Every business leader should be asking how their model has to change as AI accelerates. In the meetings industry, the question feels much harder to answer, because the whole value proposition rests on human connection. Today’s edition of The Stand-Up looks at how one of the industry’s most successful agencies is answering it. Barbara Scofidio digs into why Creative Group is putting everything it does under a microscope, and how the company is protecting its legacy while embracing the future.

Read the full story below, along with a look at the predatory conference playbook and why a DMC is opting for the indie route in the age of consolidation. — David McMillin

What’s ahead for incentive programs next year? Join some of the experts from Skift Meetings’ M&I 15 to hear how they are balancing budget pressures with rising attendee expectations.

BESydney + Skift Meetings

Global conflicts have disrupted a planner’s ability to organize international meetings. Sydney is emerging as a place removed from many of those tensions, yet well connected for attendees flying in from around the world.

How are your peers thinking about risk in the destination selection process? What’s next for entry policies and fees? Which regions are making the biggest infrastructure bets for the future? Find out in a new report from Skift Meetings designed to help you get a sense of the future of the global meetings landscape.

This report was sponsored by Destination Toronto and Ottawa Tourism.

United Just Told the Robots to Stay Out. Will Everyone Else Follow?

United Airlines said Wednesday it will block third-party personal AI agents from booking on its own website and app, and through online travel agencies and aggregators. The same day, MCR Hotels CEO Tyler Morse said he wants to ban AI agents from booking his hotels, too. The catch: He admitted he can’t figure out how, and Skift found only 10 of 50 major travel brand sites even mention AI crawlers in their robots.txt files.

Expect more suppliers to try. But don’t expect airtight walls. Suppliers aren’t really fighting the technology. They’re fighting the loss of control over the customer, the upsell, and the margin. That’s good news for the group model, which has always been what Delta CEO Ed Bastian calls a “known agent” arrangement. You negotiate for hundreds of people, and the supplier knows exactly who it’s dealing with. The risk shows up when an attendee’s personal assistant (one that never gets tired of comparing rates) slips past the walls and starts shopping around your block. Ask your hotels now how bookings made by attendee AI tools will count toward pickup. And make sure your block rate holds up against what a very rational robot can find on its own.

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