The Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (GPSCVB) has launched a new meeting incentive program for groups that book summer events for 2021 and beyond.

Image Audiovisuals, the preferred on-site audiovisual provider at the Colorado Convention Center, has  unveiled its new virtual platform custom-built to mirror the Colorado Convention Center for use in hybrid and virtual events. Through its virtual services company eAttend Global, ImageAV designed an immersive experience for the convention center to complement the city’s solution for resuming in-person events.

As part of our ongoing Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange Buyer Q&A, Meeting Spotlight spoke with Paige Laliberte, event manager for The Castle Group, a corporate event management and public relations firm.

How has your segment of the industry changed over the last year?   

News from California that indoor events of up to 200 people can resume under limited conditions did not placate convention leaders and labor groups who remain disappointed that Governor Gavin Newsom still has not issued statewide guidelines for trade shows and conventions.

After obtaining the “Sanitary Security Label” and “Ecovid Label” issued by SOCOTEC in February 2021, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes was awarded North America’s top health certification for public hospitality facilities: GBAC STAR Facility. Awarded by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, this certification attests the implementation of the strictest protocols in terms of cleaning, disinfection and prevention of infectious diseases within the establishment.

A slew of hotels, stadiums and arenas, convention centers are more have recently been awarded GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a Division of ISSA.

With virtual and hybrid meetings now the new normal, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is offering three different packages that combine service and surroundings with the latest in high-end audio/visual. The packages allow meeting hosts to create effective online meetings, conferences and events—complete with cameras, live streaming, recording, translation services, technicians and more.

Meeting Spotlight recently caught up with Libby Horne, manager, customer programs for JJ Haines, which touts itself as the largest floor covering distribution company in the country with operations covering the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Topics covered include slowing down, what it was like to have the calendar wiped clean in 2020 and what regions will see the quickest return to hosting meetings and events.

A new meetings venue is headed to Savannah. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, along with Savannah mayor Van Johnson and Visit Savannah president Joseph Marinelli welcomed elected officials, as well as economic development and business leaders, who gathered to join them for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Savannah Convention Center expansion on March 17, 2021.

Meeting Spotlight recently spoke with Kelly Gallagher, partner and director or marketing for Canvas Meetings & Incentives. She told us that her conference and incentive-planning company started a tour and travel division in 2020 and even teamed up with competitors to make sure everyone made it through the pandemic. Here's what she had to say:

How has your segment of the industry changed over the last year?