Did you know that incorporating wellness into events can significantly improve attendee satisfaction and net promoter scores without necessarily increasing budgets? By weaving tailored wellness experiences into events, planners can not only create more engaging and impactful event experiences that drive engagement, elevate attendee wellbeing, and foster a greater sense of community but also address the growing demand for wellness in professional settings. After all, when attendees feel physically and mentally balanced, they are more engaged, focused, and open to new ideas.  

Possibly no event venue company understands this better than Caesars Entertainment, which recently embarked on a six-city Wellness Roadshow tour across the U.S. to educate key meetings clients and select industry media about the value of wellness at events, as well as to demonstrate its new wellness menus designed to help clients integrate wellness elements into their event agendas.  

Related: Caesars Entertainment Introduces Wellness Menu for Meetings 

Built on the successful elements showcased at the inaugural Caesars Entertainment Wellness Forum, held in Las Vegas in June 2024, these exclusive, invite-only events are being held at unique venues and spaces adorned with special design elements aimed at promoting wellness, a vetted keynote and a wellness practitioner from the Caesars menu, and nutrient-rich food and beverage items.  

Related: Caesars Doubles Down on Wellness at Events 

How it works 

Besides showcasing the company’s deep investment in wellness, the goal is to provide 50-100 meeting planners, event marketers, and industry media at each location with a taste of the company’s curated programming, as well as help them understand the importance of keeping attendee wellbeing top-of-mind and the value of incorporating wellness into their meetings and events. 

Wellness Roadshow dates and locations include: 

• Atlanta – Feb. 25 at Magnolia Hall 
• Chicago – Feb. 27 at The Salt Shed 
• Seattle – March 25 at Chateau Lill
• Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz. – March 26 at Taliesin West by Frank Lloyd Wright 
• Philadelphia – March 31 at Fairmount Park Horticulture Center 
• Washington, D.C. – April 1 at The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum 

Why it matters 

Offering wellness programming to its event clients was a natural progression that started from within the organization, according to Caesars officials. Besides its longstanding focus on employee wellness that has been integrated into its culture and operations, the company recognized that wellness is a growing trend that has gone mainstream and is permeating our modern culture.  

The facts are compelling. According to a recent Future of Wellness study conducted by top global management and consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the wellness market has reached $480 billion in the U.S. and $1.4 trillion worldwide, with the market sector expected to grow by 5% to10% each year. Today, 82% of U.S. consumers now consider wellness a priority in their everyday lives, with similar findings for the UK (73%) and China (87%).  

Additionally, new research from the Global Wellness Institute in collaboration with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) reveals that the U.S. wellness market has reached $2 trillion, accounting for one-third of the global wellness economy. The U.S. wellness market is not only the largest but also one of the fastest growing, with an 8.3% annual growth rate from 2019 to 2023, outpacing China (4.9%), Germany (5.9%), and Japan (3.1%). By 2023, the U.S. wellness market had expanded 37% beyond its pre-pandemic size, with American consumers now spending over $6,000 per person annually on wellness. 

“Caesars Entertainment is committed to providing wellness options to help make it easier to incorporate wellness into meetings and events,” said Kelly Gleeson Smith, senior vice president of sales, Caesars Entertainment. “Wellness is one of the fastest growing trends and we know that participant satisfaction increases as a result––that’s meaningful.”  

Spotlight on Atlanta stop 

At the Wellness tour’s first stop in Atlanta, CEN had a chance to experience an amuse-bouche of Caesars’ wellness offerings at Magnolia Hall, an elegant 3,200-square-foot event facility in the Piedmont Park Conservancy that was originally built as a blacksmith’s forge in 1945.  

The intimate hall, with its Mission-style lantern chandeliers, exposed rafters, oak paneling, and original working fireplace, was the perfect setting to experience Caesars’ immersive selection of wellness programming, which included a welcome introduction by Smith and wellness sessions delivered by three speakers who are part of Caesars’ wellness menu. They included: 

Emcee David T. Stevens, co-founder of Olympian Meeting, a wellness consulting firm for events, meetings, and conferences, who shared the immense value of offering wellness experiences at meetings and events. He made a strong case for how providing diverse, tailored wellness activities can enable planners to create more impactful and memorable experiences that drive engagement, awareness, and revenue, while enhancing the well-being of attendees, speakers, sponsors, and staff. 

Fortune 500 speaker Nolan Nichols, founder of A Million Dreams, which specializes in interactive, engaging keynotes, workshops and team-building events focused on increasing workplace belonging and personal and professional well-being, delivered a thought-provoking speech focused on why wellness is not a one-time goal but a continuous journey of resilience, productivity, and re-centering. He emphasized that by adopting simple principles such as planning wellness moments, being mindful, pacing ourselves, and prioritizing relationships, we can enhance both personal well-being and the effectiveness of our professional environments while avoiding burnout. 

Dawn of the Earth Founder Sepideh Eivazi, a wellness advocate, event architect, breathwork, and nervous system expert, speaker, and immersive experience curator, led a powerful and immersive wellness session called “Reclaiming Your Balance: Sharpening Clarity in Chaos.” Combining guided meditation, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) tapping, somatic breathwork, and the healing power of sound to regulate the nervous system, release trapped emotions, and reduce stress, Eivazi’s session covered how the practice of mindful breathing can help us reconnect with our body’s natural intelligence, overcome the automatic stress responses, and promote emotional and physical healing. 

Related: 5 Wellness Speakers to Consider for Your Next Event 

The experience concluded with delicious and nourishing plant-based food and beverage items offered at an intimate reception, where Caesars team members and sponsors had a chance to mix and mingle with guests, answer questions, and network. Participants also had a chance to take advantage of essential oil samples provided by Essence and enjoy refreshing Tabl’eau water samples mixed with citrus and cucumber by request via a specialized water sommelier. 

Caesars Wellness Roadshow sponsors included CSI DMC; AFR Furniture Rental; Encore; Network; Essence; and Tabl’eau. 

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