⚠️ Federal Conference Grants at Risk⚖️

The White House wants more control over federal conference grants. The events industry associations and the scientific community are pushing back saying the layers of federal oversight added to conference grants, professional membership disbursements, and international research partnerships will be disastrous.

Miguel Neves, Skift Meetings Editor-in-Chief

June 23rd, 2026

IN THIS EDITION

Late registrations are not the only thing stressing planners out.
‘Davos’ for private enterprise launches in Monaco.
The White House wants to control conference attendance.

Read on below, and don’t forget to take our poll.

FEATURED STORIES

Late Registrations Are Not the Only Thing Stressing Planners Out

By Barbara Scofidio

Attendance volatility has become a growing headache for planners, requiring them to build more flexibility into their forecasting and operations.

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‘Davos’ for Private Enterprise Launches in Monaco

By Miguel Neves

Just as glamorous skiing helped attract world leaders to Davos, a new business conference is hoping springtime in the French Riviera will help lure 2,000 European business leaders and investors.

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The White House Wants to Approve Your Conference Attendance. The Events Industry Is Pushing Back.

By Andrea Doyle

Washington's effort to rewrite federal grant rules is rippling through the events industry. Critics warn that requiring advance approval for conference travel would make collaboration less agile and leave smaller institutions without a seat at the table.

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Is This the Smartest Host City for Small Groups?

Louisville Tourism + Skift Meetings

Meeting planners tasked with impressing audiences who have seen it all are finding a mix of boutique venues, entrepreneurial energy, and authentic culture in a surprising place.

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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 a reimagined 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.

This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Wordly.

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How have registration patterns changed for your events?

Comparing last year to this year, attendees are registering:

Much earlier (>2 weeks)

Earlier (1–2 weeks)

At about the same

Later (1–2 weeks)

Much later (>2 weeks)

RECOGNITION

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