Call for Speakers
This is a game-changing year for the show as we embark on the next 25 years of presenting live information to our attendees!
About Catersource, the Show for Catering & Event Professionals
Since 1992, Catersource has been a resource for those working in the hospitality industry. Two full days of conference at Caesars Palace kick off the show (February 18 & 19), along with an opening general session, welcome reception, and lavish Monday Night Party (offsite). Following those two days the conference moves to the Las Vegas Convention Center for two days of tradeshow (February 20 & 21), encompassing some of the hottest vendors and service providers in the industry, peppered with stage presentations to keep the attendees further enlightened.
About our audience
Our audience is in the business of helping people celebrate the most important milestones in their lives, from weddings to bat mitzvahs, corporate parties, graduations, New Years Eve celebrations, holiday gatherings, and many, many more. They are on and off-site, doing drop off delivery, driving food trucks, and setting up events in the middle of nowhere. Caterers and event planners are some of the hardest working people today.
Our audience is comprised of top-level professionals who have been in the industry a long time, but also may bring new hires, and/or recently promoted chefs, managers, and salespeople. Attendees may be representing a small company in a big town, a big company in a small town…or a $500 million dollar company in a densely populated metro area. But they are all at Catersource for the same reason: to be wowed with new products, new education, and new ideas.
About the education
Over 160 sessions span the length of the conference, within tracks such as
• Culinary (food, beverage, culinary techniques, trends, more)
• Weddings & Special Events (event production, wedding trends, destination events, more)
• Business & Operations (sales & marketing, best business practices, business growth, operational strategies)
• Staff Development (hiring, retention, rewards, management, lifestyle)
• Trends & Design (current trends & designs within the hospitality industry)
• Colleges & Universities (catering & events in an educational setting)
• On-Premise, Hotels, Banquet Centers & Restaurants
The best food, the hottest décor, the most beautiful venues, making a sale, marketing your company, retaining and rewarding your employees, building a new revenue-generating sector—all explained to our audience in a way that doesn’t pander or promote, but educates. Do you have what it takes?
Session length
Varied session lengths offer you the amount of time you need to convey your information but plan on 60 minutes, and we will drill down or up from there.
Submittal process
To submit a session for consideration, fill in and submit the form below. The deadline for speaker/session submissions is May 30, 2017.
Please note: We cannot accept previously presented proposals and will not consider any proposal that has been submitted to another catering/event industry conference. If you have any questions, please contact Kathleen Stoehr, director of content & education.
Selection process
All session proposals will be reviewed by the Catersource Advisory Board Education committee, as well as other trusted industry leaders. The final determination will be made based on speaker qualifications, originality of the session, conference mix, and how applicable the topic is to the core audience. Most speakers will also be vetted. You will be notified of acceptance or denial sometime in July.
Important
• Double-check your email address is correct; this is our primary point of contact. (Note: general Gmail and Yahoo-type addresses are less apt to end up in a spam folder than a work email address.)
• Your work is automatically saved. You may start your proposal now and complete it any time before the deadline. You may even make edits after you submit, up until the deadline.
• Please ensure that only the first letter of your first and last name is capitalized, and that your bio reflects your professional achievements accurately.
• If you are a PR representative, fill in your contact details below (you will add speakers on the next page).
• For each speaker, be sure to fill in all applicable fields and click “Add Speaker” to assign the proposed speaker to your submission—even if that speaker is you. You may add multiple speakers to your proposal.
• If you have YouTube or other video clips of you presenting live, please insert a link into your abstract
• Please ensure you provide a short list of audience “takeaways” into your application
Speaker benefits
All speakers will receive one complimentary Full Conference Education Package to enjoy all four days of our conference and tradeshow; this pass includes the Sunday Night Welcome Reception. Note that we have an arsenal of dedicated content and marketing professionals at Catersource: we will do our very best to promote your appearance on our community website, our official show website, in our printed annual magazine and show guide, via social and email blasts, and on our official mobile app. Any other compensation or reimbursement to be discussed after acceptance of session.
