Inspiration Hub

Wi-Fi is an intangible meeting requirement that can be the Fairy Godmother of your event—enabling attendees to use your app, participate in polling, and download educational materials. It can also be an evil spirit, causing complaints from guests who can’t check their email and disruption for presentations requiring an internet connection or access to audience devices.

Virtual and augmented reality continues to make big waves in marketing, thanks to its positive effect on consumer engagement.

Expos and trade fairs offer brands the perfect opportunity to get their name out there and pull in new customers. The catch? There are often hundreds of exhibitors competing for attention, meaning standing out is imperative.

Most of the people I work with across the meetings and events industry know that I’m a huge fan of investing the time to develop deeper relationships. For instance, I always encourage suppliers to evolve from a transactional relationship with clients into the role of trusted advisor whenever possible. And while it’s unrealistic to become a trusted advisor for every client, I urge people to put in the extra effort in any instance where it seems the relationship can be elevated and maintained over time, and they’ll certainly reap benefits from that.

It was April 2005 when the thought first struck me. I was in Hall 8 of Messe Frankfurt, walking down one of the aisles of IMEX—the international trade show I was working for at the time. It was 3 p.m. and the noise was incredible; everywhere I looked people were interacting: discussing, debating, gesticulating, negotiating, smiling, sharing, influencing and convincing and it was then, as I surveyed this sea of human connectivity, that I realized what powered the most successful global business events.

Marketing an event is all about delivering the right message to the right person at the right time, and if there’s a medium that has withstood the test of time—it’s definitely email. While it’s among the oldest channels out there, almost half of marketing specialists consider it is still the most powerful channel to hype up your event.

Organising events is a stressful job — and you can’t do it alone. But growing your team can also be stressful, especially when you’ve already got a million things on your plate, and you need to interview candidates.

So what’s the key to making the hiring process as efficient and quick as possible? Start with a go-to list of interview questions that will make it easy to find your next team member. 

IMEX, the Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events, held last month in Las Vegas had a major focus on sustainable events and green event planning.  

Going green is a win-win-win that can begin with even those small decisions that come with planning and attending an event. Before the event even kicked off, the organizers behind IMEX suggested that attendees bring reusable drinkware and choose food that generates less waste and use less water. 

Value is at the core of member retention. If a member doesn’t feel like they’re getting value from your organization, they’re likely to let their membership lapse. But on the flip side, if they do feel like they’re getting value from your organization, they’re likely to renew - and engage more with your offerings. 

A report released by ECPAT-USA at the end of September finds that many major travel-related companies and associations promote specific policies against human trafficking and exploitation of children to their employees and members—but far fewer have conducted training in the past 12 months to ensure that employees and members who travel for business can identify potential trafficking situations and report them to initiate a swift response.  

You know how many hotel rooms your attendees need, and which educational sessions they are looking for. But how much time do you spend thinking about what they need to really feel welcome and cared for? For some, finding almond milk at the coffee station is enough; for others, a great deal more planning is needed to make them feel fully welcome and able to participate at your events. 

More and more people are engaging in - and even seeking out - remote work. It’s a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. 

But even though working from home has its advantages (for both employers and employees), it also comes with its own disadvantages. For example, if you do have one or more offices where a number of employees work, it can be easy for your remote employees to feel left out. 

To mark World Tourism Day, Ending Child Slavery at the Source (ECPAT-USA) released a landmark survey of 70 travel industry companies and found that, while more than 70 percent of companies surveyed have anti-human trafficking policies in place, the overall score of 38 percent leaves room for improvement. The Stamping Out Exploitation in Travel report graded efforts based on policies and practices that prevent and respond to human trafficking in the tourism industry.

More than 3,300 scientific and medical sleep professionals representing more than 75 countries are converging this week in Vancouver, Canada, to present new findings, data and theories on this crucial health topic.

The congress included a 2-day expo hosted by World Sleep Society and was open to the public, during which attendees asked their own questions about all things somnolent. Though you may have missed the expo, you can satisfy your own curiosity with sleep resources provided by their professional members.

As an event organiser, you are always looking for ways to add that extra wow factor to your event. A brand activation might just hold the answer. We share ideas that will boost your attendee’s experience.

Your event description is often the first (and only) chance you get to grab potential attendee’s attention online. And thanks to modern consumer behavior, you have only 5.59 seconds to do it before they abandon your webpage and move on to the next thing.

So how can you make the most of those five seconds you have to spark readers’ attention and turn them into attendees? Here are our top tips for writing ones that drive attendance.

An IMEX 2019 session on aligning the meetings industry with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals drew an enthusiastic response from audience members eager to share best practices from their own events. Mariela McIlwraith, CMP, director of industry advancement for the Events Industry Council, and Guy Bigwood, managing director of the Global Destinations Sustainability Index and former president of the Green Meeting Industry Council, hosted the session on how meeting planners can support the 17 SDGs.

Benchmark, a global hospitality company, queried their restaurateurs across 80 luxury properties at home and abroad to compile a list of dining trends for 2020. Here’s the forkful on planning fresh offerings for your next event:

In its 2020 Future Trends Report for Meetings & Events released during this week’s IMEX America show in Las Vegas, CWT Meetings & Events revealed the destinations that are landing the most meeting and event bookings for the next two to three years, as well as regions that are seeing fewer bookings due to issues larger than their hospitality and tourism industries. The report also provides insight on technology trends affecting attendees’ meeting experiences.

At a press conference held September 10 at the IMEX America show in Las Vegas, the Events Industry Council announced the creation of a new EIC Centre for Sustainable Events in partnership with, among other entities, IMEX Group, the United Nations, Freeman, and MGM Resorts International.

Call this a good sign: hearing-impaired travellers can now identify Delta Air Lines employees who can communicate in sign language with a quick glance at their nametag.

We are very excited to once again release research that will inspire event professionals for the next year.

Just for you: 50+ actionable tips from a 350-event research report on sustainability, collaboration, transformation, and inclusion.

What if you could change your event forever?

This is the burning question that fuelled this report. We will showcase how some event professionals innovate by thinking differently.

Some 14,000 event professionals walked into Sands Expo this week to talk about advances in hotels, destinations and event services, and then an imaginative career development program broke out.

The theme for the ninth annual IMEX America, which ran Sept. 9–12 in Las Vegas, was the Power of Imagination. IMEX paired the hosted buyer appointments with Smart Monday powered by MPI sessions (900 people strong) and She Means Business content to add value for planners who came from all over the world to share best practices.

Nothing at IMEX America quite matches the excitement and energy of participants when the trade show floor opens at Sands Expo Convention Center on Tuesday morning.

“When the doors open, the crowds rush in—and keep in mind that the booth staff are already inside,” says Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group. “People don’t just stroll in; they want to get inside, to get new ideas, make new contacts and learn about new venues, sources and suppliers. They are keen and ready to do business, and the electric show floor atmosphere reflects the excitement that comes with people doing business and meeting both old and new friends.

IMEX America, the Super Bowl of the meetings industry, always generates excitement as professionals from around the globe gather to do business, learn and socialize. This year’s event delivered on its promise, with a Discovery Zone full of innovative ideas and a record number of participants and booths.