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Accessibility & Inclusion

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Announcements

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Skift Meetings Forum 2025

The Full Powerhouse Lineup at Skift Meetings Forum

The stage is set at Skift Meetings Forum, featuring speakers who shape the boldest ideas in the event world. From leadership to technology to creativity, every session delivers insights that matter.
September 12th, 2025 at 8:27 AM EDT

Budgeting & Cost Savings

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33 Cost-Cutting Tips from the Pros

Planners are searching for solutions to combat rising costs on F&B, transportation, labor, and other aspects of their events.
October 23rd, 2025 at 2:14 PM EDT

Careers & Personal Development

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Contracts & Duty of Care

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Coronavirus

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Planners Beware, Covid Cases on the Rise

A new Covid variant is sweeping across the United States. One industry professional raises the alarm after contracting the virus at a recent convention.
August 23rd, 2023 at 6:11 AM EDT

What E3’s Cancellation Means for the Meetings Industry

65,000 attendees, 4,000 jobs, and $88 million in revenue won't be coming to Los Angeles in June, with leading video-game-industry trade show E3 canceled for 2023. It was meant to be the first in-person show since 2019. However, major exhibitors were unwilling to commit. Will other events follow suit?
April 4th, 2023 at 10:49 AM EDT

China Shutters Major Event 9 Hours Before Opening Due to Covid Outbreak

TCT Asia, a major trade show, was shut down by Shenzhen authorities nine hours before it was set to open due to Covid numbers in the city creeping up to 24. Navigating policies and enforcements like this is a challenge for show and event planners, but it’s a reality that’s here to stay.
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:35 AM EDT

Destinations

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How Planners Are Maximizing Group Travel With Choice Hotels International

With rising costs and tighter budgets, Choice Hotels International offers smart solutions for planners to maximize their spend and enhance the guest experience. The company’s expansive portfolio includes over 7,500 properties across 22 brands, offering the breadth, flexibility, and support that today’s planners expect, regardless of the event’s budget or size.
November 18th, 2025 at 4:00 AM EST

Diversity and Inclusion

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It’s Up to Women Leaders to Change the Story

Hannah DeMaio, vice president of Skift’s Women Leading Travel, says that women in our industry have made incredible strides — but some critical challenges still exist.
October 31st, 2025 at 10:46 AM EDT
SHRM Blueprint Conference

HR Conference Sparks Dialogue Across Divides

At a time when DEI is increasingly politicized, HR association SHRM’s live debate between ideological opposites demonstrates how conferences are the ideal platform for essential, and sometimes uncomfortable, dialogue that digital platforms cannot replicate.
October 29th, 2025 at 3:38 PM EDT

Event Design

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Champagne on silver platter

These Planners Brought Unreasonable Hospitality to Life

Treating every interaction as an opportunity to make people feel seen and valued, a tenet of the bestselling book by Will Guidara, applies as much to meetings and incentives as it does to restaurants and hotels.
November 7th, 2025 at 9:18 AM EST

MCI Partner Event Puts Relationships Before Deals

One of the world's largest event businesses invited preferred hotel partners to meet with its top buyers. But rather than make the experience transactional, it banned sales pitches altogether.
November 3rd, 2025 at 6:04 AM EST

Event Logistics & Operations

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soup with croutons

What Planners Need to Know About Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is one of the most misunderstood “dietary restrictions.” It’s essential to advocate for your attendees with the condition the same way you would for those with other extreme allergies, such as peanuts or shellfish.
September 25th, 2025 at 4:19 PM EDT
meeting

5 Reasons Off-Site Meetings Fail

According to organizational psychology expert Dr. Joe Allen, most off-sites regularly miss the mark. Here’s his advice on how to change that.
August 5th, 2025 at 10:30 AM EDT
man yawning

