News

Mar 26, 2019
As any event planner knows, event design takes a lot of work and involves many moving pieces. To help new meeting and event industry professionals learn the ropes, Caesars Entertainment has teamed up with the Event Design Collective GmbH to offer hosted certification in event design programs. Over the next 36 months, training programs will be offered in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and potentially additional destinations. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Event Design Collective so we can help our customers plan and execute world-class meetings and events," said Michael Massari, chief sales… more
Mar 22, 2019
Washington, D.C.-based event management software company Streampoint Solutions will run the inaugural Event Technology Week, an online conference, from March 25-29. Designed to help event planners managing the critical, yet often overwhelming world of event technology, this five-day event will feature webinars led by industry experts. “As events and trade shows continue to evolve, event planners are inundated with new technologies and data points,” said Dharmesh Dayabhai, co-founder of Streampoint Solutions, in a press release. “It can be cumbersome to work your way around this data to make… more
Mar 21, 2019
Back in the ‘50s, it wasn’t unusual to spot celebrities like John Wayne and Lucille Ball lounging by the pool at Sportsmen’s Lodge. Being located 15 miles from downtown L.A. in nearby Studio City had the same advantages then as it does now — seclusion, lots of greenery, and precious peace and quiet. That’s a big part of why the property draws small corporate meetings (it can accommodate groups of up to 100 comfortably), and its boutique nature lends flexibility that event professionals love. Zee Bell, the hotel’s highly personable director of catering and group sales, is particularly… more
Mar 20, 2019
Fresh off a massive $620 million renovation completed in 2018, the LEED-certified Miami Beach Convention Center is an incredible place for large groups to convene in The Magic City. Yet if you’re a smaller corporate group, the 1.4-million-square-foot space might just swallow you up whole — or at least feel a bit overwhelming. Following a recent trip to the sunny destination, we’ve rounded up some our favorite, more intimate venues for meeting in Miami. For a Downtown Feel W Miami boardroomIf your group loves being in the middle of the action (or you’re in the financial industry and want to… more
Mar 18, 2019
Sitting on your trade show floor is an exhibitor who is spending quite a bit of money to be there, but he or she may be thinking, “For this type of investment, I could be doing an amazing brand activation out of the confines of this booth.” Or, “We really would like our products to be seen by our end-users, the consumers, but they aren’t allowed into this show.” As a result, some shows are losing major exhibitors, such as E3 — the big video gaming show held annually in Los Angeles that’s had several major gaming companies drop out wanting to use their marketing dollars in other ways. A… more
Mar 15, 2019
If you could create the perfect event tech platform that would solve all of your event-related issues while helping you to achieve your ultimate trade show goals what would that technology look like? We posed this question to three seasoned professionals and here’s what they had to say. Their answers can be applied to any event that includes exhibitors.  Jenn Ellek, Senior Director of Marketing, Taffy Event Strategies Since I am a marketer at heart and a data-follower by design, I’m always looking for ways to customize and personalize a prospect’s journey of engagement and their ultimate… more
Mar 14, 2019
April 4 is Global Meetings Industry Day 2019. Led by the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, GMID brings together event professionals around the world to champion the positive impact meetings and events have for business, communities and individuals. MMBC believes in the power of face-to-face interaction, and that great things happen when people come together — as it states in the mission for both GMID and its Meetings Mean Business campaign, “deals are struck, relationships are forged and ideas are gathered.” Research supports these assumptions. Did you know that meetings held in the United… more
Mar 13, 2019
The $130 million, 250,000-square-foot expansion of MGM Grand Conference Center is now complete, meaning MGM Resorts now offers a total of 4 million square feet of meeting and convention space on the Las Vegas Strip. (For reference, that’s more than all the convention space in Manhattan combined.)   “With our expansion, upgraded amenities, new outdoor space and user-friendly connectivity packages, we provide our convention customers an enhanced meeting experience with more options,” said Ernest Stovall, vice president of Sales for MGM Grand.   He continued, “I’m proud that many of our clients… more
Mar 12, 2019
One way event professionals choose to share their expertise within the industry is through books. In the past several months, I’ve read a number of editions that run the gamut from self-help to event design and strategic planning to improving sales. Here are some of our top picks. Create Conferences That Work Adrian Segar, event design expert and founder of Conferences That Work, is also the author of two books on event design. Segar wrote Conferences That Work: Creating Events That People Love to share with a larger audience the techniques he had discovered to be successful. “I invented [… more
Mar 08, 2019
Venue management and hospitality company Spectra will become the new provider of venue management for Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, effective April 1. This marks the first time in the center’s history that it will be run by a private operator. The City of Dallas City Council unanimously approved this partnership. Spectra will focus on short-term bookings, taking over a role historically maintained by City of Dallas employees. Visit Dallas will emphasize bookings 18 months out or more at KBHCCD, in addition to other venues in the city. “Partnering with Spectra is going to… 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