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If your attendees are wearing them, you may be dealing with some big privacy issues.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 👓 Some Meetings Are Already Banning Smart Glasses. Should You? If your attendees are wearing them, you may be dealing with some big privacy issues.   David McMillin, Skift Meetings Head of Content August 20th, 2026 Remember the colossal failure of the 2014 launch of Google Glass? I do. I even remember talking with one person at an annual convention around the time, watching their eyes looking up and away to read notifications. The conversation didn’t last long. More than a decade later, however, smart glasses are back, and they’re actually catching on. Shipments of the wearable tech are expected to reach 13.6 million this year and double by 2030, according to projections from IDC. This time around, awkward conversations are the least of our worries. Skift Meetings’ Barbara Scofidio reports that the glasses — which have workarounds that allow a user to covertly record — are creating serious privacy concerns for meeting planners, some of whom have already updated their policies to ban attendees from wearing them. Head below for the full story, along with a look at why burnout and mental health issues are chasing planners away from the industry. — David McMillin PS. We are officially less than five weeks away from Skift Meetings Forum. Hope to see you in New York.       DON’T MISS OUT Skift Meetings Forum The planners writing smart-glasses policy this quarter are the ones who saw the privacy problem before it walked into their room. That instinct, staying ahead of the tech reshaping events, is what the Forum is built around. On September 22 at NYC's Javits Center, event leaders from FIFA World Cup 26, SXSW, Time, and Marriott Bonvoy work through the questions setting the industry's next rulebook, from covert recording to AI-driven fraud. APPLY TO ATTEND             FEATURED STORIES Why Event Planners Are Walking Away From Jobs They Love By Barbara Scofidio The events industry attracts people who love their jobs — and companies have learned to treat that love as a substitute for pay, staffing, and sleep. GET THE STORY As AI Takes Over, Emotional Intelligence Gets More Valuable By David McMillin As AI absorbs the busywork, the event professionals who can calm a furious sponsor or close a deal face-to-face are becoming the harder-to-replace half of the team. GET THE STORY Should Meta Glasses Be Banned at Meetings? By Barbara Scofidio The confidentiality clauses meeting planners have historically relied on were written for smartphones and badge policies. Nobody drafted them for a device that can be covertly recording.  GET THE STORY             WORTH YOUR TIME Five things worth your time today. Revisit our rundown of the most powerful leaders in the meetings industry (and look out for an updated list next month). Learn why the hotel-tax funding model for DMOs creates challenges for supporting incentive planners. See why the best incentive experiences are no longer built solely on luxury.** Get to know the woman who is working to connect the events industry to millions of job seekers. Compare your registration cancellation policy with the language 10 other associations are using. ** A sponsored message from ITA Group.             SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS Delta Is Betting on Austin. It’s Another Sign of the City’s Rising Convention Status. Delta is quietly building toward a new hub in Austin — 100 flight attendants based there, 15 gates secured, another lounge opening, and nonstop service to Paris launching in March 2027. CEO Ed Bastian told a podcast this week he wants Delta "bigger" in both Austin and San Antonio, markets that let it grow without going head-to-head with American's Dallas-Fort Worth hub or United's Houston hub. That air-service bet is landing at the same time Austin is pouring more than a billion dollars into its own convention center, expanding it to roughly 620,000 rentable square feet. Put the two trend lines together and Austin looks like a legitimate future-tier meetings destination: more gates, more lounges, and a convention center that will hold a lot more people by the time it's done. If you're doing multi-year site selection and haven't put Austin on your shortlist for a 2029-or-later citywide, this is worth a second look. Just build in some patience, since both the hub buildout and the convention center expansion are still years from being complete. Delays — in the airline business and in the city-funded convention center world — can happen.             Skift Meetings Toolkit 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. EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT             Thanks for being a regular reader. We are switching to a new email platform. Why? This change will allow for better delivery, and more engaging newsletters. Please take a moment to add this new email address to your contacts to ensure you continue receiving your newsletters without interruption. During this transition, these emails might land in your promotions or spam folder. To ensure you don’t miss out, please move this newsletter to your primary inbox.       1    DEFINING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Skift 35 W 31st St. New York, New York 10001, United States

