all the negotiating, is so worth every minute I save and every dollar we spend. In my role, I just don’t know all the questions to ask, the comps to get, and the benefits we are missing; Jack does, and gets it for us.