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Being named to the Eventex Awards 100 Index means a lot When the text from my dear friend Kate Patay pinged congratulating me on being named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry by Eventex, I was touring a convention center in one of my new favorite cities, Providence, Rhode Island. The post I Want to Thank the Smart Meetings Community… appeared first on Smart Meetings.

With Kate Zaliznock traveling to NOLA for a closer look at how the city is preparing for Super Bowl LIX, I rounded up some of the reactions to the U.S. election and how voters will impact hospitality and travel in the coming years. Election years are always a damper on events as companies manage uncertainty The post Smart Travel: Presidential Election Fallout for Hospitality appeared first on Smart Meetings.

Lauren Shoaf Pace Lauren Shoaf Pace, Destinations International Pace is appointed vice president of marketing at Destinations International (DI). With nearly 20 years in the travel and tourism industry, Pace has held positions at numerous destination organizations at both the state and local levels and spent over a decade with Visit Florida. In her role The post Smart Moves at Destinations International, Fairmont Dallas and More appeared first on Smart Meetings.

A conference can be a full-contact sport. To get the most out of the time invested, the trainer/event designer needs to be thoughtful about how the agenda is structured to deliver content and experiences on offer. Getting the schedule right is both an art and a science. Smart Meetings is conducting a study in partnership The post Event Attendee Energy Optimization Survey appeared first on Smart Meetings.

How leaders can find and support employees The demand is real. Meeting planners are needed more than ever. However, it isn’t always easy to find and retain qualified staff. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (ALHA) reported that an estimated 67% of hotels are experiencing staffing issues and shortages, and 68% of planners are new The post Empowering a New Generation of Association Leaders appeared first on Smart Meetings.

Get involved with local events like Refract Seattle to create unforgettable experiences for your attendees Since its inception, what is now the largest glass arts festival in North America draws visitors to Seattle from all over the world, and the somewhat niche community of glass artists, appreciators and collectors take over the city for an The post Refract Seattle: The Power of Connecting Events to Local Community appeared first on Smart Meetings.

BCD Meetings and Events Guide helps make events more sustainable  BCD Travel released a sustainability guide for meetings and events earlier this year, offering planners global sustainability trends and best practices. Smart Meetings interviewed Ben Hoeksma, senior director, global program lead, to better understand what the guide provides to planners. Ben Hoeksma Senior Director, Global The post How Planners Can Make Their Events Greener appeared first on Smart Meetings.

Events take a village. By working with Visit Bellevue, the planners for Lenovo Tech World 2024 show the transformative power of partnership. Lenovo Tech World is the global technology company’s annual event, and as events at this level go, it’s an enormous undertaking for the planners organizing it. After the 2023 event in Austin, the The post Case Study: CVB Partnership Amplifies Impact at Lenovo Tech World 2024 appeared first on Smart Meetings.

These properties make it easy to gather among views remember Those amazing landscapes that you see on postcards? They look oh-so-much better from a floor-to-ceiling meeting room window. To get yourself and your attendees there, you just have to find your perfect postcard city and then make the booking. These new and renovated properties are The post New and Renovated: For Meetings in Postcard Cities appeared first on Smart Meetings.

Financial and insurance industry meeting planners face complex demands. Many plan both internal and customer events, incentive trips and sales meetings. They are tasked with setting the stage for executive planning sessions and bringing together remote teams. The stakes are high, and rules must be followed. To meet these evolving challenges, a record number gathered The post FICP Annual Elevated Conversation Around Meaning appeared first on Smart Meetings.