Michiel Smilde

Michiel Smilde is a passionate senior event professional with more than forty years of experience in the hospitality, conference and events industry.

Since 2009, he has worked as an independent event manager through his consultancy, Eventerim | Event & Conference Management. In addition, he serves as Destination Manager for Convention Bureau Event Park Amsterdam, representing the Haarlemmermeer conference and events region and advising Dutch and international meeting planners on finding the right venues and local partners.

Michiel began his career in hospitality before moving into a variety of commercial and operational roles. He has worked as Sales & Event Manager for both the Circustheater and the former Convention Factory Amsterdam, part of Stage Entertainment. He was also one of the founders of Platform Bijzondere Locaties ("Platform for Unique Venues"), an initiative that later helped lay the foundations for today's Dutch Venue Association.

Over the course of his career, Michiel has been responsible for—or closely involved in—the delivery of more than 1,790 corporate events, public gatherings and celebrations. This extensive experience means he understands the industry from virtually every perspective: as an organiser, client, venue consultant, destination manager and collaborative partner of venues and suppliers. It is this broad practical experience that he brings to every YOIN audit.

Seeing through the eyes of both the guest and the organiser
For Michiel, an audit is about far more than checking whether a venue meets the assessment criteria. He evaluates the complete customer journey—from the first online search and enquiry through to arrival, wayfinding, technical facilities, catering, hospitality and the departure of the final guest. Throughout the process, he assesses the experience from two equally important perspectives: that of the guest and that of the professional meeting or event planner.

"A venue may meet every requirement on paper, but ultimately it's the people, the hospitality and the attention to detail that make the difference. That's what creates the experience that clients and their guests will remember."

During an audit, Michiel sees himself primarily as an independent, constructive sparring partner. He highlights what a venue already does well, recognises the achievements a venue team can be proud of and offers practical recommendations for further improvement and future investment.

As a result, a YOIN audit provides far more than the basis for certification. It delivers valuable insights that support quality improvement, strengthen team engagement and help venues sharpen their commercial positioning.

His goal as a YOIN-auditor
With his knowledge, experience and genuine passion for exceptional meeting venues, Michiel aims to contribute to the continued development of YOIN excellent meeting places and the venue teams that are part of the programme.

"An independent quality label only has real value if it goes beyond a checklist. It should help venues continue to improve while giving clients confidence that they're choosing demonstrable quality. If, after an audit, a venue team feels inspired, validated and leaves with practical ideas for improvement, then I've achieved exactly what I set out to do."

Worth reading

Michiel also wrote an insightful column for PV Magazine, a Dutch magazine for staff associations, about the value of YOIN excellent meeting places.

Read the article here.