Meetings Today Podcast

Meetings Today sat down with Lee Rubin, keynote speaker and one of two featured speakers at this July's Meetings Today Live! West Denver/Aurora to hear about his backstory and highlight the key elements of a strong, consistent corporate team. 

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a centrally located meetings mecca with lures ranging from big-city attractions such as world-class museums to charming small towns with only-in-Texas appeal, to suburban communities filled with facilities that are purpose-built for large meetings and events. Plano is a Metroplex city that offers a little bit of it all, and also boasts close proximity both of the...

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Encore's Cathy Schlosberg, senior VP of marketing, and Amanda Armstrong, SVP of Brand & Community Engagement, on how meetings technology from in-person to hybrid has undergone a radical transformation because of the pandemic. Discover the latest stats from this essential meetings and events player, and why it is bullish on the vitality of all meeti...

Meetings industry veteran Maura Gast, executive director of Visit Irving Texas, is one of the most engaged leaders in the business—name a board and chances are she’s been on it! Hear what she has to say about the recovery from the pandemic, in terms of both Irving and the industry as a whole, and key destination updates as major Irving attractions such as Toyota Music Factory rev up to welcome mee...

May 19, 2022, is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, so we sat down with meetings tech titan Cvent to talk with their new senior product manager for accessibility, Stephen Cutchins, and senior director of product management, Carl Aldrich, to discuss the strides and challenges the meetings and events industry has experienced in ensuring everyone is included. Learn about cutting-edge accessibility t...

Meetings Today catches up on the latest events and development news in Milwaukee with Leslie Johnson, vice president of sales and services for VISIT Milwaukee. We discuss the highly anticipated Wisconsin Center expansion, what the city's various entertainment districts can offer groups, and new hotel openings on the horizon.  *Produced in collaboration with VISIT Milwaukee

Garrett Ronan, U.S. chief operations officer for etc.venues, talks about post-pandemic meetings and conference center trends and the company's potential expansion plans in the U.S. after opening two New York City venues shortly before COVID-19 roiled the industry.

What does it take to put on an event like the Super Bowl? Darren Green, Chief Sales Officer for LA Tourism, joins Meetings Today to share how his team worked with L.A. hospitality partners and the NFL to host Super Bowl LVI and its surrounding events. We also discuss new developments in L.A. that meeting planners should know about and big events coming to town in the next few years.

Meetings industry veteran Christine “Shimo” Shimasaki, of Simpleview's 2Synergize, is privy to booking pace data from hundreds of DMOs. Here's her well-informed take on where the meetings industry is regarding the return to in-person events, and how data-driven strategic decisions are the key to its future.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with PCMA leader Sherrif Karamat and DI leader Don Welsh to discuss the organization's upcoming Business Events Industry Week, current in-person meetings trends and the associations' stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It’s no secret that the hospitality industry faces a challenge attracting the next generation of talent. In fact, it’s a major topic of discussion among its leaders. In this Meetings Today Podcast, recorded at PCMA’s Convening Leaders, EIC CEO Amy Calvert tackles the subject of the hospitality industry talent pipeline, as well as a major revamp of the EIC’s CMP program.

Tyler Davidson talks to James Rees, president of Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), about one of the events industry's most pressing issues: sustainability. At PCMA Convening Leaders 2022, Rees details the Net-Zero Carbon Events Pledge initiative, key challenges surrounding business travel and carbon footprints, and the way forward for greener in-person meetings.

Tyler Davidson checks in with Michele Polci, citywide director of catering sales, Las Vegas, for Caesars Entertainment at PCMA Convening Leaders about how the meetings and conventions giant navigated the pandemic, critical questions planners should ask about service levels and the supply chain, and the latest cuisine trends for large gatherings.

JUNO’s Josh Hotsenpiller sits down with Tyler Davidson to discuss the events platform’s big partnership with PCMA, and how everything we do comes down to one important concept: human connection.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson discussed Visit Corpus Christi's meetings offer in which the destination will host an opening or closing reception in one of the destination's many interesting offsite venues. The CVB's Nicole Olivares details the Coast Your Own Way meetings offer and what the Gulf Coast destination offers for meetings and events.

Meetings Today's Sarah Kloepple sits down with Stephanie Glanzer, senior vice president and chief sales officer for MGM Resorts International, to discuss how the company has come through the pandemic better, with new safety protocols, the launch of new meetings campaign "Here" and how planners can make a difference through their events at MGM. This podcast was produced in partnership with MGM Reso...

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sat down with Mike Wainwright and Don Pfeffer at IMEX America 2021 to get key insights from the global hotel giant's Convention & Resort Network (CRN) regarding the recovery of the meetings industry. CRN's Mike Wainwright,  vice president of  sales, Gaylord Hotels and Marriott Convention & Resort Network, and Robert Pfeffer, senior director, Conven...

In this podcast, recorded live from the IMEX America 2021 show floor in Las Vegas, Tyler Davidson speaks with with Gerardo Tejado, general manager for Meetings & Events, American Express Meetings & Events, and Amanda Chamov, marketing manager, about the compelling reveal of the global business travel giant's major annual survey, 2022 Global Meetings and Events Forecast. The 11th edition of...

Since launching virtual meetings company MeetingPlay in 2011, former Marriott global e-commerce expert Joe Schwinger has seen virtual meetings grow from their infancy to the transformative pandemic period in which the technology became ubiquitous. What's next for virtual and hybrid meetings, and how are global corporate giants implementing them in their meetings mix? What has the pandemic period t...

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sits down with Steve Jones, a music industry veteran, speaker and author of Brand Like a Rock Star and Start You Up for this Meetings Today Podcast episode. From the Foo Fighters and Bob Marley to Kiss, Jimmy Buffett, AC/DC and Aerosmith, see how key learnings from these rock legends can translate to your brand and inspire your meetings and events audiences. Jones w...

Following up on an earlier podcast in which the conversation turned to what future skills meeting and event planners will need, Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talked with meetings technology giant Cvent’s Paulina Curto, senior manager, meetings and events, and Rachel Andrews, senior director of global meetings and events, to expand on the topic. From data analytics skills to a deeper understandin...

Greater Ontario—which includes the cities of Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga—is a Southern California meetings and conventions gem you should know about. Hear why in this podcast interview with Michael Krouse, president and CEO of Greater Ontario CVB. *Created in partnership with Greater Ontario CVB

Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talked with Cvent’s Patrick Smith and Rachel Andrews about the company’s successful CONNECT hybrid event and the future skills meeting and event planners will need to master to stay relevant in a dynamic profession.

Jaki Baskow, CEO and founder of Las Vegas Speakers Bureau and Baskow Talent is a Las Vegas entertainment and speaker booking legend, having plied her trade in the Entertainment Capital of the World for more than 40 years. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson checked in with Baskow in mid-July to get a take on how she sees the in-person meetings and events recovery progressing in Las Vegas, as ente...

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sits down with Hilton Worldwide Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales Americas Frank Passanante about some big news from the iconic hotel company, including an innovative new group room block booking engine for meeting planners and the massive new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas development and Resorts World.