Andrew Sheivachman

The growth of mobile meeting apps presents planners with a dilemma filled with irony. Are the apps — aimed at facilitating and enhancing the meeting experience — actually diminishing the kind of face-to-face interactions that are the very purpose of on-site events?

People don't leave their preferences and desires behind when they travel for business. New research shows that tech workers, in particular, love to turn their business trips into a mini-vacation.

Mobile platforms are making it easier to develop augmented reality experiences. The opportunity is emerging for conferences and events to make a big impact on the event experience through new and intuitive digital tools.

For augmented reality to catch on, apps need to use the technology for useful tools instead of gimmicks. We're starting to see the beginning of this shift and events should pay attention to ways augmented reality can enrich experiences instead of replacing them.

The more information we get on the habits of travelers who combine business and leisure, the more obvious it becomes that the notion of the siloed, well-behaving business traveler is completely outdated.

Travel isn't as big a political player as some other industries, but major players wield significant influence over political candidates and the issues surrounding airports and hotels. More transparency is a good thing, particularly for shareholders who may fear a decline in stock value due to political positioning based on the whims of a company's CEO.

What makes business travelers tick? A new report finds that even strict corporate travel policies aren't effective. More thought and research need to be put into consumerizing the corporate travel experience in a way that works for both companies and their employees.

Nobody wants to deal with a restrictive travel policy, and new research shows business travelers will make the choices they want regardless of what they’re told to do. Strict policies, though, can create a great awareness, but that doesn't mean they work.

It's an open secret that meetings and events are often rife with sexual harassment and other types of unsavory behavior. The industry wants to do more to create safer environments, but is only in the early stages of what will have to be a widespread cultural change.

Meetings represent a perfect storm for the kinds of incidents that sparked the #MeToo movement: Attendees gather in hotels and resorts and socialize at networking sessions fueled by alcohol. The industry is just now reacting with codes of conduct but that may not be nearly enough.