In today's business world, much of our time is spent attending meetings and conferences. A 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers study examining meeting attendance and type found that more than 1.8 million meetings occurred in the United States over a year's time, with 225 million participants. The majority of these meetings were business/corporate (50 percent), followed by conventions (27 percent) and trade shows (12 percent).In-person meetings are a critical part of any business strategy, providing networking opportunities, personal connections and focused time to solve important issues. However, meetings can also have an unnecessary negative impact on the environment and broader sustainability efforts. READ MORE

We've all been there. First, the finger tapping and darting eyes - will I make it in time? Next, heart palpitations and small beads of perspiration. Oh God, please don't let it happen. Amidst an intense feeling of dread and potential hyperventilation…the unthinkable. The black screen. Push any button you'd like and nothing, I mean nothing will happen. Immediately your mind races, how many important calls, vital e-mails and essential Facebook posts will go un-received, unread and un-liked?? In this unfathomable and unconnected state, one has to wonder…why didn't I plug in at my last stop? READ MORE

Wow! What a year 2015 has been for groups and conventions! For the first time since the down economy in 2009, I feel confident in saying that travel and group business is not only back, but it is better than ever! We have seen reports that some of the 2015 have had 20-25% growth in attendance over 2013 & 2014 attendance. Group business represents over 30% of all travel numbers now, which means it represents over 500 Billion Dollars (and small meetings - less than 50 group rooms per night - allocates over 2/3 of this number). With 2015 almost behind us and 2016 lurking around the corner, there have been some new trends in the group and convention market segments. These are not new concepts necessarily; however they are being creatively reintroduced into the group markets. READ MORE

An event manager who can successfully assist a meeting planner to create a smooth, trouble-free event is an extraordinary asset for any hotel. The relationship between the meeting planner and the event service manager creates loyalty that drives repeat business for a property or brand. READ MORE

Corporate culture and its impact on an organisation's success is a highly debated topic - especially in the hospitality industry. Throughout the past decade, travellers' needs have shifted from a desire for standardized accommodations to an environment that reflects an experiential model. A hotel stay is no longer just about a bed and breakfast - it's about living unique experiences. In this article, we explain how knowing your emotional “why” and creating a culture around it will help you deliver unique guest experiences - and will demonstrate how meetings and events can support or even help establish a company's culture. READ MORE

Many years ago, the most popular cities for international programs were London, Paris, and Rome. While these three cities are still among the most in demand, today's planners are submitting more requests to Beijing, Berlin, and Istanbul than ever thanks to their strong infrastructures and for offering great financial value given the strength of the dollar and additional factors including incredible cosmopolitan centers of culture, politics, and media. Each culture has a particular way they run events, and it is common for planners from North America to experience resistance when requests are made to “Americanize” an aspect or require something to be done in a way that is truly never seen by the host destination. READ MORE

Increasingly, team building activities are being incorporated into meetings and events of all sizes. Hotels are rising to the challenge to deliver quality onsite and offsite activities that leverage hotel and local expertise, and provide meeting attendees something unique and challenging that helps them bond and build trust with one another. As trends in the meetings industry evolve, so, too, do trends in the team-building arena. Smart meeting planners work as early as possible with their hotel partners to ensure that their goals, objectives and budget for the perfect team-building activities are met. READ MORE

I am always perplexed when a hotel sales person that has just called and introduced themselves to me tells me that their boss requires them to call everyone that sends a lead to their hotel so they can ask questions and have a relationship. To me a relationship is something that is built over time and doesn't just occur because of one exchange, interaction or sale. Is this what hotel sales has really become? Make a phone call and say you have a relationship and the deal is done? READ MORE

On average, 60% of a hotel's revenue comes from room sales. The other 40% comes from food, beverage, AV, meeting space, and other hotel services. Onsite events will increase your hotel's revenue simply by keeping your large groups onsite. This increases your opportunity to sell F&B and other hotel services while decreasing your corporate groups' expenditures on buses and offsite activities. READ MORE

The Millennial demographic should not be overlooked. According to Forbes, Millennials represent over a quarter of the population in America and hold $200 billion in annual buying power. To date, about 55 million "Millennials" (16-34 year-olds) form the largest share of the U.S. civilian workforce - surpassing 53 million in “Generation X” (35-50 year-olds), 44 million “Baby Boomers” (51-70 year olds), and 5 million of the “traditionalist” generation. With these non-traditional innovators influencing the market, hotels are wondering how to evolve and cater to this new audience. READ MORE

Remember the days when guests called to make hotel reservations? It was not all that long ago. However, times have changed, and the modern consumer's engagement with digital is absolutely transformative. In today's buyer-driven market, travelers prefer to shop and book hotel rooms online or via mobile device. They go direct to the hotel website or a popular OTA, only after having read dozens of peer reviews and researching options on a travel aggregator. More recently, travelers have been drawn to alternative accommodations and consumer-to-consumer options like Airbnb or VRBO. READ MORE

The economic recession and the demands of a new generation of professionals - the Millennials - have inspired a move towards collaborative, creative meeting spaces. Across the industry, how are hotels rising to the challenge? Something magical is happening in the meetings industry. Perhaps the transformation is a byproduct of the downturn of the global economy and the rise of millennials entering the workforce at the same time. In 2009, the economic crisis hit swiftly and the meetings industry was persecuted in the media and among policymakers as an “unnecessary luxury.” READ MORE

Technology forms a bridge between the complementary goals of tradeshow exhibitors and attendees. A survey of more than 2,500 tradeshow participants finds that exhibitors are focused on building client lists and showing new products, while attendees visit the show primarily for educational purposes. Tradeshow venues are increasingly seeking the technology "sweet spot" that connects the two groups despite their contrasting agendas. READ MORE

There is no stopping the sharing economy train, and the route that conductors like AirBnb are navigating cut directly across the existing revenue paths laid by hotels. It's no longer an option to ignore the presence of the sharing economy, nor is it wise to fight against it. Managing the horizon of this rapidly changing marketplace, however, is where hotels will find their greatest strength. By tailoring the consumer and corporate travel sectors with a personalized service strategy, and looking across the tracks at AirBnB's best practices, your hotel can both compete and flourish in light of the sharing economy. READ MORE

Ask any hotel executive what their top goals are and they will unanimously say driving more revenue from group meetings, selling more room nights, and increasing market share. Hotels can't just keep hiring sales headcount in order to increase market share, generate more leads, and respond to eRFPs. Additionally, the coverage they would need to expand market share is cost prohibitive and daunting at best-especially overseas in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. READ MORE

When hotel technology is mentioned, planners often think of audio-visual and Wi-Fi coverage in meeting and guest rooms. Those things, however, comprise only the tip of the tech iceberg; as hoteliers know, the real technology accomplishments begin way before attendee arrival. For the business of putting heads in beds - and groups in meeting rooms - the industry increasingly relies on technology that is itself evolving. In only a few short years, for example, data storage has evolved from proprietary servers (something you can spill coffee on) to virtual "cloud-based" technology, which allows for exponentially more data. READ MORE