Latest news with #SkiftMeetings
Skift
11-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Women Leaders in Meetings: Lori Allen
Lori Allen, vice president, global event operations at MetLife, strives to be the kind of leader who understands what her team needs and creates an environment where they're safe to express that. Lori Allen epitomizes the phrase: You get what you give. She's an all-in, passionate professional, which has helped in her journey up the event ladder. She believes in giving her time to her team, and they're energized and excited to work for her. She's also an active member of Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals, and a believer in the power of networking. Skift Meetings recently sat down with Allen, vice president, global event operations at MetLife, to learn about her leadership philosophies, how she inspires her team, and what inspires her. Skift Meetings: You've spent your entire career, the past 25 years, in events? What is it about this industry that has kept you in it for so long? Lori Allen: I think that when it comes to events, it's something that you're just called to do. Events came into my life in 2004 and I have always worked in the event space at MetLife. I've been able to have such a rich and diverse career. As a company, we're so different in 2025 than we were in 2004, and as the company has changed, I've been able to stretch and learn and grow right along with it. So as the company grew globally, your opportunities grew? When I started with the firm, it was primarily a face-to-face distribution model, U.S.-based. As the company grew globally, the opportunity to become involved in the international side of the business was so attractive to me. I ended up collaborating with our business leaders in Japan, which is our biggest business outside the United States, and helping to set up and develop their event management team, which is still in place today and stronger than ever. What do you do in your role as VP of global event operations? Our team supports and plans the highest-profile meetings and events, anything that's multi-region, multi-country—the strategic initiatives that are a little bit more complex. We have 17 people on the team, including myself. We have a team of planners who project-manage the events; a team of event technologists who manage all of our data and build all of our technology, like our attendee-facing registration platform and our mobile apps; and a team that does event production, primarily the business sessions in the ballroom, but they're also whizzes at things like video creation and lighting. We also have teams in Japan and in Mexico, who, while they're not directly reporting to me, are still part of the marketing function, which is what we're a part of. Do you have a strong relationship with these other global teams? We have projects we work on together, and I find that the relationships that you build when you're doing the work are better than anything. You are able to build that trust, get to know people, and have those shared experiences together. It's like what we give our attendees—these shared experiences and memories and engagement in person. That's a really important piece of being part of a global company, and one of the things that's really attractive to me is really that circle of learning and communication. Who has helped you the most to grow your career? I have had tons of support to get where I am today and in particular from my former boss, Jeff Calmus. Jeff's a legend. And he was so generous to me with his time and with his experience—and just his spirit. I mean, he was amazing. Who I am today as a leader has been influenced a lot by my experience with Jeff. How do you help to grow the people on your team? It's all about knowing my team and taking the time to be the kind of leader who understands what her team needs, as well as creates an environment where they're safe to express that. I think that sometimes people don't feel comfortable enough to have an authentic conversation, or feel challenged to be able to speak up. I want to create an environment where people are able to self-advocate, and to be reflective about their careers and what opportunities they might need. It's also about listening, making sure to have those conversations. It's so easy to push off and to prioritize other things that feel really urgent. My team deserves that time. And it's my privilege as a leader to be able to help them. I always try to ask them: Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need something to do your job better? Because I think that people, sometimes, if they're not asked, won't tell you. It's important to me to make sure that I'm an enabler and not a roadblock. Who inspires you to be a better leader? It's hard to identify a single person. Honestly, I'd have to say the people on my team. Every time we have a project, I feel constantly in awe at the level of commitment that my team exhibits, the level of expertise, the level of patience. What we do is not easy. My favorite analogy is that it's like we're in a play: We have a script, we've got actors, we've got an audience, we've got a stage, but every night is the dress rehearsal and the closing night. You're never going to do it twice. And so I think it takes a really special kind of person to be able to handle that kind of pressure with grace and to have success. You're involved in Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals…What's one piece of advice you would give to someone starting out as a meeting planner? If I were giving advice to my younger self, it would have been to have started networking earlier and to recognize the huge value that internal and external networking can bring to your career. And to you as a person. I think you get more than you expect when you decide to become involved in industry organizations, or within your own firm. Making sure that you've got a really strong network is hugely important.
