News

May 21, 2021
The hiring craze at event and hospitality companies continues, with organizations, CVBs and hotels across the country tapping fresh leadership and expanding their teams. Take a look: Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau  Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau has appointed 15-year hospitality sales and marketing professional Dee Mittman as its new convention sales manager. Most recently, she served as national sales manager for the Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, spending seven years at the CVB successfully sourcing meetings and events in the sports, corporate,… more
May 20, 2021
Hubb CEO Allie Magyar knows first-hand what it’s like to face gender discrimination and unconscious bias in the technology world. In the early days of the event software company, she remembers being consistently asked to explain how she wouldn’t fail rather than how she would succeed, an over-arching attitude made more apparent by the prevalence of male-led companies able to raise large sums of money while female-led companies struggled to get investors. While she never let the naysayers stop her from turning Hubb into a successful event management platform, she still experiences the… more
May 18, 2021
Start spreading the news: Destinations are open for business. But rather than screaming to the hills, CVBs and destination management companies are taking a more selective approach to how they roll out the red carpet. Targeted messaging is the theme uniting an array of approaches taken to attract groups to town. Here are some highlights: Explore St. Louis A new ad campaign from Explore St. Louis is arguably more star-studded than the recent Academy Awards ceremony. Among the celebrities pitching the Arch city to incoming guests are John Goodman, Jenna Fischer, Andy Cohen, Ozzie Smith and… more
May 17, 2021
If meeting planners and event organizers have learned one thing from the pandemic, it’s that they are not always in control. So, in an industry defined by concrete numbers and steadfast dates, they are now asking for some leeway. After all, things change and no one situation is alike during this pandemic. “I think the biggest thing for us is we are looking for flexibility so they’re not putting us all into a bucket,” explained LeAnn Koenig, vice operations of operations at Vertical Xchange, which organizes intimate gatherings among leaders of myriad industries. Terry Matthews-Lombardo,… more
May 13, 2021
An event by any other name would smell as sweet to corporate event planners as long as the objective is met. That’s one of the main takeaways from a thought-provoking research compiled by event tech company MeetingPlay in conjunction with Corporate Event News. Results, published in a new whitepaper that can be downloaded here, clearly demonstrate the end goal for virtual corporate events is nearly always the same as their in-person counterparts. Namely, corporations have become just as reliant on collecting lead generation from remote attendees as more traditional gatherings like meetings,… more
May 12, 2021
BCD Meetings & Events Global President Scott Graf sees the currents changing. Because reopening is staggered across the globe, it’s impossible to maneuver the corporate events management company as one large ship. Rather, there are several yachts moving at varying speeds. The United States and United Kingdom have reached the Atlantic Ocean and are poised to push their engines. Continental Europe and Latin America remain closer to home, awaiting their turn to push off from port. The good news is BCD is not in any danger of recreating the Titanic’s fate. Through meaningful customer… more
May 11, 2021
Optimism about the events industry is transforming from anecdotal to data-driven. A new report from Freeman, which has been tracking attendees’ temperatures about returning to face-to-face gatherings for the better part of a year, shows the strongest signs yet that the great recovery may happen sooner than later. While virtual aspects of shows won’t disappear with COVID-19, the eighth iteration of Freeman’s research since the pandemic began shows the highest willingness yet to attend live events. Key findings include: 85% of attendees and 86% of exhibitors are expecting to return to in-… more
May 10, 2021
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President and CEO Steve Hayes can’t say for certain that the new Amazon Prime Series, “Life’s Rewards,” has a happy ending. While not familiar with all of the plot points, Hayes is certainly hoping for the best out of the series, which debuts May 10. You see, not only does “Life’s Rewards” – comprising eight 10-15-minute episodes – showcase the destination, it is the first original scripted series developed by destination marketing organizations for streaming services. The idea sprung from one simple question, Hayes recalled: “How do we tell our story differently… more
May 06, 2021
Detroit’s TCF Center has landed a new general manager. On April 19, Larry Alexander, board chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority announced that Karen Totaro has been tapped by ASM Global to lead the convention center. In her new role, Totaro will be responsible for the overall management, promotion and operation of the facility, leading its team of professionals, building on key industry partnerships in the community and supporting the overall mission of the TCF Center and the DRCFA.  “Karen Totaro is the right person at the right time to take the TCF Center back to… more
May 05, 2021
With the COVID-19 pandemic hanging over the event industry’s head for more than a year now, creating safe in-person meetings and conferences has become a laser point-of-focus for meeting and conference planners. To meet that demand, event tech companies have been rising to the occasion with new and contactless software tools to provide peace of mind for attendees, exhibitors, event staff and planners alike. Here are a few to consider as organizations welcome back groups in person: Konduko Kontactless Launched in 2013, Swiss-based Konduko provides Kontactless Smart Event technologies that… more
Partner Voices
Just when it seems like Las Vegas can’t get any bigger, brighter or more exciting for groups, MGM Resorts raises the bar again. The company continues to invest and innovate across its portfolio of Las Vegas resorts, with new attractions and upgraded experiences for attendees of all interests.  Remodeled Guest Rooms MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with over 5,000 guest rooms and an 850,000-square-foot conference center. It is home to the newly remodeled MGM Grand Studio Tower—700 reimagined guest rooms with a fun mid-century vibe. Nearby, the iconic New York-New York Las more