News

Sep 20, 2019
Last year, Cori Dossett, president of Conferences Designed based in Dallas, spent two weeks in New Zealand. It was meant to be a holiday, but despite being 7,500 miles from home, it didn’t feel like one.  “I literally worked half the vacation — some days I did not leave my hotel room,” recalls Dossett. “It was unfortunate and sad in so many ways.” This meeting planner’s experience is relatable on many levels. It’s hard to take time away from work in this industry, and even more so when you’re the boss. As a self-employed small business owner, Dossett says she has freedom to take as much… more
Sep 19, 2019
In an effort to solve the industry-wide challenges of digital event tool integration, in 2017 Freeman launched Fuzion by Freeman. The open product ecosystem is designed to give event managers the ability to choose and integrate the best-of-breed software solutions that work best for their programs. Establishing a common language that allows multiple software tools to talk to one another results in a more unified, meaningful view of events along with improved analytics. Now, to further improve and simplify the event technology selection process, Freeman has added a Fuzion event tech directory… more
Sep 18, 2019
Arlington, Texas is a city uniquely dedicated to sports. The city is home to AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, the eSports Stadium Arlington & Expo Center and Texas Live!, a sports, dining and entertainment district that opened in August 2018. Live! By Loews — Arlington, TX, which opened its doors last month, is the newest hotel to open in the district, and expands both the city’s convention and meeting capacity. Billed as a “multi-concept sports resort”, the 300-room Live! By Loews – Arlington, TX offers 35,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a 14,000 sq. ft.… more
Sep 16, 2019
If you were flying home from Las Vegas last week, there’s a good chance you were seated next to a fellow IMEX attendee. This year’s IMEX America, held at Sands Expo and Convention Center from Sept. 10-12, drew an estimated 14,000 attendees and generated an economic impact of more than $20 million, according to show officials. Held in Las Vegas for nine years now, IMEX included more than 3,500 exhibitors from 150 countries on the trade showfloor. IMEX Group, which organizes the show, estimates a total of 76,000 individual and group appointments took place over the three-day event. That marks… more
Sep 16, 2019
Looking for an EventBot from Sciensio? You’ll now find the brand — and its chatbots — at 42Chat.com. Company officials say that the new name is inspired by three different things the number 42 represents: The meaning of life – from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson’s jersey number ASCII code for the asterisk In a blog post detailing the reasons for the rebrand and the selection of the new name, 42Chat’s director of marketing Sarah McMullin describes the number 42 as being “synonymous with greatness.” (She also notes that “Sciensio” had proved… more
Sep 13, 2019
Ricky Kalmon isn’t your everyday motivational speaker. A mindset expert, celebrity hypnotist and motivational speaker by trade, Kalmon works to engage and inspire event groups through his customized entertainment and keynote program that blends hypnosis with high-energy mindset coaching. We sat down with Kalmon to find out how a positive mental attitude can not only help us become healthier, happier and less stressed, but also more successful in our personal and professional lives. How did you get into hypnotism?  I grew up in the entertainment business and was a child magician. I went to a… more
Sep 12, 2019
Aventri and Meetingmax have teamed up to offer event planners a fully integrated registration and housing solution. The new platform integration connects the Meetingmax room block management and Aventri event registration systems to streamline planning, drive registration and increase attendee satisfaction.  The integration provides an enhanced customer experience, allowing attendees to register and book accommodations seamlessly without having to enter their information twice. For event planners, housing logistics are simplified. Planners can run real-time reports that identify attendees… more
Sep 10, 2019
CAESARS FORUM is set to open in Las Vegas in seven months, and Caesars Entertainment has already secured more than $300 million in business for the new, 550,000-square-foot conference facility. Officials announced that in the last 18 months, more than 125 contracts for meetings and events have been signed, 75 percent of which represent new business. The $375 million conference center, which can accommodate more than 10,000 attendees, will hold LEED Silver certification and features the world's two largest pillarless ballrooms, each equivalent to one football field. "I am thrilled with the… more
Sep 09, 2019
As Hurricane Dorian moved over the cold waters of the Labrador Sea and became an extra-tropical storm on Sunday, many communities along the Atlantic are facing the devastation left in its wake. By far the greatest destruction was in the northern Bahamas, where Dorian planted itself for 48 hours as a monster Category 5 hurricane, obliterating everything in its path and leaving an estimated 70,000 people homeless, according to news reports. So far, the death toll has risen to 45 and is expected to climb as thousands remain missing. To help with what is expected to be a massive recovery effort… more
Sep 09, 2019
New York, San Francisco and Chicago top the list of the best North American cities for events in 2020, according to a new ranking released by CWT M&E, the global meetings and events division of CWT. The list was created based on CWT’s volume of business and booking trends, including a combination of requested cities, awarded RFPs and business value. Each of the three top cities moved up in the ranking from last year, and several cities were brand new to the list, including Atlanta, Toronto and San Diego (which took the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots, respectively). The No. 1 ranked city for 2019… more
Partner Voices
One of the most iconic names on the Las Vegas Strip just got an upgrade. Mandalay Bay has everything that your business needs from a refreshed convention space designed to inspire productivity and creativity, to an impressive selection of world-class restaurants and amenities. If you're looking for a venue that's both inviting and innovative, you have to be here.   New Wave Experiences Mandalay Bay continues to invest in a new wave of enhancements both in the convention space and within the resort as a whole. New restaurant openings including Orla by Michael Mina, more