The latest tips and tricks on running a meeting or event planning business, as well as planning events and incentive trips.
Continuing our Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange Buyer Q&A series, Meeting Spotlight spoke with Danene Dustin, senior global sales executive for Morris Meetings & Incentives, a full-service meeting and incentive program provider. Topics covered include working remotely, how incentives could change and the value of virtual "FAM" trips.
Here's what Dustin had to say:
How has your segment of the industry changed over the last year?
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?
To get a gauge on the industry for 2021 and beyond, Meeting Spotlight spoke with John Williams, president of American Guest, which offers corporate clients tailored incentives, events, meetings, and VIP travel experiences. Williams expects virtual/hybrid meetings to become "king" and also discussed how companies became more supportive of each other.
How has your segment of the industry changed over the last year?
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.
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?
Meeting Spotlight has caught up with Mike Farmer, vice president sales of Strategic Incentive Solutions Inc., a full-service incentive reward company, to discuss how COVID-19 changed the industry, as well as what we might expect from the MICE segment going forward.
How has your segment of the industry changed over the last year?
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has announced the hiring of Suzanne Neufang as its next executive director, leading the combined GBTA and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).
Volan Technology, which provides AI-based safety and contact tracing software, has unveiled its new solution for in-person meetings at the yearly Associated Luxury Hotels International all-staff meeting held in Austin, TX on January 28 – 29 at the Fairmont Austin.
Nintex, a process management and workflow automation company, recently announced that Flight Centre Travel Group, one of the world's largest travel agencies, has successfully leveraged K2 Cloud to help improve its operational efficiencies and digitally transform its customer experience.
Meeting Spotlight spoke before the holidays with Deborah Dickerson, director of operations at East West Connection (EWC), a full-service meetings and events agency. She said she expects virtual events and small, face-to-face meetings to continue midway through 2021.
How has your segment of the industry changed since March?