...beware of the blind spots.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online Before You Ask ChatGPT Where to Host Your Meeting... ...beware of the blind spots.   David McMillin, Skift Meetings Head of Content October 8th, 2026 Right now, an account director at a DMO is waiting for your call. But there’s a decent chance you’re skipping that step entirely, typing your meeting specs into ChatGPT and asking: Where should we go next? That’s a problem for destinations, because they may be getting crossed off your list before they ever know you were looking. It’s a problem for planners, too: A destination you don’t know doesn’t have the chance to present a valuable set of financial incentives that can make the case for landing your next program. Andrea Doyle reports on how DMOs are auditing what AI says about them and rewriting their content for machines as well as people. But Destinations International’s Gretchen Hall points out that AI still doesn’t understand citywide compression or peak seasonality, which is where a human who knows the calendar earns their keep. Head below for the full story, plus a CSR idea for your next program and more insights into what’s next after the Informa-Clarion deal. — David McMillin       FEATURED STORIES After Informa-Clarion, Who Buys Next? By Andrea Doyle About $10 billion in trade show deals in six months, plus private equity firms looking to build on new platforms, means Informa-Clarion is unlikely to be the last big move. Smaller organizers and event tech companies look like the next targets. GET THE STORY What Holds Tech Week's 1,500 Events Together By Andrea Doyle A steady content feed lets attendees experience the parts they couldn't attend in person. For planners running multi-venue or community-driven events, it's a case for treating content as the infrastructure, not just the recap. GET THE STORY The CSR Activity That Started With a Handmade Birthday Card By Barbara Scofidio Jordan Lacey started Light the Candle at 17 to make birthday cards for foster children in her community. Now in the events industry, she is creating CSR activities that can be done anywhere. GET THE STORY Can AI Source Your Next Meeting Destination? By Andrea Doyle An industry built on the power of human relationships is confronting machine-produced site recommendations. What if AI gets the answer wrong? GET THE STORY             What SXSW Has Learned Without a Convention Center Visit Austin + Skift Meetings What does a program with 75 venues look like? Get a look at how SXSW has embraced the challenge of designing a decentralized experience during the $1.6 billion convention center renovation in Austin. LEARN MORE             ON DEMAND Did you miss our debrief of all the action at Skift Meetings Forum? No worries. Sign up to access the recording here and unpack all the insights from New York. Sponsored by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Experience Kissimmee. WATCH THE WEBINAR             WORTH YOUR TIME Five things worth your time today. Know the six key lessons from Skift Meetings Forum to navigate the next year of meetings and events. See why an empty chair might be a great addition to your next program. Learn how SITE and IRF are working to introduce college students to the value of the industry. Avoid the dangers of burnout by knowing how to spot the signs one of your team members might be near a breaking point. Break up with the ballroom and use one of these tools to find a more creative venue.             SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS Airlines Want Premium Passengers. Will They Price Out Your Average Attendee? British Airways is pulling 52 seats off each of its A380s, and the back of the plane takes the hit. Economy loses 88 seats (about 30%), premium economy grows by more than half, and premium seats go from roughly 35% of the cabin to 48%. It's not just a long-haul story, either. United is rolling out three fare tiers in its domestic first and business cabins, and Alaska is cutting main cabin seats to make room for business class and premium economy. That's great news if you can afford to sit up front. Most of your attendees can't. Fewer economy seats means the cheap fares may not be so cheap anymore, and they'll sell out faster. It’s happening just as companies hunt for line items to cut. For a corporate meeting, that means a tougher fight for the travel budget. For an association event, it's worse. When attendees need a boss to sign off (or are paying their own way), a pricier flight can turn "see you there" into "I'll just watch the recording." So start treating airfare like part of the registration fee: factor it into how you price and pitch the event, and open registration earlier so people can book before all the economy seats are gone.             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. 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