Some meetings promote the ability to choose from hundreds of educational sessions, but guess how many of them attendees are actually sitting in? 4.2, according to new research from RainFocus. That’s a drop from the average 5.3 sessions they were showing up for just one year earlier.
Andrea Doyle uncovers what’s behind the numbers. Spoiler alert: It’s not just because of AI. It’s because of something that AI actually can’t do. And outside of session attendance trends, today’s issue includes a look at new and improved gaming properties you can place a bet on for your next meeting, the confusing cloud of pharma meeting spend, and a profile of a meetings veteran who decided to do something surprising: head back to college. — David McMillin
Two weeks to Skift Meetings Forum
The fix for session fatigue isn't fewer sessions. It's a room where planners work the problem out loud instead of sitting through it.
On September 22 at the Javits Center, event leaders from MathWorks, Rotary, FIFA World Cup 26, and SXSW trade playbooks on AI, thin budgets, and the generational shift, in a format built on live tool grading and working roundtables, not lecture slides. Complimentary passes for senior planners are approved on a rolling basis and the room is filling.
What Story Can Your Meeting Tell After Everyone Goes Home?
Meeting Destination Vienna + Skift Meetings
Instead of focusing on the pieces that matter during a meeting — flexible space, hotels, or walkability — one leading destination is increasingly focused on what groups will be able to say once the closing session is over.
FEATURED STORIES
8 New and Renewed Gaming Resorts
by Barbara Scofidio
U.S. gaming resorts keep growing, and group business is one of their main drivers.
Why Pharma Struggles to Track Its Meeting Spend
by Andrea Doyle
The real cost of a pharma dinner at a conference shows up two years later, when a regulator asks a compliance team to reconstruct it, and no one owns the answer.
Why One Meetings Veteran Is Opting to Go Back to School
by Barbara Scofidio
Rather than wait until she’s an empty nester to figure out what’s next, Carlin Putman decided to get her master's degree while her kids are still in high school.
Attendees Are Skipping One More Session — Here's What's Filling the Gap
by Andrea Doyle
AI is going to summarize the session anyway, so attendees are opting out. New research points event organizers toward designing programs around what the machine can't replace.
WORTH YOUR TIME
Five things worth your time today.
Take a look at 50 new hotels that could be a fit for your next meeting.
Find out why the numbers in all those meeting planner salary surveys always look so different.
Get a sneak peek at the leaders who are coming to Skift Meetings Forum in two weeks.
Learn why you should be updating your contract terms to avoid dealing with late payments.
Update your event photography waiver for new potential issues from facial recognition.
SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS
Can the U.S. Be the Most-Visited Destination in the World?
Representatives from the travel industry came to the White House for a meeting last week with a bold goal: Get 100 million international visitors to the U.S. by 2030. That number would represent a 46% increase over international visitation numbers from last year and a 25% jump from the country’s pre-pandemic peak. All of it comes at an interesting time, of course, as America’s closest ally is ditching trips south due to a simmering trade war.
It’s an ambitious aim, and getting anywhere close to that number will rely on rolling out the red carpet for meeting attendees, too. Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen scientific conferences shun the U.S. and attendees boycott the country, too. At the same time, new research of corporate planners (coming later this week, so watch your inbox) shows that plenty of decision-makers are making the decision to steer clear of the U.S. right now. All of it adds up to one simple reality: If the travel industry is going to get anywhere close to its goal, it’s going to need to get serious about group business, too.
Great events are built on strategy, innovation, and the right resources. The Skift Meetings Toolkit is your go-to hub for best practices in managing meetings and events.
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