A look at what companies can do to advance the careers of the women who run the industry.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 👩‍💼Women Are Everywhere in Events — Except at the Top. Why? A look at what companies can do to advance the careers of the women who run the industry.   David McMillin, Skift Meetings Head of Content August 18th, 2026 When I think about the most influential voices in my career, there is one common thread: They are all women. Carolyn Clark took a chance on me shortly after I graduated from college before eventually hiring me at PCMA. Michelle Russell taught me the difference between developing “content” and crafting a meaningful narrative at Convene. And Deborah Sexton taught me how to be serious about innovation without taking myself too seriously. Despite these personal role models, the reality is that getting a coveted seat at the table is insanely difficult for women in the events industry. In fact, only 16% of the industry’s senior-level titles are occupied by women, according to research from IBTM. Skift Meetings’ Andrea Doyle digs into the problem with insights from our recent webinar. Head below for the full recap of the conversation with Monique Ruff-Bell, chief program and strategy officer at TED, and Elaine Lou Cartas, a business and executive coach. Plus, we have the full rundown on the biggest 2027 dates in the industry and a look at how Vendelux is reframing the value of event participation. — David McMillin       DON’T MISS OUT Skift Meetings Forum The people who shaped your career were rarely the ones running the show. They were the ones who taught you how. The 2026 agenda includes Own Your Ascent, a session on the deliberate moves senior planners make to build careers as business leaders, alongside voices from Time, FIFA World Cup 26, and MathWorks. September 22 at the Javits Center. APPLY TO ATTEND             WEBINAR Did you miss last week’s webinar? No worries. We’ve got you covered with a free on-demand recording featuring insights from Elaine Lou Cartas and Monique Ruff-Bell on how to accelerate women leaders in the industry. Sponsored by Visit Atlantic City. WATCH NOW             FEATURED STORIES The Case for Treating Events Like a Sales Pipeline By Andrea Doyle Event budgets are one of the least accountable lines in marketing spend, and that's getting harder to defend as budgets tighten. Vendelux’s bet is to borrow the discipline sales teams already run on — a system of record — and apply it to deciding which events are worth showing up to. GET THE STORY Skift Meetings’ 2027 Global Meetings Industry Events Calendar By Barbara Scofidio If travel budget requests are due soon, this is the list to count on. GET THE STORY Why Aren’t More Women Seen as Business Leaders in the Meetings Industry? By Andrea Doyle The events industry doesn’t have a talent problem among women. It has a nobody’s-vouching-for-them problem. GET THE STORY             WORTH YOUR TIME Five things worth your time today. Prepare for the demise of the gold-silver-bronze approach to selling event sponsorships. Learn how LA’s convention center expansion is attracting bigger piece of business. Find out why airlines and hoteliers have their eyes on an under-the-radar Caribbean island.** Update your contract to better reflect the potential damages if a hotel decides to walk away from your program. Protect your attendees and your organization with these conference safety guidelines. ** A sponsored message from Pure Grenada.             SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS A Florida Resort Cut Its Group Business in Half. It Also More Than Doubled the Rate. When The Boca Raton dropped the Waldorf Astoria name in 2021, it walked away from the loyalty program, reservations tech, and group sales machine that come with a big brand. It’s a risky move, but Skift’s Sean O’Neill points out that it paid off in a big way — as in an average daily rate jumping from approximately $390 before the pandemic to $980 today. It’s doing it all with a significantly lower reliance on group business. If you’ve booked a marquee resort before and found the block harder to fill, the dates less flexible, or the rate less negotiable than it used to be, you may be watching ownership deliberately rebalance the mix away from group business. The shift is worth factoring into your RFP timeline for in-demand properties that may be holding out hope that more of their rooms are going to go to some of those high-end super-spenders instead of your group. Book further out, and keep a backup destination in your back pocket.             Skift Meetings Toolkit 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. EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT             Thanks for being a regular reader. We are switching to a new email platform. Why? This change will allow for better delivery, and more engaging newsletters. Please take a moment to add this new email address to your contacts to ensure you continue receiving your newsletters without interruption. During this transition, these emails might land in your promotions or spam folder. To ensure you don’t miss out, please move this newsletter to your primary inbox.       1    DEFINING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Skift 35 W 31st St. New York, New York 10001, United States