Business meetings are increasingly happening at marquee events.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 🏀 Why Planners Are Trading Private Dinners for the Big Game Business meetings are increasingly happening at marquee events like the World Cup and U.S. Open. Who needs a nice private dinner when you can sit in a VIP suite at the big game? New research from American Express shows that 85% of business travelers are seeing more value in building relationships by attending major events together than sharing meals. It makes plenty of sense: A follow-up email with a brag-worthy photo attached feels more memorable than a note about the second course. The chance to pair a program with a big event can motivate attendees, but it also comes with some obvious downsides. Room rates skyrocket — consider the Fairmont in Monaco that charges upwards of $18,000 per night during the Monaco F1 Grand Prix — and logistics can get very complicated, as organizers discovered with the no-limos and no-parking restrictions at MetLife Stadium during the FIFA World Cup. Read on for the full story from Andrea Doyle below, plus a must-read article on what to include in your cancellation policies and a look at the booming space exhibition market. And if you’re in Chicago for the GBTA Convention, let me know. I’ll be there soaking up the knowledge in the Meetings & Events education track. — David McMillin     DON’T MISS OUT Skift Meetings Forum The mega-event playbook has upside and landmines, and the planners who navigated 2026 are the ones you want in the room. Bettina Garibaldi (CMO, FIFA World Cup 26 NY/NJ Host Committee) joins event leaders from JPMorgan, FCM Meetings & Events, and the American Bankers Association at North Javits on September 22, where 77% of the room sits at director level or above. APPLY TO ATTEND         FEATURED STORIES Forget the Ballroom: Business Meetings Are Happening in the Stands By Andrea Doyle Whether at the World Cup, Formula 1, or Wimbledon, companies are increasingly using shared experiences, not conference rooms, to build relationships and drive business. GET THE STORY Registration Cancellation Policies: What 10 Associations Actually Require By Barbara Scofidio A vague cancellation policy doesn't just confuse attendees. It can drag an event organizer into a dispute. GET THE STORY Nineteen Group Expands Into the Booming Space Market By Andrea Doyle As investment pours into the global space economy, exhibition organizers are expanding into one of the meetings industry’s fastest-growing sectors.  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         WORTH YOUR TIME Five things worth your time today. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst with these five situations where a Plan B will be your best friend. See how mentorship is closing the industry’s talent gap with the Annabelle Project. Meet the distiller. Learn how Louisville is stealing executive retreats from bigger cities with one bourbon handshake at a time. ** Understand what actually feels rewarding with insights from next-gen incentive travel winners. Maybe it’s time to ask your attendees to put their phones away and start talking to each other again. ** A sponsored message from Louisville Tourism.         SKIFT PICK: TRANSLATING TRAVEL TRENDS FOR MEETINGS When the Beachfront Destination Becomes Less Appealing for Your Attendees Quintana Roo — which includes Cancun, Tulum, and the whole Riviera Maya — is facing its worst sargassum season on record. If you don’t know what sargassum is, let’s just say you don’t want to deal with rotting brown algae if you’re planning an oceanfront experience. Mexico is now spending $115 million to intercept it before it piles up on beaches. This year's collection has already topped 96,151 tons, more than all of last year combined. It hasn't been cheap for hotels either: some are cutting rates by up to 40% and quietly weighing shorter seasons. It’s not just a stain on Instagram photos, either. The smell — hydrogen sulfide, basically rotten eggs — is bad enough that a few operators lobbied (unsuccessfully) for a state of emergency. The stretch of coastline is a prime location for incentive gatherings and sales conferences. If you have one on the horizon, it’s worth a call to your hotel contact to see if your attendees are going to deal with the scene from an algae horror movie. Ask whether beach cleanup is happening daily, whether the smell reaches the pool deck and meeting-room terraces, and whether outdoor functions have a rain-plan-style backup if the beach is unusable that week. Cheaper isn't better: a discounted room block on a bad-smelling beach can do more damage to your attendee satisfaction scores than the savings are worth.         DON’T MISS THESE STORIES LA’s Convention Center Bet Is Already Paying Off By Andrea Doyle LA may be grabbing headlines for the Olympics, but for meeting planners, the real story is a convention center expansion that's already locking in decades of business. View Article Why Meeting Planners Are Done Chasing More, More, More By David McMillin Programming volume is no longer a selling point for registration. The real test ahead next year is whether planners can make blank space feel like a feature, not a cut. View Article         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

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