Samantha Shears is our Gold Coast born and bred Senior Area Sales Manager here at Mantra Group. Sam began her career at Sea World, initially wanting to be a Dolphin Trainer. After that first career dream didn’t quite come to fruition, Sam fell into the wonderful world of events. Her professional events career started at The Star (formerly Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino), and since then she has worked at The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Southport Sharks, RACV Royal Pines Resort, and now at Mantra Group. Sam is a true local ambassador for our city, The Gold Coast, and loves the unique product it has to offer.
Recently, Mantra Group participated in the “This is Gold Coast” business event, and we caught up with Samantha post-event to hear her perspective and to gain an understanding of the growing trends within the industry.
Q: What do you think are the growing trends in the events and conferencing industry at the moment?
SS: This year we definitely saw a shift away from the traditional ballroom style conference and events, especially here on the Gold Coast. It is clear that there has been a move towards non-traditional conference and events spaces, such as garden areas, penthouses, larger suites, and other ‘out of the box’ locations. Venues that also showcase the ‘foodie’ culture are very popular right now. There are now alternative ways of catering a conference that have proved to be a breath of fresh air for many business types. In Lorne Victoria, for example, there is a street fair food option and Mantra Legends, Gold Coast, have introduced an interactive LIME conferencing catering options.
Another emerging trend in the events industry is rooftop bars, and hosting events at rooftop locations. We can now offer a rooftop location to clients with our fantastic new Mantra Hotels addition, Mantra at Sharks. During the “This Is Gold Coast” Business Event, Mantra at Sharks hosted a breakfast at their new Aviary Rooftop Bar and it was a huge success.
In terms of trends, rustic, vintage, and festival style themes are proving to be very popular right now. Beautiful floral arrangements, styled down tables and event spaces, and more nature/natural inspired themes are paving the way.
Q: What insights did you gain from this years This Is Gold Coast event?
SS: This year it was proven again that the Gold Coast is an incredibly exciting and versatile place for a conference or event. Here you can have your conference, in an absolute beach front location, or in the hinterland amongst nature….or both! It is such a diverse landscape for events and conferencing and it makes me really excited, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Q: What is your favourite event you have attended?
SS: I love Gala Dinners where companies go all out and put on a spectacular evening. I find it such a lovely conclusion to an event or conference and a time where people can relax and socialise after working together over the period of the event or conference.