Event registration and ticketing platform company Eventbrite plans to go public. The company filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Aug. 23, stating that it intends to raise $200 million from sales of its Class A shares.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Allen & Company and RBC Capital Markets are underwriting the IPO, and Eventbrite stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol “EB.”  

The fifth annual Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Global Travel Forecast was released in late July.  According to the report, travel prices are expected to rise sharply in 2019 — something planners should be aware of when contracting hotels and planning for travel.

Globally, hotel prices are expected to rise by 3.7 percent and flights by 2.6 percent. In North America, hotel prices will go up 2.1 percent – 5 percent in Canada and 2.7 percent in the United States.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has published its Summer 2018 Meetings Outlook report. The Meetings Outlook series, which presents industry trends and predictions from MPI members, is developed in partnership with MGM Resorts International and supported in partnership with the IMEX Group.

Production Resource Group LLC, (PRG), believes that partnerships are key to success. The entertainment and event technology solution provider recently announced new relationships with six companies that will extend and expand their collective reach.  

“PRG is known for its event innovations that help companies and brands tell a story,” said Jim Kelley, vice president of marketing and industry relations for PRG.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation just reinforced its commitment to fight climate change by setting science-based targets to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the company and throughout its supply chain.

Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered "science-based" if they are in line with the level of de-carbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

Last year, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), in conjunction with the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) developed the MPI Academy Emergency Preparedness for Meetings and Events Certificate Course.

Now, MPI has created a new asset designed to serve as a reference tool for planners to use in developing safety and security plans and procedures.  

Carlson Wagonlit released its latest CWT Safety & Security Study on May 31 – and the results might surprise you. Based on survey results, the lure of hotel rewards and incentives trumps safety concerns for three out of ten business travelers globally.

To participate in the study, travelers were required to have made more than four business trips within the past 12 months, increasing the likelihood of their having preferred hotels or hotel chains. Forty-seven percent of the more than 2,000 travelers surveyed said they would choose hotel points over personal safety.

Have you been focused on creating better attendee experiences and changing the physical design of your events to do so? If so, you aren’t alone: those are two of the main issues venue operators and agencies reported that they have been facing this year, according to the June 2018 IACC Meeting Room of the Future report.

In the wake of movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, every industry must act to end sexual harassment and create positive, lasting change.

The exhibitions and meetings industries are no exception.

A new coalition recently was formed to eradicate sexual harassment in the events industry and workplace; a task force that will identify tools and develop new resources to assist in educating individuals and the events industry about sexual harassment. 

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has published its Meetings Outlook^TM 2018 Spring Edition.

Meetings Outlook presents future industry trends and predictions from MPI members, including meeting professionals on MPI’s Business Research Panel. The report, based on survey data collected within the last quarter by research firm Association Insights, provides insights on current business conditions and future outlooks.