Skift
08-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
5 Ways Planners Are Rethinking Incentives
Skift Meetings' upcoming report reveals an industry that remains resilient and innovative, as it is forced to continuously change and evolve. The incentive industry sits at a critical juncture — a period of significant geopolitical and economic turbulence — and its effects are just beginning to make their mark on programs. An upcoming report by Skift Meetings, 'Rethinking Incentives,' reveals the many ways incentive travel is evolving as a result of U.S. government policies, rising costs, tech developments, and shifting demographics. Following are five areas of change: 1. Traditional Incentives are Evolving The incentive travel model that prizes inaccessibility — a level of luxury and exclusivity that you can't create on your own — is changing with the ability of individuals to create one-of-a-kind experiences on their own. Instagram feeds are lined with individual travelers having the same exact experiences that were once the purview of incentive groups. Traditional incentives used to be the norm, but not any more, said Padraic Gilligan, co-founder of SoolNua and an industry thought leader with more than 30 years of global experience. A good indicator of the direction of the incentive market is the leisure market, said Gilligan. 'Today's leisure traveler becomes tomorrow's incentive qualifier. The same mid-level executive who chooses Rabat over Raleigh for her personal break will soon be weighing up a company reward trip. The same European Millennial who skips Vegas for Valencia on ethical grounds will bring that sensibility to the group travel decision-making table. In other words, the patterns are predictable. But more than that, they're actionable.' 2. Layered, Local Experiences Are In There's a growing movement in incentive travel design toward meaningful, personalized experiences tailor toward the individual winners. Incentive travel is also no longer defined by extravagance — it's defined by intentionality. The incentive industry's answer is 'layered experiences,' those which extend beyond a single wow moment to create 'layers of surprise + delight.' No longer does a tour of a popular museum or other local attraction suffice when it comes to cultural immersion. Now they want to meet the maker, and perhaps even try their hand at creating. 'Incentive travel is absolutely still rooted in the idea of providing something irreplicable, but the currency of exclusivity has changed,' said Michelle Orlando, founder and chief event officer, Elevoque. 3. The Next-Gen is Making Its Mark According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Millennials make up the largest share of the labor force (36%), with Gen Z workers making up almost a fifth (18%). This is causing planners to rethink every aspect of program planning. While former generations of winners viewed the annual incentive trip as a chance to get away from home, families are part of an increasing number of trips today. But whether they bring their children or not, younger incentive winners want more choice as to how they spend their time. 'The younger generation is behaving based on their personal values,' said Greg Bogue, chief experience architect at Maritz. 'It's not just about designing the reward, it's about designing the whole program. I think that in announcing the program, capturing the attention, and during the qualification period, there's a lot of opportunity to activate individual values and individual purpose.' 4. Budgets are Stretched to the Max Cost increases as a result of tariffs are hitting event budgets hard at a time when planners have already been navigating rising costs due to inflation. Skift Meetings' 2025 survey of 103 meeting professionals found that rising costs are plaguing the vast majority of planners: When asked about the main concerns impacting their jobs right now, 90% said potential cost increases and 66% said potential recession. A full 82% said they expect event costs to increase in 2025–2026 because of the tariffs. Planners are finding ways to increase the perceived value of the incentive experience without increasing hard costs, by focusing on things like access and status. Offering attendees priority seating at an event, first access to redeem their reward, or a meet-and-greet with a musician or entertainer can add value to the experience at little or no cost. 5. AI is Having an Impact In recent Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) research, 63% of respondents said they either use AI or that they plan to use it to support incentive travel planning. Two IRF studies explore the topic: AI, Uses and Possibilities for Incentives Professionals and The AI Revolution: A Technical Review of AI Capabilities for Corporate Events, Rewards & Incentives. For many incentive planners, the reports say, AI offers the opportunity to tap into efficiency, allowing their teams to focus on more strategic tasks. For others, it is seen as a shortcut for tasks that are not their core competency, such as drafting communications or helping with data analysis. Most incentive professionals are using ChatGPT or a similar generative AI tool for program communications, brainstorming themes, and writing session descriptions. More sophisticated users are turning to AI to analyze employee engagement and performance data, which can be used to create personalized incentive programs tailored to specific demographics, behaviors, and preferences. Incentive industry leaders are cautiously optimistic about the possibilities created by AI. 'AI is designed to enhance, never to replace,' said Stephanie Harris, IRF president.
