That’s a Wrap! A Review of the 2022 Global Owners Conference

Curious what the Hilton Special Events team has been up to lately? Over the past 12 months, the team produced a total of five conferences across the globe, hosting 7,000+ guests, with headline speakers and entertainers from our very own Paris Hilton to Katy Perry and Magic Johnson. The team’s efforts culminated with our largest conference of year – the 2022 Global Owners Conference. Needless to say, we learned a lot along the way and hope some of the best practices from GOC outlined in this article will help you prepare your own events!

Global Owners Conference took place in Las Vegas this past November – Nov. 14–16, 2022 – and was a soaring success! We hosted over 2,100 Hilton Owners and Owner Representatives and nearly 450 Corporate Team Members for a three-day conference at Resorts World Las Vegas. The event was an opportunity for reconnection and networking, but even more importantly, was a chance to celebrate our owners and the strong partnerships we’ve built with them over the years.

The event showcased engaging content on mainstage, featuring guest speakers Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Mohamed El-Erian, and moderator Katty Kay, purposeful breakouts and brand sessions, two incredible evening events, countless networking opportunities, and memorable F&B experiences.

The Opening Reception, featuring Paris Hilton, was a great way to kick off the week and allowed Owners the opportunity to network over cocktails and small bites. Our Chef Showcase, which took place at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on night two, featured Hilton’s talented global chefs. The event concluded with an outstanding performance by Katy Perry.

Five Top Pro Tips to a Successful Event:

  1. Remain flexible
    • Murphy’s Law teaches us that, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” During a live event, things outside your control rarely cooperate – such as schedules, weather, or unexpected technical issues. Remaining flexible and thinking on your feet is key to rolling with the punches to ensure attendees get the most out of their experience.
  2. Maintain strong communication onsite
    • Staying one step ahead of challenges and unexpected hiccups takes strong, proactive communication with all teams contributing to the event – both internal and external partners. It is important to have communication channels set up ahead of time with all the appropriate parties represented.
  3. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
    • The best way to unearth flaws in a plan or potential blind spots is to practice the run of show and sketch out the flow of each day. Organize team meetings to walk through each day in detail – that way if red flags arise, you will have time to correct them.
  4. Document via photos & video
    • Keep the vibes alive long after the event has concluded! Sharing photos and videos post-event is a great way to demonstrate the success of your event – both to your attendees and to stakeholders. It’s also a fantastic marketing tool to utilize in future years.
  5. Key learnings & team debrief
    • Once you’ve pulled off your successful event, the work isn’t over just yet. It is critical to hear from your attendees and internal partners about what they loved versus what they’d prefer to see implemented next time. Your key learnings are the perfect starting point to planning your next event!  

What’s next for Hilton Special Events?

Our next conference is the 2023 All Suites & Focused Service Leadership Conference. The event will host nearly 10,000 attendees for a two-day conference at the end of August 2023. Be sure to tune into upcoming articles chronicling our planning efforts for our largest event yet!

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