Event
For just one night, KCI’s new terminal became the city’s premier event venue; That’s how they did it
TTransforming an airport terminal into a high-profile, elegant celebration and then getting it back to an airport terminal within 48 hours is no easy feat, said Whitney Butler, but the women-led PlatinumXP team was up for the challenge.
Ellen Sherman, Lauren Rios, Olivia Morini, and Whitney Butler, PlatinumXP; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
“We have created in a place that can never again be used as a venue. We have several different departments in-house here at Platinum, and it took each and every department – as well as dozens of outside vendors – to make these events happen,” said Whitney Butler, Director of Business Development and Event Planning at PlatinumXP.
PlatinumXP is a full-service, one-stop event planning agency with departments in planning, destination management, AV, graphics, manufacturing, media, floral and virtual events. The Kansas City-based agency won both the bid for KCI’s private celebration of the new terminal and the bid for the public open house.
“I have no doubt about that [we won both bids] because we can offer so many of these services internally under one roof,” said Butler. “Although we have different leads for each area, we all work together as one team. It’s pretty incredible what we can achieve here. We are an energetic, passionate team and our industry is very intense – but when you look forward to the projects, you can tell.”
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The check-in hall at the new Kansas City International Airport terminal on the day of a private gala celebration for the project; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
The check-in hall at the new Kansas City International Airport terminal during the open house; Photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
Private celebration
Approximately 850 airport managers, sponsors, partners and prominent leaders from the Kansas City community gathered in the new terminal on Thursday, February 16 for a private celebration of the project. The event was hosted by actor and Kansas City native Rob Riggle, and featured more than a dozen performers and speakers, Butler noted.
Dancers from Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey
perform during a private celebration at KCI’s new airport terminal; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
“Platinum built the video wall, the stage; Our floral arrangements had bespoke centerpieces that we created in-house,” she said. “We played with the aviation theme but also made it our own with things you don’t typically see at these events. We had swag boxes for sponsors that included a custom whiskey glass engraved with the new terminal. There were just a lot of these fun pieces.”
Working at a venue not intended for large events required quick problem solving, added Olivia Morini, PlatinumXP’s events coordinator.
“There was a Dunkin Donuts in the terminal that we didn’t know was there, so bypassing those permanent airport features was a fun challenge,” Morini said.
“We showed up and they had three of these CLEAR kiosks installed right in the middle of the stage,” Butler said. “We actually had to remove them from the ground so we could put the stage in.”
Check out a gallery from the one night only event below, then read on.
With the older KCI terminal (now permanently closed) still operational in mid-February, the PlatinumXP team also had to work around staffing shortages, Butler said.
“From a security standpoint, they didn’t have 20 additional security guards for this event,” Butler said. “We also had to deal with parking and make sure the traffic didn’t get too crazy, so those were some of the logistics we had to bypass.
“We had people come to a flight in the middle of the Thursday night celebration with their bags and everything,” Butler continued, laughing. “But Rob Riggle made a nice joke that we had our first guests in the new terminal!”
For the services that PlatinumXP could not offer in-house, the planning team intended to include women and minority-owned companies in both events, said Ellen Sherman, the events manager at PlatinumXP.
“We had a really diverse selection of entertainment and vendors,” said Sherman. “More than half were minority owned companies or women who we knew were very important to the airport [executives].”
The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and Eboni Fondren Perform During a Private Celebration at KCI’s New Airport Terminal; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
Public open day
Less than 48 hours later, the airport turned into an open house event on Saturday morning, February 18th.
“Thursday and Saturday were two very different vibes,” noted Morini. “Thursday was about turning an airport into this really beautiful venue, while Saturday was about showing the airport for everything it is. It was a big mindset shift that we had to make overnight.”
“The open house had a lot of really fun family activities,” added Butler. “We had a balloon artist, a scavenger hunt, and kids who completed the scavenger hunt got their own pilot wings. The public also loved the four custom selfie ops we designed and built.”
PlatinumXP Open House Amenities in the New KCI Airport Terminal; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
With about 10,000 people registered for the open house, PlatinumXP had to set up a special registration page and check in 245 people every 15 minutes, Sherman explained.
“When you’re dealing with the public, it’s just a whole different ball game,” Sherman said. “We had to think of everything from building a registration site capable of handling tens of thousands of people all trying to register at the same time – to making sure everyone’s concerns are heard.”
As the registration contact, Sherman was quick to see how the open house was an opportunity for the community to feel safe and comfortable on future trips, she said.
“A lot of people have come up to me and said, ‘I’m legally blind and I’m traveling in two weeks. I’d love to come to the open house to have someone walk me through this process so next time I can do it on my own,'” Sherman recalled. “We had a couple with a daughter who has Down syndrome who wanted to experience the sensory space so that they would be comfortable getting to the airport when it was time.”
Members of the Public Explore the New KCI Airport Terminal During an Open House Event; Photo by Adri Guyer, PlatinumXP
Feedback from the private celebration and public open house was overwhelmingly positive, Butler said, noting that the PlatinumXP team is excited to continue raising the bar for local and national events.
“There are a lot of big events coming to Kansas City from the NFL Draft to the World Cup and we have no doubt they will help us grow that event planning department,” Butler said. “We’ve already gotten people to tell us about future projects, so I’m expecting nothing but a really positive impact on our growth pipeline!”
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