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