Graphic by Ella Sylvie and photo by Lauren Desberg
The COVID-19 virus has disrupted life as we know it, including the way we travel and gather. What about the professionals who live and breathe travel and events? Meet Nicole Bono, founder and CEO of Bono Events International, a luxury, full-service events and travel design company. Think of her as your “fairy godmother” for planning custom destination events and trips. While she’s normally focused on high-end weddings and events in destinations like Italy, France and Spain, the coronavirus has caused her to change course and adapt in new ways to fit demand and restrictions. I had the pleasure of meeting with her (virtually!) and picking her brain about travel and events, the coronavirus, and being a female business owner.
Sheila (S): What inspired you to start Bono Events International?
Nicole (N): So, um, long story! But the short story is that I used to work in the music industry. I went to school at the Berklee College of Music and I was always super involved in events, doing PR and marketing for a concert hall. After I graduated, I ended up working in contract and licensing of music … and I was super bored. The work I was doing just wasn’t for me. I jumped into a role at the office of student life at the NYU campus in Florence and I loved every minute of it. I loved being around people, seeing the human interaction and smiles. I moved to Paris, and at that point, I had no idea what I was going to do next.
I met up with a friend for lunch, and she brought her friend along who was getting married in Florence. She didn’t have a wedding planner, so I was basically giving her advice on what I would do if I were her. A month later, the woman, Jordan, emailed me saying she wanted me to plan her wedding. The client happened before the company did, and she’s the reason my company was born! Because she’s an Instagram influencer (@hautehouseflower), I started to get a ton of referral business, which was unbelievable exposure. It was the best “accident” that’s ever happened to me. Since that window opened, I have jumped in and done every single thing I can to make this what it is today.
S: What do you think is the most important skill to have as an entrepreneur?
N: Your ability to maintain relationships. They are the foundation because what you find out is that you cannot do anything on your own. This year, I worked on becoming a travel design company as well as an event planning company, and I leaned on Kristin Chambers, who is the owner of Travellustre. She took me under her wing in the middle of a pandemic, and our relationship has opened up a rainbow of other relationships.
Networking is so important. You have to meet people, take people out to lunch, spend time with them. If a hotel invites me to stay somewhere for the weekend, I make sure I spend time with the hotel manager, the head of sales and marketing, and the chef in the kitchen. By making those connections, it’s so much easier to pick up the phone six months later to book them for a client rather than send a cold email. When I teach my students, I tell them communication and going above and beyond are vital.
In the events industry, it’s also about being on your feet 24/7. Events are glamorous, but what goes on behind the scenes is not. It’s about being coordinated, taking and giving orders, staying organized. One time I stayed up 26 hours straight on an event because you just don’t stop. I got to the end of the day at Jordan’s wedding and realized I hadn’t eaten all day! It’s like running a marathon; you don’t look back and just keep running. You need to learn the basics of that grind and diving in with your body and your mind.
S: What is it like to be a female entrepreneur? Do you feel people treat you differently?
N: Yes, of course. In the world of wedding planners, it’s mostly women, so I’ve actually felt the sexism come from older men who own a venue or something. It’s more of an ageism thing tied into sexism because they see me as a super young woman doing this job. They’re like, “why are you here and why are you telling me what to do?” In Italian, “signorina” is a young, unmarried girl, and I hear “signorina” all the time, like “OK little girl, you know nothing.” I don’t let it affect me, and you have to push your own boundaries. When someone tells me no, I don’t say “OK.” I say, “Why? Why is it a no?” I try to give other young women the opportunity to do a job whenever I can because I appreciate when others do it for me.
S: How has COVID affected your job, and how have you adapted to the new restrictions and environment?
N: The obvious answer is that it has stopped everything. Whenever I list off the places I was supposed to travel to this year, I get really sad. What I decided to do was to expand my company and the services we offer. I became a part of Travellustre to become a travel design company. I have been on maybe hundreds of Zoom webinars just meeting people, expanding. I visited hotels over the summer to see how they were adapting to the coronavirus firsthand. And in 2021, there’s a really good chance things will recover, and that 2022 will be awesome. In the industry, we’re calling this new wave of people that want to travel in the next few years “revenge travel.” People who are stuck at home can’t wait to get somewhere else.
At the end of our interview, Nicole shared her predictions that hope is on the horizon for the travel industry. “Now is the time to start thinking about your future travel plans, because the demand is growing and when that bubble bursts, oh man. If you’re looking to work in events, don’t think it’s a dead industry, it’s just frozen. The ice will melt soon.” As a PR major interested in event planning myself, discussing how to navigate the industry as a woman and in such trying times was truly inspirational. Feel free to check out Bono Events International’s Instagram and website if you’re planning to be a part of 2022’s “revenge travel” wave. I know I am.