The good news: Meeting and event planners are feeling generally optimistic about 2025, with 41% expecting an increase in event bookings and 65% anticipating higher attendance. The bad news: Planners are also feeling dissatisfied with rising costs, which are straining budgets and affecting the quality of events. 

The city of Austin, Texas, is about to see a change to its skyline. On February 25, the Austin Convention Center Department (ACCD) unveiled the first renderings of the new Austin Convention Center, dubbed “Unconventional ATX.” The $1.6 billion project is expected to redefine the city’s event landscape with more space, innovative design, and a commitment to sustainability. 

Event management platform RainFocus hosted its annual flagship event, RainFocus INSIGHT, in Salt Lake City Feb. 18–20. Nearly 450 event, marketing, and technology professionals attended the three-day event, which featured 75-plus educational sessions, demos of brand-new platform features, and the annual Innovation Awards ceremony. 

When asked to share her perspective on what the Donald J. Trump presidency might mean for the business events community, former U.S. Representative from Wyoming Liz Cheney said: “Nobody should assume that this is a permanent change in American politics.” 

What does it take to launch and run a successful event planning company? In a captivating fireside chat with us at Connect North 2025, MJMeetings Founder and CEO Missy Johnson shared her inspiring journey of building a successful event planning business that recently celebrated its 11-year anniversary—despite event industry shutdowns during COVID.  

A signature Las Vegas hotel-resort recently joined a branded collection of premium meetings properties, and an expansive property in upstate New York completed a property-wide renovation. 

London, U.K.-based creative event design and production agency Event Concept (EC) is expanding into the U.S. market with a new division in North America. The new division brings EC’s unique blend of creative agency thinking and production expertise in brand-led B2B event experiences to the U.S. 

The Savannah Convention Center (SCC) in Savannah, Ga., has completed a massive, $276 million expansion that has positioned the venue to not only serve long-standing events wishing to grow but also attract new and larger-scale meetings and conventions to the historic coastal destination. 

In a riveting session at the recent 2025 PCMA Convening Leaders, renowned researcher, storyteller, and author Brené Brown took the stage to share her insights on leadership, vulnerability, and courage. Known for her pioneering work on the power of vulnerability, Brown engaged in a fireside chat with the Emergent CEO Holly Ransom, who has served as PCMA Convening Leaders EmCee and Moderator for the past several years, providing attendees with a treasure trove of actionable ideas. 

Following the unprecedented growth and momentum of its open source Llama collection of models and tools, Meta announced it is launching LlamaCon, its first-ever developer conference dedicated to generative AI that will take place