August 20, 2019
By Caroline Howard
Have you ever spent eight days straight inside a convention center just dying to see the sunlight? Okay, maybe not eight days, but if you are a planner there is a good chance you have experienced the feeling.  Solution: Go outdoors! Cvent’s Planning Team decided to take a stab at this. We worked with Mandalay Bay this year at Cvent CONNECT to host an outdoor Beach Bash. (Yes, you read that correctly, a real beach party).

Why a Beach Party Made Sense

So why did we decide a beach party made sense at our 3,000+ attendee annual user conference? Because event professionals deserve to have a good time too! As a company, we saw our evening events as opportunities to give people the time to truly connect and have fun while doing so. When people think of Vegas lots of different things come to mind. Bright lights, gambling, excitement, live shows, feeling alive. We decided to throw something else into that mix: the beach. By utilizing Mandalay Bay's Beach venue (2,700 tons of real sand, a 1.6 million gallon wave pool) to it's fullest, we gave our attendees a night they don't want to forget.  

Take Your Next Event Outdoors

If you are about to host a conference, I urge you to consider an outdoor event. Your attendees will thank you for it! At our beach bash people could get in the water and go on a beach in the middle of Las Vegas. Event attractions included: a live band, life-sized childhood games, photo booth, and amazing food. Our attendees are still raving about their experience!   

Caroline Howard

Northern Virginia native turned southerner at The University of South Carolina. My skills include planning 4,000 attendee corporate events and then blogging about them.

My friends always ask where I am, because when I'm not behind my laptop writing, I'm off exploring new places like Cuba and Spain.

In-Person Event Planning Checklist
Planning an in-person event?
Stay organized and efficient with our easy-to-use checklist

Subscribe to our newsletter