According to new research, the answer is not in a session room.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online Where Do Your Attendees Actually Want to Learn? Spoiler alert: It's not in a session room. Remember the adage “content is king”? Bill Gates made it famous in 1996, and 30 years later, plenty of meetings still follow it. However, the latest research from Freeman shows that content’s crown is looking pretty rusty. Skift Meetings’ Andrea Doyle unpacks the findings, which underscore the need to focus on creating unique spaces for unstructured time. Speaking of unique spaces, this edition of The Stand-Up comes to you from Portland, Oregon where the organizing team at Destinations International hosted a never-been-done-before reception at Powell’s City of Books. Attendees had a chance to stroll through a rare book room — home to a $25,000 copy of the Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition — and take photos with two adorable alpacas in the city’s iconic literary destination. One of my fellow attendees summed up the energy with one simple truth: “It just feels so good to not be in a ballroom.” Whatever you’re planning next, don’t be afraid to step far out of your comfort zone.     DON’T MISS OUT Skift Meetings Forum: Less Than Two Months Away The best conversations happen off the agenda, and Skift Meetings Forum is built around them. Spend September 22 at the Javits Center with senior planners and leaders from SXSW, Time, and Visit Austin, in a day of roundtables and floor conversation over ballroom keynotes. APPLY TO ATTEND         FEATURED STORIES Why Attendees Say the Best Learning Isn’t in the Session Room By Andrea Doyle New research from Freeman confirms what meeting planners have suspected for years: The agenda they spend months building isn’t where attendees are finding the most value. GET THE STORY Hyve Bets Big on AI With Triple Acquisition By Andrea Doyle Fresh off its own acquisition, Hyve is wasting no time executing its new owner’s growth-by-acquisition strategy — with AI as its first major expansion. GET THE STORY An Insider Look at the Business Events Industry By Barbara Scofidio Business events drive $1.3 trillion in direct spending, yet most people have never heard of the industry — or could tell you why it's called MICE. GET THE STORY         WEBINAR Women power the meetings industry — yet rarely run it. Join Skift Meetings for a candid look at the leadership gap, the barriers behind it, and what's changing. Register for the webinar now. Sponsored by Visit Atlantic City. REGISTER NOW         What Hosting Four Generations Means for Your Event Design Ottawa Tourism + Skift Meetings By 2034, 80% of the workforce will be Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha. Get the strategies top planners are using now to design events that deliver ROI across every generation. GET THE REPORT         SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS Why We All Need to Care About the Boring Charge on Our Hotel Bills You know that dull line item on your hotel bill at check-out? It’s typically labeled occupancy tax or tourism assessment and buried under the resort fee, the parking charge, and whatever other miscellaneous fees go into the final tab. Skift’s Rafat Ali traced where it actually came from (1955 in Las Vegas), and more importantly, dug into the fight over who gets to control the proceeds. That boring tax is the same pot of money that funds a lot of what fuels the industry: destination marketing budgets, meeting-space subsidies, and convention center debt payments. When mayors, tourism boards, and state legislatures start fighting over who controls that pot, the winner will impact whether a host city will actually have the incentive dollars or marketing muscle it's promising you today. Next time a destination sales team pitches you on great local support, it's worth asking which pot of money that support comes from, and how secure it really is.         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.       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 Terms of Service

Run the show with the right community behind you

Success in the meetings and events industry doesn't happen in isolation. The professionals who lead with confidence are constantly learning, building relationships, and staying connected to what's next.   Meeting Professionals International (MPI) helps make that possible.   Membership gives you access to a global network of meeting and event professionals, local chapter connections, professional development through MPI Academy, and resources designed to support every stage of your career. Whether you're looking to expand your network, sharpen your skills, or gain fresh perspectives from peers who understand your challenges, MPI provides the community and opportunities to help you move forward.   Running the show isn't just about delivering exceptional events—it's about having the knowledge, connections, and support to keep growing throughout your career.   Discover what MPI membership can do for you at mpi.org/join. This content is brought to you in partnership with MPI. Skift, 35 W 31st St., Frnt 1, New York, NY 10001, USA Manage preferences

Thinking about putting your contract through AI? Beware, say experts.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 🤖 The Risks of Using AI for Contracts Experts say that using AI to evaluate contract language opens up dangers including agreeing to pro-supplier language and making data privacy blunders. Is your boss demanding to see cost efficiencies from AI use? Proceed with caution, especially if you’re thinking about running your next contract through ChatGPT, Claude, or any other AI assistant. Skift Meetings’ Barbara Scofidio’s latest piece reveals that are attorneys in the industry are sounding the alarm bell about pro-supplier clauses, data privacy considerations, and other risks. It’s another reminder of the potential dangers of embracing AI too quickly that are covered in our latest free report. (You can download it here.) And if you’ve been scared about the race to embrace AI, take some comfort in recent news from Ford and IBM. Both companies recently reversed decisions to replace employees with AI. Maybe the machine isn’t going to replace us, after all.     FEATURED STORIES Investors Bet $50 Million on Event ROI Data By Andrea Doyle The latest funding round for Vendelux signals that business events are entering an era of accountability, where data — not gut instinct — will increasingly determine which conferences win corporate budgets. GET THE STORY The Toughest Call for Planners: Calling the Weather By Barbara Scofidio The challenge isn't just about about predicting the weather, but negotiating who decides and who pays if you need to move an event inside. GET THE STORY Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling Could Expand Political Events  By Andrea Doyle The Republican mid-term convention in Dallas may not be a one-off. With coordination limits gone, expect political parties to detach from the presidential cycle — meaning convention centers and host cities need to start planning for political business in off-years, not just election years. GET THE STORY AI Has a Seat at the Contract Table Now By Barbara Scofidio Planners using an AI co-pilot to review contracts need to be aware of some major blind spots. GET THE STORY         Why Incentive Planners Should Focus Less on Luxury and More on Emotional Fulfillment ITA Group + Skift Meetings A five-star resort? That’s expected with the trip of a lifetime. Feeling a real sense of connection and purpose? That’s what delivers a real return on investment. GET THE STORY         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. This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Wordly. GET THE REPORT       SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL NEWS FOR MEETINGS Getting to Know the Emerging Generation of Conference Attendees Think you know Gen Z? Think again. The Skift Research team recently surveyed the youngest cohort of business travelers, and the findings offer valuable insights into better understanding how they view the world — and how likely they are to care about the next invitation they receive to attend a meeting. Two key takeaways: They don’t look at careers the same way. Gen Z is significantly more likely to be self-employed. That less traditional perspective on career growth can create ripple effects for conferences. If they don’t care about networking for their next opportunity, do they need to come? AI isn’t their go-to answer. Compared with Millennials, Gen Z is less likely to hand over authority to an AI agent to handle booking a trip. It seems that digital natives may be the most desperate for a digital detox. The full findings are behind a paywall here. For more insights into making Gen Z feel at home at meetings, download “Events for a Multigenerational Workforce” here for free.     EVENTS Skift Meetings Forum On September 22, Skift Meetings' flagship event will bring together event leaders for a deep-dive on how the business of events is reinventing itself. This game-changing gathering gives event professionals the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly shifting business and geopolitical landscape. GET YOUR SEAT         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.       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 Terms of Service