12 Strategies for Avoiding That Notorious Afternoon Slump

Anyone who’s ever attended a meeting has experienced that almost unavoidable after-lunch slump, when the energy literally drains from the room and eyes glaze over. The good news: With a little planning, it doesn‘t have to be that way.
July 29th, 2025 at 4:01 PM EDT

Event Management

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Cassandra Farrington and Robyn Duda

Building Bold Events from the Ground Up

Two female founders shared how outsider perspectives, community building, and entrepreneurial grit are key to building successful events.
September 19th, 2025 at 12:06 PM EDT
Secret trip about to take off at JFK

How a $40K Cyber Scam Nearly Grounded 80 Event Pros

In an era of rising cyber fraud, one planner’s $40,000 loss is a wake-up call for the industry: payment security deserves the same rigor as contracts, insurance, and attendee safety.
August 12th, 2025 at 11:13 AM EDT

Event Marketing & Promotion

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6 Ways Planners Can Get Started on TikTok

TikTok is the social media platform of choice for showcasing events using video. But plan to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the site before jumping in, or users might pass right by.
August 27th, 2025 at 3:04 PM EDT

Event Technology

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5 Tech Tools Making Planners’ Lives Easier

There might be an initial learning curve, but planners say once they are up to speed, these technologies are not only improving their meetings but lightening their load.
July 21st, 2025 at 10:13 AM EDT
young guys playing video game

7 Ways Next-Gen Attendees are Reshaping Event Tech

Planners need to rethink how they use technology in every aspect of their meetings, or they risk losing the attention of the biggest percentage of their attendees — Millennials and Gen Zers.
July 16th, 2025 at 7:10 PM EDT

Ideas & Inspiration

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woman painting a wall at an event with people in background

Experiential Event Marketing on a Budget: Creative Wins that Work

Experiential marketing is often associated with jaw-dropping installations, celebrity appearances, and multimillion-dollar budgets. But what if you’re a mid-sized brand, a destination marketing team, or an independent event producer with a fraction of that funding?
November 4th, 2025 at 8:59 AM EST
hands

7 Wellness-Themed Gifting Ideas

If you’re including wellness activities or activations in your event, why not extend that theme into your gifting experiences and room amenities? 
October 13th, 2025 at 10:34 AM EDT

Incentive Travel

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Industry News

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Inspiration

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Introducing the Skift Meetings Power Rankings

True power in events isn’t just about scale, it’s about who sets the agenda and dares to innovate. These 15 leaders are shaping the future of global events.
October 1st, 2025 at 8:49 AM EDT

Meetings Innovators

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Ruud Janssen Turns Complexity Into Clarity Through Collaborative Event Design

Ruud Janssen wants the tool he co-created to be so impactful it becomes anonymous, and synonyms with encoding great event design. He believes true innovation is about simplifying complexity and getting people to work together and urges all event designers to leave their ego at the door.
October 29th, 2025 at 6:05 AM EDT
Robyn Duda

Meetings Innovators: Robyn Duda 

Robyn Duda shows that innovation isn’t about flash. It’s about solving real needs. With RacquetX and her fresh approach to events, she demonstrates that true innovation comes from listening, iterating, and creating connections people didn’t know they needed.
September 30th, 2025 at 10:22 PM EDT

On The Road

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surviving long-haul flights

Expert Advice for Surviving Long-Haul Travel

The goal for meeting planners flying long-haul is to arrive fresh and ready to work. Who better to ask for advice on how to do that than fellow travelers and flight attendants?
April 25th, 2025 at 4:22 PM EDT

People

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Meetings Innovator: Anh Nguyen

When Anh Nguyen realized the events industry's "do-it-all-yourself" culture wasn't compatible with motherhood, she built a solution: a collaborative network of senior planners. But that's just one of her many innovative approaches to working in the meetings industry.
December 31st, 2024 at 5:00 AM EST
Female speaker talking from the stage at a conference

