When discussing the future of trade shows, Convention Data Services President and CEO John Kimball draws an analogy to Walt Disney World. With one click of a button, a guest has for years been able to gauge the length of ride lines and determine his or her group’s next stop.
“Nobody wants to wait in line,” Kimball said.
A new report from UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, predicts that a comeback is in the offing for trade shows.
I recently found myself breaking the ice with co-workers and colleagues asking, “What are some of your goals this year?” A new year is a clean slate coupled with a renewed sense of energy, so my inquiries were met with a lot of enthusiasm. Many of my peers had transparent and quantifiable goals, like reading 50 books. Others explained vague ideas like saving more money or starting a nonprofit.
Bree Nidds is vice president of sales at Discover Lehigh Valley. In this position, she oversees the meetings and sporting event strategy, and the Lehigh Valley Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Program. She serves as co-leader of the Women's Leadership Committee at the Sports Event and Tourism Association (Sports ETA), and serves on the Global Leadership Committee at Destinations International.
The coronavirus understandably caught the events industry flat-footed last spring. Who can predict a once-in-a-century disease? But nearly a year into the pandemic, there’s been time to experiment, learn, adapt and develop better strategies going into 2021.
Louisville Tourism is about to get a new president and CEO.
While many trade shows in early 2021 have either been cancelled, gone virtual or been postponed until later in the year, two recent B2B events in Orlando and Denver managed to go live successfully. A common theme: regional attendance and extensive health and safety measures that kept participants feeling more confident and comfortable.
Tracy Judge, founder and chief connector of Soundings Connect, is as poised a person as you’ll ever meet. A former corporate meeting planner at Maritz Global Events, Judge runs her own company, a network for freelance event professionals, while contributing to many industry organizations and causes. She has an uncanny ability to build relationships and rise to any challenge, and is a popular speaker for events.
Could hotel skeleton staffing levels offer freelancers the opportunity to help shape the future?
It’s hard to believe that in just two months we’ll be embarking upon the anniversary of the hospitality industry getting dismantled due to the effects of COVID-19. Not exactly an anniversary to celebrate, is it? I guess that depends on perspective though, as many individuals have risen from the ashes, focused on personal development and have possibly started new ventures where they are the boss now. Consider “freelancer” and “consultant” a few of your first 2021 buzzwords.
Laura Hartmann, CPCE, PBC, is co-founder of H&F Redefined, an Orlando-based network that supports individuals on their furlough/lay-off and new business journeys from all over the globe. Prior to her own layoff due to COVID-19, she worked in various positions within the industry across brands such as Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, and Waldorf Astoria as Assistant Director of Events.
