Meetings and Events Industry News

Accor has no plans to follow Marriott International's lead with commission cuts for meetings, but then again Accor's relatively weak presence in North America means it has to focus on drawing in clients instead of pushing them away.

Augmented reality, virtual reality, and holograms are all cool. But there's still a ton of work to be done to enhance marketing and event design before turning to gimmicks.

While augmented reality and holograms are the sexy new technologies in the event space, the overall integration of digital tools with physical events is still undergoing a period of transformation.

Travel Portland's convention sales team is promoting the idea that "individuals attract individuals" to show conference planners how the city celebrates a diverse spectrum of local makers with a unique and creative point of view.

Nowadays, luxury travel is all about discovering new frontiers. It's not just about expanding physical and geographic boundaries. The travel cognoscenti are "brain dating" around the world in order to stretch their minds.

Nashville's rise as a trendy convention destination illustrates why city branding should focus on the individual stories and spirit of the local community and indie entrepreneurs to help differentiate the urban visitor experience.

The "HollandCity" vision capitalizes on the close proximity of Holland's largest urban centers, much like New York City's boroughs, to provide conference organizers with a more holistic overview of the country's major industry clusters.

Spending as a result of U.S. meetings and events has steadily increased since 2009, and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon, according to new research. Spending on food and beverage likewise isn't easing up at all.

Dated hotel distribution technology is holding back both meeting planners and hotel revenue managers. As new platforms and tools emerge, it will be interesting to see which major chains end up developing the most forward-looking attitudes toward selling event space in new ways.

A lot of work needs to be done to improve the ability of hotels to sell to planners on smarter and more efficient ways. A variety of event technology companies are working on it, but the process of building trust among stakeholders will likely take some time.