Get inspired and create connections — it’s the promise most face-to-face meetings make in their marketing messaging. That language may resonate with prospective attendees who are looking to escape the day-to-day office routine and recharge their spirits, but research from the U.S. Travel Association shows that it’s failing to convince the leaders in charge of actually approving those meetings.
Skift Meetings’ Andrea Doyle caught up with U.S. Travel Association’s Kevin Hinton to discuss the findings and offer planners deeper insights into the key for securing executive buy-in. Check it out below, and if you’re looking for more lessons to sharpen your meeting strategy this year, apply to attend this year’s Skift Meetings Forum. Senior-level planners are eligible for complimentary VIP passes to discuss the trends that will transform the way attendees come together.
Skift Meetings needs your expertise. We’re launching a new survey to gauge the pulse of the state of corporate meetings in 2026. Head here to share your perspectives on the challenges and opportunities on your desk right now.
This survey closes Friday, July 17.
*Please note this survey is for in-house planners only.
FEATURED STORIES
Richard Atkinson-Toal’s Secret to Innovation? Pitch an Idea Every Day.
by Andrea Doyle
The global vice president of Experience Studio at Amex GBT encourages his team to pitch a new idea every day — not because every idea succeeds, but because innovation only happens when failure is part of the process.
5 Popular Presidential Libraries for Hosting Events
by Barbara Scofidio
The Obama Center pausing rentals within weeks of opening shows political prestige now competes with convention-center capacity for planners chasing rarity.
The Business Case Meeting Planners Are Getting Wrong
by Andrea Doyle
It’s time to retire the culture-and-connection pitch. New research from U.S. Travel shows that getting executive buy-in relies on messaging that connects to real business outcomes.
Visit Anaheim + Skift Meetings
The city best known for Disneyland has built something meeting planners will love: a mature, walkable destination with rooftop bars, James Beard-nominated restaurants, and immersive event venues that have nothing to do with mouse ears.
EVENTS
More to deliver. Less to work with. A landscape that won't sit still.
Travel policy, AI-driven fraud, shrinking budgets - the job changed, and last year's playbook doesn't cover it. Skift Meetings Forum is a working day with the planners facing the same pressures: 320 last year, 77% director-level and up, half managing $5M+ budgets.
Sept 22 · Javits Center, NYC. Reserved for senior planners, by application.
SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS
Maybe It’s Time to Ask More of Your Attendees
Earlier this week, Colin Nagy evaluated how to design a better luxury hospitality experience, and his argument — that the most transformative trips are rarely passive experiences — holds valuable lessons for meetings and events, too.
“Something was asked of the guest, and the guest gave it,” Nagy writes. “Attention, curiosity, openness, perhaps even the willingness to be changed.”
The programs that attendees will remember are the ones that ask them to do more than register and show up. They’re the ones that ask them for questions in advance to help shape an education session, the ones that ask them to disconnect from their devices for a bit, the ones that trade talking heads for hands-on workshops.
Looking for ways to ask more of your attendees? Check out our tips to push the boundaries of event design.
FREE REPORT
Our latest report uncovers how AI is transforming the event experience and provides crucial insights for anyone looking to invest in event tech today.
What’s inside:
A vision of the ideal AI-powered event experience.
A plain-language explainer on LLMs, agentic AI, and MCP.
130+ AI-native event tech tools mapped across event phases.
Questions to ask and red flags to look out for buying event tech.
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.
