News
Apr 11, 2023
Leading venue hospitality partner Sodexo Live! is continuing its sustainability journey with a new Earth-friendly initiative at the soon-to-open Rum Room restaurant and Venu event space at the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC). Organized in partnership with Compost for Life Miami, the Sustainability Project – Herb & Vegetable Garden was recently unveiled as part of a larger sustainability initiative aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the MBCC campus.
Consisting of 192 square feet of herb and vegetable beds just outside of Rum Room and Venu, the new garden features organic… more
Apr 10, 2023
ASM Global is upping the ante with its sustainability goals via an ambitious plan to convert its global event venues portfolio into the most sustainable on Earth. The global leader in venue and event strategy and management is in the process of launching this strategy through its corporate social responsibility platform, ASM Global Acts, and in partnership with Honeycomb Strategies, a leading sustainability consulting firm specializing in the hospitality, sport and event industries.
Beginning this year, ASM Global will dedicate its full resources to achieving measurable results throughout… more
Apr 07, 2023
On March 30, the industry came together with record-breaking participation to celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID), an international day of advocacy that showcases the undeniable value that business meetings, trade shows, incentive travel, exhibitions, conferences and conventions bring to people, businesses and communities.
This year’s activation carried the theme #MeetingsMatter and created 45 million impressions worldwide on social media, with 70 events held in 35 countries.
GMID 2023 spotlighted the importance of in-person gatherings to create measurable benefits by advancing… more
Apr 06, 2023
Leading global event company Freeman has entered into a strategic partnership with Zenus, a top provider of behavioral analytics for events and retail, to introduce a service that gives event organizers cutting-edge tools to measure attendee sentiment and engagement.
With Zenus’ ethical artificial intelligence (AI)-based behavior mapping, Freeman’s customers will receive aggregated and anonymized data around dwell time, sentiment and attendee activation. This metadata can be translated into actionable insights for ROI and future event planning.
Freeman chose Zenus as its AI partner because… more
Apr 04, 2023
Workplace culture can have a direct impact on the overall success of an organization, as it affects how employees perceive their jobs, colleagues and employer. When staff are happy and motivated in their work environments, they tend to be more productive and engaged, as well as more likely to stay at a company long-term, thus reducing turnover and contributing to that organization’s productivity and financial success.
Contrast that with a toxic work culture that often leads to high employee turnover, low productivity and morale, and difficulties in attracting new talent, and it’s not hard to… more
Apr 03, 2023
The demand for face-to-face meetings and events is continuing to grow, pushing the industry beyond the darkest days of the pandemic and revealing the strong, enduring need and desire for in-person gatherings, according to Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) recently published Winter Meetings Outlook (winter 2022/2023) report.
This is just the latest of MPI’s future-focused quarterly Meetings Outlook reports that identify new trends and innovations in order to enable meeting and event planners to budget and plan accordingly and ensure a strong foundation for building sound and… more
Mar 31, 2023
Event Tech Live (ETL) has launched its first hosted buyer program for its shows in Las Vegas and London using the MustMeet platform by Grip, a leading AI-powered event tech provider built for meetings and matchmaking.
Grip’s MustMeet product, a powerful meeting scheduling system for event organizers, is being used by ETL to automatically schedule, manage and host a range of meetings for buyers and suppliers.
“Our hosted buyer initiative is about expediting the ETL experience for brands and businesses typically unable to commit a day to the show,” said Adam Parry, co-founder of ETL. “… more
Mar 30, 2023
The Kentucky General Assembly has passed legislation that includes a revision (from 6% to 0%) to the commonwealth’s sales tax on exhibit and sponsor space rental for face-to-face business events. Signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear on March 24, it states that business event organizers will be exempt from charging sales tax to their exhibitors and sponsors, essentially reversing a new 6% tax that went into effect on Jan. 1.
Some event organizers began collecting taxes from exhibitors and sponsors to be in compliance with the new law, while others informed exhibitors who signed new… more
Mar 28, 2023
Across the corporate meetings and events spectrum, event-related organizations across the U.S. are continuing to grow teams and appoint new leadership as the industry forges ahead into Q2. Check them out!
The Hutton Group
The Hutton Group – Inspired Meetings & Events, a Pittsburgh-based, woman-owned and operated boutique company specializing in meeting planning, site selection and destination management, has welcomed Andrea Milrad Heilweilas vice president of sales and marketing. Her responsibilities include managing client site selection and hotel contracting needs, as well as… more
Mar 27, 2023
The Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wis., will soon be known by a different name. The Board of the Wisconsin Center District (WCD), which owns and operates the Wisconsin Center, Miller High Life Theatre and UW-M Panther Arena, recently authorized the WCD to finalize an agreement with Milwaukee-based multinational independent middle market investment bank Baird to become the convention center’s official naming rights partner.
“The WCD leadership team and I are dedicated to leveraging our core values to Be Bold. Be Proud. Be Experience Obsessed. to guide every business decision we make,” said… 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