Winter weather doesn’t ask for permission. It does what it wants when it wants: disrupts flights, reroutes attendees and tests even the most seasoned planning teams.
Just ask the Event Services Professionals Association (ESPA). In late January, a severe winter storm hit the Dallas-Arlington metro area just as ESPA’s annual conference got underway. Basically, the event opened in the bullseye of a storm that would soon disrupt travel nationwide.
Conditions changed by the hour. Flights were canceled. Schedules unraveled. Attendance shifted. And yet, the event moved forward because its leadership did.
With weather disruptions always a possibility, ESPA’s experience delivers some clear takeaways for planners everywhere. Preparation, not panic, is what carries an event through uncertainty.
Safety-First Planning Starts Before Forecasts Are Firm
A proper weather-disruption plan cannot begin when snow starts falling. It begins well ahead of that, with early alignment.
As the January forecasts evolved, ESPA activated a small decision-making team that communicated frequently and monitored conditions not only in Texas, but in major attendee-departure markets nationwide. Included on the team were association leadership plus others at headquarters as well as local CVB partner Visit Arlington, who could provide local updates and solutions. That broader lens proved critical as the storm moved eastward and began grounding flights across the country.
The advance planning included documenting weather conditions for risk mitigation: confirming insurance coverage parameters, verifying hotel electrical power and staffing contingencies and coordinating with transportation partners on safe vehicle options.
The goal: Empower a team to eliminate guesswork before the situation became urgent.
Transparent Communication Builds Calm
In moments of uncertainty, silence or delayed communication creates stress for event stakeholders. ESPA deliberately took the opposite approach.
Attendees received frequent, clear updates via email, website alerts and social media. In some cases, the conference schedule was adjusted days in advance to accommodate potentially delayed arrivals. This gave attendees clarity well before they reached the destination.
The messaging to attendees acknowledged the complexity of the situation, reinforced safety-first priorities and set expectations for when subsequent updates would arrive. Every communication was dated, archived and consistent, even when reiterating difficult policies.
This transparency continued onsite through visible leadership presence plus live announcements, schedule updates and notifications via the event’s conference mobile app, EventMobi, which helped keep attendees aware of any schedule or location changes.
Communicating early and often means attendees are never let guessing.
[Related: More Best Practices Articles From Meetings Today]
Flexibility as an Operational Skill
Flexibility only works well when it’s planned out.
As travel disruptions mounted, ESPA shifted session start times, adjusted room layouts and converted speakers to live virtual delivery—often within hours.
Working in cooperation with AV partner Encore, ESPA had multiple Zoom-enabled rooms preconfigured, allowing keynote speakers, panelists and breakout presenters to participate remotely without compromising program quality.
In addition, offsite tours were canceled for safety. Alternate experiences were created on property, tapping into the culinary expertise of the team at the Loews Arlington Hotel. Wellness programming was quickly pivoted, using technology when instructors were unable to arrive onsite.
The schedule held. The experience delivered. Building backup delivery models into your program design and rehearsing them makes the difference.
On-Site Empowerment Keeps Attendees Supported
For those attendees who made it to the destination, the focus shifted to care and connection. ESPA staff and leadership stayed visible as schedules flexed, on-property networking expanded and small gestures—like surprise giveaways for those with the most challenging journeys—helped sustain morale.
In a disrupted environment, presence matters. Empower onsite teams to make decisions and solve problems—and to prioritize people over perfection.
Responsibility Extends Beyond the Event
Reduced attendance led to surplus prepared food, despite advance efforts to limit waste. Rather than discard it, ESPA partnered with Loews Arlington Hotel to donate more than 150 pounds of food through the hotel’s partnership with Goodr, a food-waste management and hunger-relief company.
The donation reflected a broader commitment to responsible event practices and to supporting host communities, especially during challenging conditions. Additionally, extra water bottles from a sustainability partner named Fill it Forward were donated to the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association, where they will be used during the association’s high-school hotel summer camp program.
Crisis leadership includes stewardship. Plan for how unused resources can do meaningful good.
In the end, the weather will remain a factor for many meetings and events. Occasional disruption is simply inevitable—but disorganization is not. Clear leadership frameworks, proactive communication and empowered teams can reduce disruption, protect people and still deliver meaningful experiences, regardless of nature’s plan.
