Nearly a third of companies spend $10 million or more on meetings, yet most have no dedicated team to prove their ROI.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online The Meetings Budget Nobody Owns Nearly a third of companies spend $10 million or more on meetings, yet most have no dedicated team to prove their ROI.   David McMillin, Skift Meetings Head of Content September 15th, 2026 When we reviewed all the findings from our new corporate research report, a big question emerged: Why don’t many companies have actual meeting departments? The data shows that just 20% of respondents have a dedicated meetings and events team. And regardless of meetings sit in the org chart, respondents kept describing the same struggle to get the C-suite to recognize what events deliver. “Corporate events are not just events,” one respondent wrote when asked about the one thing they wished their leadership would change when thinking about meetings. “They are business investments that drive relationships, revenue opportunities, and brand growth.”  Head below to unpack more of the data, and if you’re looking for more insights into defining the role that events play in your company, join us in New York next Tuesday for Skift Meetings Forum. We’ve been deep in speaker prep calls this week, and the program will include voices who are solving that ROI-ownership problem and making an effective case for the business of events. — David McMillin       Next week: Skift Meetings Forum The events lead who made it all the way to running the company is on stage in one week. Dan Macsai, Chief Strategy Officer at Time Magazine, on how event work earns C-suite recognition instead of a ceiling. September 22, Javits Center, New York. Qualified senior planners can apply to attend at no cost. APPLY TO ATTEND             FEATURED STORIES How One Meetings Leader’s Cancer Battle Taught Her to Control Her Own Destiny By Barbara Scofidio Stephanie McVeigh’s story is a reminder that the leaders who have the biggest impact focus on being empathetic and authentic. GET THE STORY Event Planner Gets Hacked — After Already Falling for a $20,000 Scam By Andrea Doyle Being cybercrime-aware isn't a defense anymore. One planner had already rebuilt her vetting process around a scam, but AI-personalized social engineering managed to find the gap it didn't cover. GET THE STORY Nearly a Third of Companies Are Spending $10 Million on Meetings. Few Have a Department to Run Them. By Barbara Scofidio In many companies, there's no clear picture of meeting spend. When nobody owns the meetings budget, nobody owns the ROI story either. GET THE STORY The Apple Watch Can Now Recap Conversations. What Does That Mean for Meetings? By Andrea Doyle Watches can summarize conversations. Earbuds can translate. Phones can transcribe. As attendees bring more AI into events, organizers face a new challenge: deciding what belongs to the attendee and what remains the organizer's responsibility. GET THE STORY             FREE REPORT Our new research offers a look at how at corporate meeting planners are navigating the current landscape. Download it today to learn how 111 in-house corporate planners are dealing with geopolitical pressures, ROI expectations, AI, contracts, and more. This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Caesars Entertainment and Convene. GET THE REPORT             WORTH YOUR TIME Five things worth your time today. Why does pharma face such a big struggle to track its meeting spending? What does the FBI’s latest phishing warning mean for meeting planners? How is an iconic city of firsts reinventing itself for the future of the attendee experience?** What convinced an industry veteran it was time to go back to college? Can $100 make a meaningful impact on reducing no-show rates? ** A sponsored message from Visit Atlantic City.             SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS Your Attendees’ Plane Wi-Fi Is Getting Better Than Your Ballroom’s. Skift reported this week that airlines are dropping roughly $500,000 per Boeing 737-800 to install Starlink, plus $180,000 a year to keep it running. United, Alaska, American, Southwest, and Frontier have all signed on; Delta and JetBlue went with Amazon’s Leo instead. Either way, fast, reliable Wi-Fi in the air is becoming standard, not a perk. Flying used to mean such terrible connection speeds that you might, gasp, actually stop looking at your screen. Now, if attendees are getting super-speedy connections in the air, convention center Wi-Fi is going to feel like it’s from another decade. When you’re negotiating next year’s AV contract, don’t just ask for a speed number on paper — ask what happens during peak concurrent usage, and get an uptime guarantee written in, the same way you’d negotiate force majeure language. No one’s going to be willing to accept bad Wi-Fi anymore.             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