From My InBox

24 Years After 9/11: A Walk Through the Day That Changed Everything

It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since 9/11 — a day that changed the nation and the world. On this milestone anniversary, I find myself remembering not only the enormous impact and tragedy of that day, but also the people — friends, colleagues, strangers — whose lives were forever changed.

Shell Shocked

When we put cultural experiences, local delicacies, or off-site adventures on the agenda, we’re not just scheduling a meal or a tour. We’re inviting attendees to step outside their comfort zones. Sometimes, the difference between a success story and a horror story isn’t the experience itself. It’s how ready your attendees were to embrace it.

Certainty Is Overrated (and Occasionally Dangerous)

Planners are constantly asked to make decisions—about site selection, security measures, networking formats, content strategy, and a hundred other variables. In the rush to keep projects moving, we often mistake certainty for clarity.

Lost in Abbreviation: Surviving Acronym Overload in Meetings and Events

From RFPs to ROI, planners are drowning in industry lingo. Hotels, vendors, clients, DMOs, AV teams—they all have their own shorthand. Time to resurface with a little clarity.

Stop Slipping Off Shoes, Start Slipping Up On Security?

Flights are delayed more often than ever, weather disruptions are worsening, and the system is creaking under the strain of pilot shortages and overburdened air traffic controllers. Yet even as the journey itself becomes harder, the push to make airport security more convenient is accelerating.

Stop Apologizing for Exhibitions

For years, the meetings and events industry has been peppered with cautious optimism: “Events are returning,” we said. “People still value face-to-face,” we reassured. “Hybrid isn’t replacing in-person,” we declared. Enough already.

One Month Into REAL ID

It’s been just over a month since the REAL ID Act finally took flight—literally. For the meetings and events industry, the ripple effects have been swift, sometimes jarring, and surprisingly revealing.

When the World Shifts, So Must We

A recent study by The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau, in collaboration with the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE), reveals a sobering reality: 88% of associations believe geopolitical instability will impact their operations — and 85% say it already has.

Border Wars

Is international travel to the United States really in free fall? For the meetings and events industry—an ecosystem that thrives on international collaboration and cross-border attendance—the answer isn’t just academic. It’s existential.

Stage Presence

Regional theaters around the country might be an inexpensive source of on-site entertainment for meetings and events. For example, instead of a generic awards dinner, your attendees could enjoy a bespoke performance by a local company, tailored to your event's theme.

Dress Codes That Work: A Practical Playbook for Planners

If you plan meetings, you already manage a hundred tiny levers that shape attendee experience—room sets, AV, flow, wayfinding, F&B. Dress codes are one more lever. Done well, they enhance professionalism, comfort, and culture; done poorly, they confuse, exclude, or clash with global expectations.

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