September was another active month for the corporate events industry, especially among industry suppliers, with organizations across the U.S. tapping new leadership, promoting seasoned staff, and welcoming experienced professionals to executive teams. 

As Hurricane Milton, a powerful Category 4 storm, barrels toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, the impact on the state’s business events industry is already being felt. With winds reaching up to 150 miles per hour, Milton is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay region, potentially disrupting major conferences, conventions, and trade shows across Florida.  

With 1,350 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 78 countries across six continents already in its portfolio, Hyatt Hotels Corp. is significantly expanding its luxury and lifestyle brand footprint with more than 20 new and planned property openings across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean through 2025.  

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.

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.  

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.  

An array of event technology companies have formed strategic partnerships and added new services to help corporate event planners streamline their events, elevate ROI, and increase attendee inclusivity.  

Just in time for its 20th anniversary, the Omni San Diego Hotel in San Diego’s downtown Gaslamp Quarter recently completed a property-wide renovation that encompasses refreshed meeting and event spaces, a reimagined lobby and guest rooms, two new food and beverage concepts, and a redesigned poolside experience. 

Nearly 2,000 unionized employees—mostly housekeepers, front-desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, F&B servers, bartenders, bellhops, and door staff—walked off the job at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu on September 24. The 2,860-room property is the largest hotel in Hawaii and the largest Hilton in the world. 

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.