Mary Jo Blythe: Meetings Innovator

Forever changing the lives of front-line hospitality workers – one person at a time – is Mary Jo Blythe’s mission as founder of The Above and Beyond Foundation.
November 28th, 2024 at 9:09 AM EST
Photo of person laughing wearing white clothes sitting on high chair in an urban setting

Megan Henshall: Meetings Innovator

Rehumanizing corporate life is the new mission of Google Xi. Its founder, Megan Henshall, is Skift Meeting's first-ever Meetings Innovator.
October 31st, 2024 at 10:05 AM EDT

Skift Meetings Podcast

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Skift Meetings Podcast logo

AI and the Human Touch

On this episode of the Skift Meetings Podcast, we delve into the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the events industry while emphasizing the enduring importance of human connection.
January 8th, 2025 at 4:51 PM EST

Sustainability

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How Posadas Is Building the Next Generation of Responsible Meeting Venues

With corporate sustainability goals becoming non-negotiable, meeting planners can no longer afford to separate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy from event design. Posadas’ Fiesta Americana Travelty Meetings & Events provides planners with the venues, expertise, and operational standards to meet both business and impact objectives.
September 23rd, 2025 at 6:00 AM EDT

Technology

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Smartphone screen displays AI assistant options

Event Tech & AI News Roundup: November 2025

AI continues to reshape event technology, with innovation now focused less on novelty and more on meaningful automation. The latest wave of launches points to a maturing ecosystem where smarter tools are becoming standard, not optional.
November 5th, 2025 at 10:48 AM EST

Toolkit

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pac man

15 Fun Games for Company Events

At the end of a long day of meetings, people just want to play. Planners can shift the vibe by adding fun, interactive games during the evening reception.
August 19th, 2025 at 9:01 AM EDT

Trends & Insights

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Small wooden blocks stacked as steps on a white background

New Research Reveals Shifts in Trade Show Revenue Mix

Trade shows have long relied on floor space as their financial backbone, but that foundation is changing faster than most executives admit. A new framework provides a consistent way to quantify that change.
November 18th, 2025 at 5:42 AM EST
business meeting

Attendees Want “Why,” Not “Wow,” Says New Report

Forget spectacle, today’s attendees are looking for connection, outcomes, and purpose. Freeman’s latest research exposes a widening gap between what event planners think audiences want, and what they actually desire. 
October 6th, 2025 at 12:16 PM EDT

Venues

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Inside Convene Hospitality Group’s New Multi-Brand Venue Strategy

Meeting planners are under pressure to deliver more impact with fewer resources. Convene Hospitality Group’s multi-brand model offers them a rare advantage: consistent service and design across distinct tiers, giving planners flexibility without the headache of juggling multiple partners.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:43 AM EDT

Wellness

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Inside a Wellness-First Approach to Meetings, Caesars-Style

Caesars Entertainment prioritizes wellness by making it part and parcel of successful modern event strategies. They even took the show on the road to demonstrate the difference their approach makes for wellness-minded (and wellness-challenged) event and meeting planners.
July 14th, 2025 at 2:00 PM EDT

Women Leaders in Meetings

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Morgan Crain

Women Leaders in Meetings: Morgan Crain

As head of global rewards & recognition at Rubrik and a long-time leader at the Incentive Research Foundation, Morgan Crain has learned that one of her strongest assets is her authenticity.
October 24th, 2025 at 9:20 AM EDT
meeting planner

Women Leaders in Meetings: Marybeth Roberts

Marybeth Roberts was on the forefront of the strategic meetings management movement decades ago. Today she is as passionate as ever about innovating and driving cost efficiencies.
September 2nd, 2025 at 10:33 AM EDT
Cassandra Farrington

Women Leaders in Meetings: Cassandra Farrington

Cassandra Farrington didn’t just build a media brand, she helped professionalize an industry long dismissed as fringe. By turning MJBizCon into the must-attend event for cannabis professionals, she proved that credibility, scale, and community could grow even in the most uncharted business terrain. 
August 7th, 2025 at 8:51 AM EDT