Susie Townsend, senior vice president of visitor experience for Visit Indy, worked inside the men’s NCAA basketball tournament bubble in Indianapolis. 

So now I am out—after 12 days inside a controlled environment I am back to the “real” world. Lucky for all of us the “real” world is starting to look good.

As more people are vaccinated and the positivity rates are declining it feels like we will soon be back to the business that we all love—the business of planning meetings and events, going to meetings and events, planning receptions, doing floor plans, contacting vendors, engaging with our partners and our customers, etc.—live and in person.

Here is some of what felt good and some of what felt not so good about being at a live event for the first time in a long time.

This Felt Good

·       Fans in the stands at a basketball game. While the stands weren’t full, it didn’t matter. It just felt good to be at a sporting event.

·       The sound of squeaky basketball shoes on the hard court.

·       The sound of fans cheering.

·       Sister Jean in the stands. If you haven’t heard of Sister Jean, she is the 101-year-old inspirational advisor to the Loyola Ramblers. She is a celebrity in her own right.

·       Being able to buy a hot dog from a food stand. And popcorn. And a giant pretzel. And a beer. (Everything individually packaged of course.)

·       Hosting customers at an event!! Again, did I say live and in person!

·       Busy restaurants—all following the rules.

·       People out and about enjoying a vibrant (finally) downtown.

·       Paper towels in the bathrooms. I know, that is not very green, but I like paper towels better than air dryers.

·       QR codes for menus. I resisted at first, but I will get used to this. Recommending to all who write menus to make the type larger.

·       Having the highest hotel occupancy in the country last weekend. I’m thinking that San Antonio is feeling the same (they are hosting the entire NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament) and were at No. 2, with Louisville at No. 3. (they hosted a major volleyball tournament).

This Didn’t Feel Good

·       Electronic tickets. Hey, I know that is the way of the world, but I am a ticket collector. My favorite ticket keepsake is a 1984 ticket to a Michael Jackson concert. Bring back real tickets!!!!

So most everything felt good. Let the in-person event trend continue. Let’s stay safe and keep doing what we have been doing. Inch by inch, step by step we will get back to meeting in person. Speaking of meeting in person, I for one, am looking forward to attending MPI WEC in June.

MPI led the way by hosting the first in-person industry event last November in Grapevine, Texas. The MPI duty of care worked—everyone followed that rules. I know we will have a great WEC in Las Vegas.

I will be there in person and hope to see you there.