Skift
18-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Cvent's AI Makeover Targets Planners, Hotels, and the Future of Sourcing
The launch of CventIQ represents a significant bet on AI becoming the backbone of Cvent's entire ecosystem, predictable buzzwords included. Cvent has launched CventIQ, embedding AI across its event management and sourcing ecosystem. At the Skift Meetings Forum last September, Aggarwal acknowledged that the company had lagged in AI innovation. At that point, Cvent only offered AI through writing assistants and basic integrations. The new updates represent a significant expansion of AI capabilities across the platform. The reveal was the main focus of its Cvent CONNECT hybrid conference that drew 10,000 attendees to San Antonio last week. This was the conference's second year in the Texan city, but it will move to Nashville in 2026. Innovative Sessions Snapshots Among the new AI-powered mentioned in Aggarwal's keynote, "session snapshots" stood out as particularly innovative. This feature works through the Cvent mobile app, where attendees can view a live transcript of session content. When they hear something noteworthy, they tap the screen to bookmark that moment. The AI automatically generates a note from that section and saves it. The system collects saved snapshots together and then aggregates them into personalized highlight reels and daily session summaries. The snapshots feature is intriguing and potentially a game changer because it uses proven AI technology for transcribing and summarizing content in a clever way. Beyond integrating it into the main event app, Cvent is empowering attendees to personalize takeaways, rather than leaving the summarizing entirely to AI. If the system works and organizers promote app downloads, this should improve the personalized summaries and make attendees more likely to use them due to the IKEA Effect, which suggests people place higher value on things they help create. This feature could prove popular and generate valuable data for planners, provided it works well and attendees embrace the technology. Understanding when a session resonates is key to demonstrating its value, while pinpointing the most interesting discussion points should generate uniquely useful follow-ups for attendees. Navigating Sales CventIQ is not only enhancing content consumption but also boosting the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN) capabilities, a platform used by more than 200,000 planners to source 48 million room nights worth $18 billion in 2024. Targeting CSN's valuable planner user base feels similar to using LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Sales teams see comprehensive planner overviews with event details and the entire organization. They can search for planners that are a good match for the property or for those sourcing in competing markets. AI can generate email notifications with a list of recommended planners and help craft a relevant message instantly. The Cvent Event Marketing & Management Platform connects with LinkedIn's marketing tools, enabling planners to share their database of potential event attendees to serve ads to on LinkedIn. Boosting Property Appeal and Response Speed CventIQ features extensively throughout Cvent's used of 3D content. The platform now offers a full 3D immersive visualization of event setups at each property, using Matterport technology for property layout viewing and its own 3D room diagrams powered by Social Tables. The result is a Google Street View-like property listing that it is actively promoting. 'Investing in 3D rich meeting content is truly table stakes for being considered for high-value RFPs,' said Julide Tyrell, senior director, sales, hospitality cloud, Cvent. 3D is embedded in room diagrams with an AI-powered Diagram Assistant feature that allows planners to visualize rooms in various layouts through natural language conversations. This functionality is linked to pre-populated AI-generated proposals that sales teams can create almost instantly. Cvent wants sales teams to know that response speed is key to winning bids. Cvent said 79% of RFPs are won by the first 3 hotel responses and that using Cvent's new AI Response Assistant, sales teams can reduce proposal creation time to 81 min, which beats the average first response time of four hours and 10 minutes. Fast responses also trigger a 'Top Responder' icon, adding visibility to properties investing in these tools. The battle for planner attention on CSN is fast-paced, and using AI is becoming necessary to keep up. Smaller properties with limited resources will struggle, but fast movers embracing CventIQ should be ahead, at least for now. To