Industry Trends

If you haven’t heard of beacon technology yet, you soon will. The market for the devices is expected to explode in the next six years – growing 80 percent by 2024 . First, a little primer: Beacons are... Read More ›

Meeting planners, is the bottom line hanging over your head when you search for a destination? You might find more budget-friendly options by skipping the popular, first-tier locations and looking at... Read More ›

Whether it’s Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or something that hasn't been created yet, social media has become part of the fabric of everyday life. Because of that, meeting and event... Read More ›

Research shows that meeting planners think a majority of their attendees consider the use of event apps to be a necessary part of their event experience, especially for the millennial generation.... Read More ›

It wasn’t that long ago (before smartphones became the norm) that meeting planners offered computer stations at their events to allow attendees to easily check email and stay connected. “Now those are... Read More ›

There are almost no limits to the uses of crowdsourcing. Large companies like Starbucks use it to keep an open line of communication with their customers, seeking new product ideas. Individuals use it... Read More ›

For a long time, the conventional wisdom regarding the millennial generation was that they were so accustomed to using technology, they had no interest in attending live conferences and meetings,... Read More ›

For meeting planners, the generational shift in attendees is not a new challenge. They made the transition from baby boomers to generation X, and now they’re facing generation Y and millennials.... Read More ›

Did you know that the country’s school bus system is the largest form of mass transportation in America? Mike Martin, executive director of the National Association of Pupil Transportation said that,... Read More ›

From a cavernous conference hall, to a plush ballroom, to a public museum, transforming a space to meet a target audience is a hurdle faced by all meeting and event planners. Today we chat with Jamie... Read More ›

A few weeks ago we told you about the self-educated buyer - the person who does thorough research online and through crowdsourcing before they even make contact with a traditional sales channel.... Read More ›

When you're traveling by car to an unfamiliar place, how much do you rely on your phones mapping app and the turn-by-turn directions? Or maybe you use a GPS tool like Garmin or Magellan? Either way,... Read More ›

Incorporating sustainability into meetings and events has been around long enough that its a given for many organizations, but not all. According to the 2015 Meetings Focus Trends Survey , only... Read More ›

Inspirational. Energizing. Motivating. Educational. That's usually the goal for large meetings and annual conferences. But does that mean all your speakers and programs have to be about wildly... Read More ›

You are asked to speak at a conference, but the event organizer put strict limitations on your format: You have only 5 minutes and can use only 20 slides. Q&A will be allowed after. Could you do it?... Read More ›

Here are some fun facts from comScore Inc. and eMarketer : Last year, in the month of December alone, 188.2 million people in the U.S. viewed 52.4 billion online videos. More than half of people... Read More ›

Last month, TEDx celebrated its 10,000 th event . According to the TEDBlog , since the authorized local offshoot of the original TED conference started in 2009, they have been held at an average rate of... Read More ›

When you think about a traditional meeting, you might picture a large ballroom room at a hotel, brimming with rows of round tables or staid, stack chairs all facing the speaker at the front of the... Read More ›

When it comes to getting feedback from meeting attendees, surveys and evaluation forms only go so far. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sit down and really talk to some customers when you're trying... Read More ›

The growing trend of shared workspace is creating a new option for meeting and event planners looking for ways to shake up the breakout session. Shared workspaces, or coworking spaces , are sites... Read More ›

When it comes to choosing a destination for a meeting or event, there will always be certain factors that push the decision one way or the other: Type of facility or meeting space Rates, concessions... Read More ›

In 2002, research on buyer personas changed the way that companies market to consumers. From a sales training perspective, there is no better way to equip a sales or marketing staff than to acquaint... Read More ›

According to the 2010 Census Bureau, 13.4 million people in the US worked from home at least one day a week, up 35% from ten years earlier. Do you have visions of joining them? If you find yourself... Read More ›

Can your hometown compete with Las Vegas as a conference venue? For Configura , which has its North American headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it certainly did. For the first five years of the... Read More ›

One form of interaction that is important to include as a teaching and meeting tool in all industries is the webinar. Webinars are, by definition, a web-based seminar that allows for presenter and... Read More ›

Thanks to the expansion of our collective environmental conscience and advancing mobile technology (tablets, event apps , etc.), the lives of many trees are now spared in the event planning industry.... Read More ›

The new year is a great time to try something different. Instead of planning your next event at the tried and true convention centers or hotel meeting rooms, take a look at the colleges or... Read More ›

The end of the year has everyone either looking back at the best of 2013 or looking ahead to what's in store for 2014. We are looking ahead. We searched the web for experts predictions and... Read More ›

Dave Serino, a strategist and educator for Think! Social Media , founded the Social Media Tourism Symposium, or SoMeT , in 2010. It's an annual event that challenges CVBs and DMOs to test their social... Read More ›

This fall, Patricia Janes worked alongside about 100 other tourism professionals in the state of Michigan to breathe new life into the historic Mill Lake Youth Camp, an aged, decrepit state park in... Read More ›