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attendees at Seth Godin's session at Skift Meetings Forum 2024

What Past Attendees Say About Skift Meetings Forum

Event leaders keep coming back to Skift Meetings Forum for one reason: it delivers. Sharp strategy, real talk, and takeaways that actually work. Here's what past attendees have to say.
August 7th, 2025 at 10:59 AM EDT

Budgeting & Cost Savings

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accounting

10 Must-Know Terms for Budgeting

The world of budgeting has its own vocabulary – and you, as a planner, need to speak the same language as the CFO.
March 10th, 2025 at 8:01 AM EDT
meeting budgets

Meeting Budgeting 101  

Planners spend most of their time on design and logistics, but at the foundation of every successful event lies a balanced budget.
March 7th, 2025 at 7:48 AM EST

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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Diversity and Inclusion

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How Wordly Enables Inclusive Meetings With AI: Watch Video 

Everyone deserves a seat at the table, no matter what language they speak. Wordly helps organizations create more inclusive meetings and events by using AI to provide real-time translation and captioning, making it easier for global teams to participate fully and stay connected.
June 12th, 2025 at 4:16 AM EDT

How Louisville’s Award-Winning Charm Built a Top Event Destination

With two convention centers, accommodation options that cater to every type of attendee, and an airport with nonstop service to 38 destinations, Louisville checks all the boxes of a premier convention city. To understand its magic, though, you need to look at something that cannot be built: the authentic sense of Southern charm that defines the community.
May 22nd, 2025 at 4:28 AM EDT

Event Design

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man

Do Companies Need a Chief Meeting Officer?

Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg says meetings are a bigger expense than IT when you add the cost of attendees’ time and salaries. So why is no one at the top in charge?
July 24th, 2025 at 5:53 PM EDT

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

Event Logistics & Operations

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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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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
post it note that says Sign Here

Speakers Bureaus to Planners: Stop Wasting Our Time

Today’s uncertain business climate is putting pressure on planners to hold off on making decisions until the last minute. Not only does this put speakers bureaus in a tough spot, it can mean lost income for the speakers.
July 23rd, 2025 at 11:15 AM EDT

Event Marketing & Promotion

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a girl with a megaphone depicting event promotion

Event Promotion Wording: A Key to Effective Event Marketing

Effective event promotion wording attracts attendees and strengthens your marketing strategy. Craft clear, engaging messages that resonate, create urgency, and highlight key benefits to make your event unforgettable.
February 26th, 2025 at 8:55 AM EST

Event Technology

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woman on laptop

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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Disney Creative Studio

5 Ways to Design a Transformational Event: Advice from Disney

As attendees crave deeper meaning and stronger emotional connections, Disney Meetings & Events is leaning into its storytelling roots.  At the heart of its strategy is the Disney Creative Studio, a collaborative hub where storytelling drives experiences that truly transform.
July 25th, 2025 at 7:17 PM EDT

Incentive Travel

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People hiking

5 Ways Planners Are Rethinking Incentives

Skift Meetings' upcoming incentive report, which will be released in August, reveals an industry that remains resilient and innovative as it is forced to continuously change and evolve.
July 8th, 2025 at 11:57 AM EDT

Industry News

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Inspiration

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For These Meeting Planners, It’s All in the Family

Children whose parents work in the meetings industry grow up being exposed to interesting people from all over the world and taking trips their friends could only dream of. So it’s not surprising when they decide to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
July 23rd, 2025 at 5:15 PM EDT

Meetings Innovators

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Liz Lathan

Meetings Innovator: Liz Lathan

Liz Lathan is reinventing business events with emotional clarity and bold ideas, reminding the industry that connection is the real return on investment. 
July 21st, 2025 at 5:02 PM EDT

Meetings Innovator: Claus Raasted

Claus Raasted wants to disrupt the default settings of the meetings industry — one bold, low-stakes experiment at a time. His legacy goal? Make the world a little less afraid, and a lot more willing to try something new.
June 30th, 2025 at 4:38 PM EDT

Meetings Innovator: Tahira Endean

IMEX Head of Programming Tahira Endean lives and breathes creativity. So it makes perfect sense that she would dream up the idea of categorizing ‘joy’ as a KPI — and then write an entire book about it.
March 28th, 2025 at 5:10 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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Meet in Fort Myers With Eco-Friendly Event Options

With over 290,000 square feet of meeting space, sustainable venues, and immersive CSR experiences like mangrove planting and oyster bed restoration — all set against stunning natural backdrops — Fort Myers' islands, beaches, and neighborhoods are a top choice for eco-conscious event planners.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:33 AM EDT

Sustainability and Inclusion: How Melbourne Elevates International Conferences

Melbourne stands out as a premier conference destination, offering the perfect blend of business and leisure. With Australia's largest conference facilities, Indigenous cultural experiences, sustainable venues, and a vibrant city atmosphere — all within 90 minutes of natural attractions and wineries — it creates inclusive, memorable events for global attendees.
April 30th, 2025 at 4:03 AM EDT
Lobby of a modern and upscale hotel with many plants, low lighting and comfortable seating

MCI's Green Push: Rethinking Event Sourcing

MCI's sustainability push could disrupt site sourcing. Its bespoke, standardized metrics call for transparency, and may set the tone for industry-wide change.
February 21st, 2025 at 2:00 AM EST

Technology

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Red warning flag on floating device in water

7 Red Flags to Avoid in Event Tech

Event tech vendors often make big promises. Here are seven warning signs that separate reliable partners from problematic providers, and how to spot them before signing contracts.
July 9th, 2025 at 9:01 AM EDT
Person looking up and ponting at the ceiling which shows a large digital screen imitating the interior of a church.

Event Tech News Roundup: June 2025

As AI sweeps across the event tech landscape, June’s developments show a sector racing to redefine value through smarter tools, deeper data, and strategic consolidation. The real winners? Planners who can keep pace with the change.
July 3rd, 2025 at 8:49 AM EDT

Toolkit

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Trends & Insights

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U.S. flag flying at a protest

Events Industry Recovery Hits Geopolitical Headwinds

The industry is facing its first non-pandemic resilience test. The numbers aren't terrible, but they're a wake-up call for an industry that's gotten too comfortable with its comeback narrative.
June 30th, 2025 at 5:11 AM EDT
risk management

How Risk Managers Keep Their Own Attendees Safe

Other events could take a page from the volumes of safety advice that Riskworld, the world’s largest gathering of global risk professionals, creates for its attendees.
May 14th, 2025 at 12:46 PM EDT

Venues

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Wellness

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Women Leaders in Meetings

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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
Lori Allen

Women Leaders in Meetings: Lori Allen

Lori Allen, vice president, global event operations at MetLife, strives to be the kind of leader who understands what her team needs and creates an environment where they're safe to express that. 
July 11th, 2025 at 4:33 PM EDT
Janet Trapenhagen

Women Leaders in Meetings: Janet Traphagen

Janet Traphagen has spent her career helping define what leadership looks like in the business events space, not just through her rise at Creative Group, but through the values she champions: emotional intelligence, authenticity, and culture as a performance driver.
June 9th, 2025 at 3:35 PM EDT