Oct 21, 2024
A recent global business-travel forecast details the factors affecting airfares as well as guest-room rates and costs for event elements at business hotels.
With many organizations in the midst of setting their travel and event budgets for 2025, the recently released Global Business Travel Forecast from business-travel and meetings agency CWT and the Global Business Travel Association provides data that planners can use to justify next year’s funding requests.
To start, the average domestic-flight cost will come in at about $810 in 2024. The good news is that the average airfare in 2025 is… more
Oct 17, 2024
Sustainability took center stage at Javits Center during Climate Week NYC, which was held Sept. 22-29. Climate Week NYC takes place every year in partnership with the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.
Launched in 2019 as part of Climate Week NYC, the Nest Climate Campus returned Sept. 24-26 to Javits and featured a one-day Sustainable Events Summit (SES), an invitation-only think-tank style meeting produced by MAD Event Management that was launched to help event organizers and suppliers to achieve net zero by 2050.… more
Oct 15, 2024
The 13th edition of IMEX America is a wrap. The booths and signage have come down at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and the show’s record-setting 15,500 participants, including more than 5,500 buyers, have headed home. Now comes the work of maintaining the connections and acting on the education and experiences delivered at the October 8-10 event.
Here are four ideas and two trends from IMEX America that focus on thinking a bit differently about event planning.
Great Idea: Hands-On A.I.
“Wow,” “Oh my goodness!,” and spontaneous clapping: Those were some of the audience reactions during the… more
Oct 14, 2024
ConferenceDirect's voyage towards producing a carbon-neutral event wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. "This journey started four years ago when we committed to a 30% reduction by 2030," said Larry Hanson, chief marketing and sustainability officer for ConferenceDirect, a meeting and event management firm that manages more than 1,000 conferences globally.
The increasing demand from corporate clients to address sustainability in RFPs and his personal commitment to sustainability propelled the company to develop a dedicated team of Events Industry Council (EIC)-certified sustainable event… more
Oct 07, 2024
Asking attendees about their dietary restrictions and preferences—and accommodating them—is part of any F&B 101 curriculum. Delegates’ meals affect their satisfaction with the event and, ultimately, the bottom line, so accommodating dietary needs is part of the job.
But some planners see a further twist coming in this already challenging responsibility.
Over time, attendee requests for special meals have expanded beyond vegetarian, kosher, and allergen-free options. As dietary trends have emphasized nutrition-savvy, gut-friendly, plant-based food and more Americans are committed to… more
Oct 04, 2024
Dreamforce made headlines last month after the now-viral moment when comedian John Mulaney roasted Salesforce’s “imminently replaceable” workforce for wearing “fleece vests” and embodying all of the other corporate tech bro stereotypes.
“The fact that there are 45,000 ‘trailblazers’ here couldn’t devalue the title any more,” Mulaney added during his 45-minute set, throwing in that the Salesforce workers filling the audience around him looked “like a group who looked at the self-checkout counters at CVS and thought, ‘This is the future.’”
The reality is that hiring a comedian for an event… more
Oct 03, 2024
As IMEX America 2024 approaches, IMEX Group CEO Carina Bauer joined CEN’s VP of Group Content Danica Tormohlen for an insightful preview of what attendees can expect at this year's event, which will be held Oct. 7-10 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Bauer told us she expects this year's IMEX America to surpass last year's success in terms of both size and attendance. The event's app, equipped with advanced navigation features akin to Google Maps, will be integral in helping attendees navigate the expansive show floor.
Related: IMEX DEBUTS GROUNDBREAKING DIGITAL WAYFINDING… more
Sep 27, 2024
With a national-park campground theme and a focus on artificial intelligence’s uses and benefits, Dreamforce ’24 was a hot ticket, drawing more than 45,000 people to the Moscone Center in San Francisco from September 17 to 19.
In between the keynote sessions featuring high-profile players such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and California Governor Gavin Newsom (see photo below), attendees walked an indoor and outdoor show floor featuring a combination of high-tech and low-tech activations designed to capture their attention.
Here are three Dreamforce activations that planners could easily… more
Sep 26, 2024
Looking for professional development training for emerging talent and seasoned professionals? A new coaching cohort program has been launched by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Visit Fort Worth, with 20 participants completing the inaugural six-week online program in August. The Fall session is currently taking applications, and planners can apply here.
The partnership between MPI and the Texas CVB matches event planners with coaches to help industry professionals define their career trajectories. The inaugural program brought industry professionals together to learn, grow,… more
Sep 12, 2024
Learning. Innovation. Community. Those are the key words cloud-based CRM software company Salesforce uses to describe its annual flagship conference, Dreamforce, touted as the world’s largest AI event and enterprise tech conference. Hosted every year in San Francisco and set for Sept. 17-19 at Moscone Center, Dreamforce is considered an essential business gathering for the global Salesforce community, aka “Trailblazers,” that attracts thousands of attendees worldwide for three days of learning, networking, innovation sharing, philanthropy, and fun.
In 2023, the 21st annual event drew an… more
Partner Voices
MGM Resorts is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture, not just among employees and guests but also within its supply chain. The company prioritizes procuring goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and those facing economic disadvantages. This commitment is integral to MGM Resorts' global procurement strategy.
Through its voluntary supplier diversity program, MGM Resorts actively identifies and connects certified diverse-owned suppliers to opportunities within its supply chain. The company is more