Spaces built to streamline community-building New and renovated debuts bring thoughtfully designed spaces that help to make authentic gathering easier than ever. These venues and meeting spaces are committed to being a space that facilitates community-building. All do well to also weave the special flavor of each of their destinations throughout, so your attendees walk away with both a fantastic meeting memory and an outstanding destination experience. Meet Among the City Streets Venue 42 by Convene Venue 42 by Convene brings 30,000 sq. ft. of meeting and conference space to the fifth floor of ..read more

Luxury language and presentation tips IACC 2024 in Basking Ridge, New Jersey was centered around empowering attendees to be seen, heard and respected as they drive their careers forward as leaders in the meetings and events industry. Quinn Conyers was the keynote speaker to kick off the event, driving home her message of self-presentation and “luxury language to be an effective leader.” Smart Meetings was also privileged to be a judge for IACC Americas Innovations Workshop. The presenters included Capital One, Verizon The Ridge Hotel, Swedish Meetings, FLIK Conference Centers, De Vere Hotels a ..read more

Do you know the reasons your attendees show up at your events? And why do they wait so long to register, anyway? A new study, aptly named “Registration Insights Report: Optimizing revenue and attendance in the face of new attendee behavior” by Maritz revealed a changing model for getting people to fill out those increasingly long forms, sooner. Spoiler alert: It isn’t early bird discounts. Emily Laufgraben Emily Laufgraben, Maritz market insights manager, noticed a vacuum in behavioral data about what is driving people from diverse industries to register for events post-Covid. “There’s a lot o ..read more

The 11th International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) Women’s Leadership Forum was a wake-up call for event professionals looking to take their careers to the next level while balancing their personal lives. “It was a safe space to come together, be themselves and talk freely without being judged,” said Marsha Flanagan, new president of the organization founded almost 100 years ago. To level the playing field during the day-long event, name badges did not include titles for the 250 women who gathered in the nation’s capital at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in concert wit ..read more

Make your summer meetings meaningful and memorable with these tips and trends Summer is approaching fast and meeting professionals want to stay up to date on every seasonal trend. This summer is looking at experiential travel—whether that be a relaxing health and wellness retreat, a culturally rich destination or an environmentally conscious and responsible gathering, summer 2024 trends are geared towards progressive practices. Smart Meetings has curated a list of the hottest trends and destinations meeting planners will want to consider when planning a meeting or conference this summer. With ..read more

When does a headquarters building look more like a hotel? When it is the new nerve center for Marriott International in up-and-coming Bethesda, Maryland. The 21-story glass building on Wisconsin Ave. is one of the tallest in the area and affords views of the green landscape for miles. Tag along to learn more. A Strategic HQ The building dedicated to managing more than 30 hospitality brands and 8,800 properties in 139 countries is filled with physical manifestations of the company’s touchstones. It opened in September 2022 and former CEO Arne Sorenson, who passed away in 2021, played a critical ..read more

Resources for green meetings; for today, and for the future Earth Day: it’s not just about spending extra time thinking about what we love about nature. It’s not a day for a green-themed party with leaf-adorned table settings, nor is it a day to hold a short-term campaign that fades into the background over the following weeks. credit: Shutterstock Think of it as a “green New Years’,” a day for setting resolutions we mean to keep through this year, and beyond. Its history is grounded in activism; its calls-to-action are resounding. It’s a widespread social movement, a day during which we, as h ..read more

Susan Arts, CMP Fellow, shared her favorite quote: “Begin and end each day with a grateful heart.” “If I start with gratitude, it makes it easy to continue being thankful throughout the day,” she says. And of course, her career is one of many things to be thankful for—and proud of. When she was eight years old, she told her parents she dreamed of growing up to be a big-rig truck driver. “We traveled every summer to different parts of the U.S., and I thought that would be a perfect job—I could travel around and see beautiful places.” By the time she graduated college, she still had that travel ..read more

James Barnett James Barnett, Deer Path Inn Deer Path Inn welcomes Barnett as general manager and innkeeper. He will oversee all daily operations at the inn at the monumental moment of its 95th anniversary this year. Barnett was born in Australia and began his hospitality career at New South Wales ski resort Thredbo, before moving on to general manager roles in London and Chicago. Most recently, he served as the vice president of hospitality at Bonhomme Hospitality where he oversaw seven locations. Lizzie Fillo Lizzie Fillo, Visit Salt Lake (VSL) Fillo joins Visit Salt Lake (VSL) as associate v ..read more

Stephanie Miller, sustainability concierge, will guide hotel guests to their most sustainable visits Marriott Marquis Washington, DC is one of the District of Columbia’s largest LEED Silver-certified hotels, and true to its green nature, it has rolled out a new sustainability program, right in time for its 10th anniversary. The program is headed by Stephanie Miller, a local expert on zero waste. Miller is the founder of Zero Waste in DC and author of “Zero Waste Living, the 80/20 Way: The Busy Person’s Guide to a Lighter Footprint,” as well as the former director of Climate Business at the Wor ..read more