Meetings Today Podcast

Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2027, having spent a century preparing students for careers in meetings and events as well as in other segments of the hospitality industry. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson interviewed MSU alumni and meetings industry veteran Gary Hernbroth, chief motivating officer for Training for Winners, along wi...

Philadelphia CVB’s Brea Webster Stanko shares planning lessons for event professionals on branding, attendee journeys, security and venue logistics culled from the city’s epic run of marquee sporting events, FIFA World Cup and the MLB All-Star Game, this summer.

The Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp offers meeting and event planners a secluded Colorado Rocky Mountains setting for executive retreats, board meetings, incentive groups and small-team gatherings. In this Meetings Today podcast, Tyler Davidson speaks with Duane Zobrist, CEO of Resort Outfitters, which designs and operates outdoor resort experiences at the property, including falconry, kayaking, mountain b...

As attendees become more intentional about where and how they spend their time, event organizers face a critical question: Does their event offer something people can't get from a screen? In this Meetings Today Podcast, reporter Taylor Smith speaks with Emily Laufgraben, senior marketing insights manager at Maritz and author of the company's "NextGen Proofing Your Events" report,...

Despite the recent trade tension between the American and Canadian governments, Canada is seeing strong demand from U.S.-based meeting and incentive groups for 2027 and 2028. In this brief Meetings Today podcast, Destination Canada’s Virginie De Visscher details which industry sectors are meeting regularly in Canada, how Canada’s event-legacy strategy supports corporate CSR objectives and why auth...

Leonard Hoops, the longtime president and CEO of Visit Indy, speaks to Meetings Today about the huge wave of new hospitality development in Indianapolis that is making the city a “Tier 1A” destination. With one of the most connected, walkable downtowns in the country and a new 803-room HQ hotel, Indianapolis now competes for huge citywide events in addition to mid-sized and smaller meetings. In th...

Visit Anaheim Chief Marketing Officer Scott Oklin and VP of Intermediary Strategy Virna Navia discuss the DMO's new rebrand as it embarks on a "Golden Decade," which will see massive new developments such as OCVIBE and DisneyForward as well as a new drive to attract visitors to "tentpole" events. With the largest convention center on the West Coast, this SoCal city is uppin...

From pricing and cost increases to declining attendance, nuanced security concerns and the ever-shrinking definition of what exactly constitutes force majeure, meetings industry attorney extraordinaire Joshua Grimes discusses the latest business meetings and events contract issues and strategies for planners to deal with them. Discover how you can protect your organizations, and career, via these...

Courtney Stanley, host of Meetings Today's Dare to Interrupt podcast, has championed women's empowerment in the meetings and events industry for more than a decade, including co-founding the #MeetingsToo movement. Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson spoke with Courtney about how she got into the meetings industry, the inspiring women she's interviewed, and how women (and men) can furth...

In this Meetings Today podcast, destinations content manager Taylor Smith sits down with Carolina Viazcan, vice president of sales at Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Colleen Pace, chief sales and marketing officer at Visit Greater Palm Springs, to talk about what's new in Greater Palm Springs, from air service updates, new and renovated properties and more, and to learn little bit about the be...

From the recent re-opening of a particularly scenic stretch of Highway 1 to new hotel developments, major sporting events, news from Pebble Beach and two marketing initiatives from his DMO, Meetings Today checks in with See Monterey President & CEO Rob O’Keefe to get the skinny on the latest meetings, attractions and hotel haps in California's Monterey County.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, at PCMA Convening Leaders 2026 to discover what's new in the nation's capital in regard to meetings and conventions.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Lisa Messina, chief sales officer for Visit Orlando, and Mike Tester, executive director for the Orange County Convention Center, at PCMA Convening Leaders 2026 to discuss goings-ons in the nation's most popular meetings and leisure destination.

Orlando is a destination that is no stranger to superlatives. From being named the top meetings destination in North America for the 10th time to logging record visitor numbers both in the leisure and meetings segments, this Florida phenomenon is always ahead of the competition. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson met up with Lisa Messina, chief sales officer for Visit Orlando, at IMEX America 2025 to...

Following the release of the 2025 Incentive Travel Index (ITI) on Smart Monday and an insightful panel discussion in which industry leaders broke down this year's survey results, Meetings Today's Taylor Smith tapped Padraic Gilligan, SITE's head of research and consultancy, to get his quick, 15-minute snapshot of the 2025 ITI and the key takeaways today's incentive travel professio...

Human trafficking is one of those issues that is difficult to talk about yet so critical to address. Three meetings and hospitality industry giants, Maritz, Marriott and Hilton, have stepped up to the plate to form the Fight Against Human Trafficking Coalition, which will provide a wealth of resources and training to combat this travel industry scourge.

Meetings Today's Taylor Smith sat down with Hyatt's Trina Camacho-London, vice president of group sales, and Christina Gambini, vice president of global sales, to talk business travel trends and how they've shifted since the first half of the year.

What are the top four legal concerns impacting the meetings and events industry? Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Maritz Deputy General Counsel Jill Blood at IMEX America 2025 to find out what's keeping both planners and suppliers up at night, and strategies to overcome these vexatious legal dilemmas. Discover how you can protect your organization.

On this episode of the Meetings Today podcast, learn all about the meeting planner's guide to Indianapolis' new developments with Leonard Hoops, CEO and president of Visit Indy.

In this Meetings Today podcast, destinations content manager Taylor Smith sits down with Richard Bliss, CEO of BlissPoint Consulting, a LinkedIn Top Voices Influencer and a 2025 Meetings Trendsetter, to understand he helps executives master modern communication tools for strategic business advantage, specifically through LinkedIn.

In this Meetings Today Podcast, recorded on the IMEX America tradeshow floor, Taylor Smith sits down with Amanda Armstrong, senior vice president of communications and industry relations at Encore, to talk about how Encore made an impact at IMEX, the importance of awakening all of your attendees' senses and the future of event technology. Note: This episode was originally published October 18,...

In this Meetings Today podcast episode, Content Developer Taylor Smith speaks with Kim Mueller, Director of Sales for Ocean City, Maryland’s Department of Tourism about everything that makes this East Coast destination the total package for meetings and events of all kinds. Note: This episode was originally published April 9, 2025

On this episode of the Meetings Today podcast, our own Taylor Smith talks with Tahira Endean, head of program at IMEX, about her new book released at the end of March that invites industry professionals to see events “not merely as logistical undertakings but as powerful catalysts for happiness, productivity and trust.” Note: This episode was originally published April 24, 2025

National keynote speaker, MC and author Joel Zeff joins Logan Pratt on this episode of the Meetings Today podcast to talk about the necessity of a good MC at events, the power of "ta-da," celebrating life's small wins and how the power improv can change people's lives for the better. Joel Zeff is the author of Make the Right Choice: Lead with Passion, Elevate Your Team, and Unlea...

Tyler Davidson sat down with Doane Liu, chief tourism officer for the City of Los Angeles, to discuss some of the global marquee events headed to the City of Angels in the next few years, along with general happenings impacting its meetings and conventions scene, including the much-anticipated improvements at LAX.