When I first started in the meetings industry, I noticed three similarities across nearly every stage: old, white, male. Many programs have come a long way from those days and successfully diversified the voices in the room. However, many of the companies hosting those meetings still have catching up to do.
The gap is why we took a new approach for this year’s Skift Meetings Power Rankings: The Most Powerful Women in the Meetings Industry. It launched this week, and we spoke with each of the 15 trailblazers, connectors, and founders on this list about their proudest achievements, their biggest risks, and their ambitions for the next chapter of meetings. This industry still has a long way to go, but these women offer the stories that will inspire the next generation of leaders to keep pushing it forward. — David McMillin
PS. Do not miss the story on the boycott plans for the upcoming ADA meeting. It’s as a reminder that association planners must be prepared for the impact of member activism.
Next week: Skift Meetings Forum
Costs up, budgets flat, attendees changing, AI everywhere. Every planner at the Javits Center on September 22 is managing all four at once.
We broke the Forum into five decisions each planner is making right now, from where you commit budget when access is political to whether you're running events or running the business. The leaders in the room won't all answer them the same way.
FEATURED STORIES
How Geopolitical Uncertainty Is Reshaping Where U.S. Organizations Meet
by Andrea Doyle
8 Tips for Making a Strong First Impression
by Barbara Scofidio
Boycott Puts American Diabetes Association Meeting Under Pressure
by Andrea Doyle
The Most Powerful Women in Meetings
by Andrea Doyle, Barbara Scofidio, and David McMillin
FREE REPORT
Our new research offers a look at how at corporate meeting planners are navigating the current landscape. Download it today to learn how 111 in-house corporate planners are dealing with geopolitical pressures, ROI expectations, AI, contracts, and more.
This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Caesars Entertainment and Convene.
WORTH YOUR TIME
Five things worth your time today.
When and where the biggest events in the industry are happening in 2027.
What the latest version of the Apple Watch can do — and what it means for meetings.
What the new vision of a successful meeting looks like in one of the top destinations in the world..**
Why half of corporate planners are making adjustments to their contracts.
Why the pharmaceutical industry struggles to track its meeting spend.
** A sponsored message from Meeting Destination Vienna.
SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS
What the A321XLR Has to Do With Choosing Your Next Host City
Earlier this month, Skift reported that airlines have over 500 Airbus A321XLRs on order. If you’ve never flown on one, these are narrowbody (as in single-aisle) jets. That size is an advantage that is helping airlines launch nonstop routes to secondary cities. Starting next summer, American is adding new service from the U.S. to Amsterdam, Nice, Porto, Reykjavik, and Vienna. United is adding five new international destinations, including Ljubljana and Valencia.
This is genuinely good news for your site-selection list. Cities you've never been able to pitch without a connection are about to have nonstop service from the U.S. That's a real reason to freshen up next year’s destination shortlist instead of defaulting to the usual European suspects. But budget for the tradeoff. With only 20 business seats on the whole plane, your executive group or your incentive-trip winners are competing with every other high-value flier on that route for a tiny cabin. And if anyone on your team is booking Philadelphia to Vienna and needs to adhere to an economy-only policy, good luck: that’s nearly nine hours with around 30 inches of pitch.
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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