Meetings Today Podcast

Michael Dominguez, CEO of ALHI (Associated Luxury Hotels International), brought meeting planners to the Omni Dallas Hotel for a one-day showcase of what their events may look like after the industry awakens from its COVID-19 slumber. 

Top Cvent execs Brian Ludwig and David Quattrone talk with Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson about how the meetings tech giant pivoted to virtual for its big annual conference and is expecting 40,000 attendees. Also, discover their predictions about the direction of the meetings industry.

Buffets? Gone. And don’t even think about a donut wall! The meetings F&B environment has been disrupted flatter than a collapsed souffle, but that doesn’t mean you need to let the air out of your culinary programs. Tracy Stuckrath, owner of thrive! meetings & events , is the foremost expert on food allergies in the meetings and conventions environment, and has extended her knowledge to ope...

Furloughs. Layoffs. An economy-crippling pandemic with seemingly no end in sight. Who could’ve predicted the tumult that would enter our lives in 2020? In troubling times such as these, maintaining one’s sanity can often seem like the most important job of all. Mindfulness speaker, trainer and author Lee Papa, a leading wellness expert on the meetings and conventions circuit and beyond, is well-ve...

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, legal issues in the meetings industry primarily centered around cancellation, attrition and what became the moving target of force majeure. Now, with face-to-face meetings taking baby steps to resuming, meeting and event planners need to cover their organizations and ensure the safety of attendees by including key contract clauses in an environment that l...

Business development expert and speaker Scott Steinberg shares some positive survey results regarding planner optimism about a face-to-face meetings revival by the end of 2020, with a few caveats thrown in, of course. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson interviewed Steinberg about some of the statistics he’s crunched to come to his conclusions, and also how the meetings industry will be fundamentally...

June 4, 2020, marks the day when Las Vegas awakens from its coronavirus shutdown slumber, with major casino-resorts reopening their doors at least for leisure travelers. Caesars Entertainment is joining the party by reopening its Caesars Palace and Flamingo properties , with more set to join them shortly. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson caught up with Michael Massari, chief sales officer for Caesa...

Outspoken Orlando hotel icon Harris Rosen believes constant guest and staff screening is critical to getting the meetings industry out of its deep depression. Hear what the firebrand independent hotelier told Vice President Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a coronavirus hospitality industry roundtable at his Rosen Shingle Creek property. In this Meetings Today Podcast, Tyler Davidson engaged...

Meeting venues like the Javits Center have been pulled into service as field hospitals and other spaces for healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jim Henry, healthcare sector leader at CallisonRTKL, walks us through what it takes to transform hospitality and meeting spaces into sophisticated healthcare facilities.

What will the meetings and events F&B experience look like after the COVID-19 shutdown ends? Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson sat down with Mary Cline, regional director, catering sales-East Coast for Wolfgang Puck Catering to get an idea of what the meetings cuisine scene will look like when we all start meeting face-to-face again.

Meetings Today's Sarah Kloepple talks with Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), about the organization's Safe Stay guidelines, supporting hotel workers as these new healthy and safety protocols are put in place, and how technology will play a critical role in future live meetings.

As we reach mid-May, Meetings Today's Sarah Kloepple checks in with Stephanie Glanzer, chief sales officer and vice president of MGM Resorts International, who delves into MGM's new Seven-Point Safety Plan for enhanced health and sanitation protocols at its properties.  Glanzer also explains how meeting and event spaces specifically will look different, from exploring pre-packaged F&B, co...

Thinking about launching virtual meetings as a standalone event option or augmentation to a live event? Amanda Ma, founder and CEO of Innovate Marketing Group, dove into the virtual events pool headfirst after COVID-19 hit, and offers her expert tips on how to pull them off, from pre- and post-event preparation and follow-up to technical issues to look out for and how to put that little personal t...

Led by exhibitions and event management giant Freeman , Go LIVE Together put together and advocacy group with hundreds of member organizations at breakneck speed. Being on the ground—literally—at meetings, conventions and exhibitions also gives the Dallas-based company a unique perspective on what the “new normal” will look like when we start gathering again. What will this new world look like? Wi...

Alarming initial statistics reflecting the massive loss of employment and revenue in the U.S. travel industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have only gotten worse. Tyler Davidson talks with Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association, about how bad it is and where we go from here.

After COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror, how will the meetings and hotel industry have changed forever? Meetings Today Contributing Editor Robert Nieminen discussed what this new world may look like with top designer Michael Suomi, founder of Suomi Design Works . From social distancing to a hyper-aware focus on cleanliness, hospitality design and the meetings and conventions experience may never...

The coronavirus crisis has led to a revolution in the workplace—at least temporarily—in which the office is now in workers’ homes. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson spoke to Heather Mason, founder and CEO of Caspian Agency, to get her insights on the best strategies to implement if you’ve found yourself working in this “new normal” environment.

The hospitality and meetings industries are at a standstill as the COVID-19 crisis levels its crippling effect on travel and public gatherings of any size. Its top market, Las Vegas, is always a bellwether of the health of an economic segment that is one of the top drivers of the U.S. economy. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talks with Stephanie Glanzer, chief sales officer and senior vice preside...

How are you coping with the coronavirus pandemic ? Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talks with Kristine Iverson, owner and founder of wellness company CROW Practice, about strategies all of us can incorporate to calm the mind and ease the body while we navigate the global pandemic and resulting economic turmoil.

Tyler Davidson checks in with meetings risk management expert Brenda Rivers to talk about the free on-demand Risk Management Primer: How to Protect Your Attendees and Organization From Disaster webinar she presented for Meetings Today. Brenda talks about the current state of coronavirus meetings and events readiness as well as lessons to apply for future events.

COVID-19 has rocked the travel and meetings industry . Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson talks to Dare to Interrupt podcast host Courtney Stanley about how she and those she's talked with in the industry are navigating these turbulent time, and resources you can tap to help you cope.

Meetings Today blogger Joan Eisenstodt has been participating in many of the thrice-weekly COVID-19 press conferences from the World Health Organization (WHO). Here's what she found out from the experts fighting the spread of the virus, how it impacts the meetings and events industry, and what the industry needs to learn from the crisis.

Danielle LeBreck and President & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee Peggy Williams-Smith talk about the event-packed year ahead for Milwaukee, new developments in the city, and all the best venues and offsites for meetings and events. Enjoyed this podcast, and seriously considering Milwaukee for your next event? Apply to attend our Meetings Today LIVE! MidAmerica event May 3-6--a fully-hosted event for me...

Top meetings industry attorneys Joshua L. Grimes and Tyra Warner discuss the legal issues involved with cancelling a meeting due to coronavirus. Learn how to protect your organization and what your op

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson talks with Seema Jain, director, multicultural affairs for Marriott International about the hotel giant's Culture Days program. Jain travels the world training Marriott staff on how to best serve the cultural needs of its very diverse clientele, and offers critical information to meeting planners on how they can do the same for their attendees.