Aug 30, 2024
From LED dance floors and AI Ping Pong to branded bar carts and immersive floral walls, event activations are a powerful way to engage attendees and create memorable experiences that are also Instagram-worthy.
At the recent corporate event hosted by Shepard Expositions, SandboxLIVE attracted 150 industry partners, speakers, customers, and prospective customers. Established in 1905 in Atlanta, the employee-owned trade show contracting company brought these activations and more to life July 15-17 at the Loews Atlanta Hotel in midtown Atlanta.
Taylor Elliot, Shepard“It's all about getting… more
Aug 29, 2024
Following a topping-out ceremony in mid-July, the newest hospitality addition to the Shreveport-Bossier City area is on track to debut in Q1 2025.
Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will be a 545-room hotel, meeting venue, and casino in Bossier City, on the eastern bank of the Red River. Less than two miles from downtown Shreveport, the property will bring the first land-based casino to a region known for having riverboat casinos set dockside near land-based hotels.
For business groups, the hotel has a 25,000-square-foot meeting and conference center away from the casino floor that features… more
Aug 27, 2024
Following its initial announcement on November 7 of last year, premium live experiences company Legends has completed the acquisition of live events and venue management company ASM Global. Announced on August 23, the finalized deal combines two leading premium live events companies while expanding Legends’ services portfolio and geographic reach across five continents.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and ASM Global will continue to operate under its name for the time being.
With this acquisition, ASM Global’s venue strategy and management capabilities are poised to… more
Aug 26, 2024
After 25 years of operating as a non-union hotel-resort and convention center, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, which encompasses The Venetian and The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, has established a tentative agreement with Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 on a new four-year contract covering more than 4,000 employees in the resorts’ food, beverage, housekeeping, bar, lounge, and bell departments.
Reached in the early hours of August 20, the milestone contract contains standard union protections that the Culinary Union has negotiated and won over its 89-year… more
Aug 23, 2024
Corporate event planners are constantly challenged with going above and beyond their last event, especially when it comes to creating more immersive environments designed to deepen attendee engagement and foster brand recognition. In this never-ending quest to generate a more profound “wow” factor at face-to-face events, planners can look to their staging and production partners to create innovative experiential activations and environments via the latest technology.
To get the inside scoop on what’s trending in creative technical production innovations for events, we consulted Ariane… more
Aug 22, 2024
Entrepreneur, speaker, and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk, who you probably know as Gary Vee, welcomed 5,000 fans to his conference-meets-festival, VeeCon, for its 2024 iteration. This year, attendees descended on the sprawling, nearly 6 million-square-foot L.A. LIVE entertainment district for the three-day event, which last year took place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The expanded layout and footprint was the most notable change at the third edition of VeeCon, according to MyLinh Chau, the executive vice president of VeeFriends, Vee’s entertainment company that first gained… more
Aug 21, 2024
Corporate meeting planners now have a new way to source and book hotels, and better manage the event planning process: Planner+, a new online platform specifically designed to provide enterprise-level meeting and event planners with the support and tools needed to coordinate and manage corporate events.
Created by Groups360 and powered by its integrated web-based hotel and event space booking platform GroupSync, the new solution offers a specialized set of tools and features to help planners simplify, standardize, and streamline the planning process, including request and approval… more
Aug 20, 2024
In the fast-paced, increasingly complex and competitive business world, making professional connections at meetings and events can often feel overwhelming and impersonal for many attendees and exhibitors. MatchPoint, a new AI-powered matchmaking mobile app, was created to address this challenge by seamlessly connecting attendees and vendors with like-minded professionals to make networking at events more curated, effective, and impactful.
The app’s patent-pending machine learning algorithm, bolstered by a sophisticated large language model (LLM), optimizes networking by matching users based… more
Aug 19, 2024
Mid-July saw the debut of the Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa in Palmetto, Fla., connected by an indoor skybridge to the Bradenton Area Convention Center (BACC) on the northern shore of the Manatee River across from downtown Bradenton.
Featuring approximately 9,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the 252-room Marriott has a 7,400-square-foot ballroom that’s divisible by five, along with a divisible 1,700-square-foot breakout room. And between the hotel and the convention center next door is the Yard, a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space (below) with a stage at one end.
The BACC… more
Aug 16, 2024
This summer, event planning companies, hotels, and suppliers blazed hot with talent acquisitions and promotions, attracting experienced industry professionals and young talent alike as they prepare for a robust fall season.
CEN’s take on the biggest move in July: Optica, Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide welcomed Lauren Parr as its chief meeting and exhibits officer, responsible for overseeing Optica meetings and events. Bringing a robust background in scientific program development, instructional design, and event strategy to her new role, Parr boasts more than 20 years of experience… more
Partner Voices
MGM Resorts is renowned for its exceptional service and diverse venue options across Las Vegas, Detroit, Springfield, National Harbor, Biloxi, and Atlantic City, providing flexible spaces for meetings of any size. Beyond these offerings, MGM Resorts distinguishes itself through a strong commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, making it an ideal choice for your next meeting.
At the core of MGM Resorts' company values is its platform, "Focused on What Matters," dedicated to meeting customer needs while advancing socially responsible practices. This commitment is evident more