Vince Alonzo
The End of “Vibes Only”: Freeman’s New Data Shows What Attendees Actually Want
In Freeman’s 2025 eXperience Trends Report, the company surveyed more than 2,600 attendees and organizers and found something most planners already suspect: the industry’s obsession with spectacle has officially outpaced what audiences value. Freeman’s new data shows what attendees actually want.
Convene Levels Up: Inside the Launch of Convene Hospitality Group
There’s a new player in the hospitality ecosystem—but it’s made up of names planners already know. This week, Convene announced the formation of Convene Hospitality Group (CHG), a parent company that unites Convene and etc.venues under one umbrella, creating what CEO Ryan Simonetti calls “a house of hospitality-driven brands built for the full spectrum of modern meetings.”
Preferred Hotels Makes Meeting Planning Less of a Headache
Tracking down the right luxury venue has always required patience—and multiple browser tabs. Preferred Hotels & Resorts is trying to streamline that search. The brand, which represents more than 600 independent hotels across 80 countries, has rolled out a revamped Meeting Planner website that puts meeting-specific data front and center.
Your Next VIP Transfer Might Be a Helicopter
Forget limos, luxury sedans and motorcoaches. The next time your top performers land at JFK or touch down in Dubai, they might finish their trip in the sky — literally. According to Reuters, Joby Aviation plans to bring Blade Air Mobility’s helicopter and seaplane services straight to the Uber app as soon as 2026.
Cruise Control: PortMiami’s Big Season Is a Power Move for Planners
Already crowned the world’s busiest cruise port—with 8.2 million passengers in the 2023–24 season—PortMiami is cruising into 2026 at full throttle. Between October 2025 and May 2026, ten new ships from marquee brands like Virgin Voyages, MSC Cruises, Holland America Line, and Cunard will make their Miami debut.
Flight Delayed? Don’t Panic. Plan.
A new paradigm is emerging in corporate travel, one that reframes the delay not as a crisis, but as a manageable, and even productive, part of the journey. The very mega-hubs most susceptible to disruption are often the ones that have invested the most in transforming the passenger experience. This has created a powerful, yet often overlooked, strategic lever for event planners: the connecting airport.
America’s Best Airports to Be Stranded In
The art of the delay—how some airports turn chaos into comfort Reading Time: 6 minutes Flight delays are inevitable—but misery isn’t. The right hub can turn a travel nightmare into an unexpected master class in design, dining, and downtime. Here’s how the smartest planners and travelers are mastering the fine art of waiting well. The […]
Here’s Looking at You, LaGuardia
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, we have to be stuck in this one."Your attendees aren't just waiting for a flight; they are refugees in a holding pattern, desperately seeking their "letters of transit," just like all those characters in the classic film, Casablanca.
Incentive Travel Gets a Reboot: How AI, Risk, and Values Are Changing the Game
The 2025 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) debuted at IMEX America, drawing on the insights of 2,700 professionals across 85 countries, the report confirms what many in the business already feel: incentive travel isn’t disappearing—but it’s evolving under pressure.
Lost in Translation? Not Anymore. How AI Is Rewriting the Language of Live Events
At most events, what you say matters. But how you’re heard—and by whom—can define the experience. That’s the premise driving Encore’s new suite of AI-powered transcription and translation services, unveiled through its partnership with Wordly.