balance the focus on automation and speed, Aggarwal reassured attendees that Cvent believes in a human-led future. Cvent is providing opportunities for properties to gain more visibility in CSN not only through 3D immersion and AI-generated proposals. Cvent announced a 'Sustainability certified' icon for listings to showcase sustainability initiatives, driven by a partnership with BeCause. The Bigger Picture Amid the updates and new features, some seem basic and overdue, like custom pages in the exhibitor portal for FAQs. Yet, among the mundane, there are tools that are part of a bigger picture. The most significant update is Cvent Essentials, a simplified, low-cost, pay-as-you-go version of the Cvent Event Marketing & Management Platform. The product is designed to bring smaller events — including field marketing events — into the Cvent ecosystem. Cvent wants their larger clients to use the platform for all their simpler events, so these events can contribute data to each client's central hub, 'Events+.' Cvent also announced Cvent Passkey Rooming List Essentials, a simplified version of the Cvent Passkey room block management software, aimed at smaller hotel properties. Simplified Cvent tools may not feel revolutionary, but they're essential for a complete strategic meetings management program. Large companies can roll out Cvent across different teams and geographies with varying resources, all on-brand with strict guardrails. The same applies to hotels and venues, where large chains and properties likely already use Cvent for RFPs. Now smaller properties can interface with planners using standardized room block tools. Some announcements reveal integration of recent acquisitions into Cvent platforms. The AI-powered attendance insights feature from Splash is now integrated into Cvent, predicting final registration numbers four weeks out. Jifflenow's meetings management and Reposite vendor marketplace are integrated, with vendors partnering with a property featured in the property's CSN listing, boosting visibility. Cvent appears to have made good use of its 200 staff dedicated to AI, with CventIQ's AI upgrades visible across most of the Cvent ecosystem.
Skift
11-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Tariffs, Riots, Travel Bans: Contract Language to Protect Planners
Planners are facing challenging — and potentially expensive — conditions as a result of certain Trump Administration policies. There are still many unknowns, like the potential cost increases from tariffs, or whether housekeeping or banquet service at hotels will be impacted by immigration policies. However, it's important to take action now, said Paul Cataudella, principal attorney, Cataudella Law. 'The MICE industry has always operated within this intersection of politics, economics, and logistics,' he told Skift Meetings. 'What's changing now is the frequency and the volatility of these disruptions. They're happening more and more often on higher levels.' Here is his take on how planners can address disruptions from specific Trump administration policies in their meeting contracts. How can planners protect themselves legally from cost increases due to tariffs? One way is not to mention it all; sometimes, remaining silent on an issue might be the best way to proceed. This gives you the chance to mold the future however the two parties want. I don't mean this sarcastically, but bury your head in the sand and almost ignore it until it becomes necessary, then address it in the event of a dispute. The other option is to prepare language that attempts to arrive at a mutually agreeable or mutually beneficial outcome in the event that a particular tariff is imposed. This is where it gets really sticky because the language regarding tariffs requires a heightened level of specificity: What tariff? Who's imposing it? What country? What's the amount? When is it imposed? Does it actually have an effect on the program? What program elements is it affecting? Do you need documentation to support the increase? Someone could say that a tariff was imposed, and that therefore the cost is 20% higher — but is it? Are those goods actually being imported by your suppliers or your subcontractors? Are they subject to tariffs, such that it causes an increase in that program element? It's difficult to strike a balance between what is legally necessary to put into a contract versus what might feel good reasonably agreeing upon. There's probably a sweet spot in between there, as long as the parties communicate. With the riots that are happening as a result of immigration policies, what language should planners be including in their contracts? There's no doubt that riots can fall within the definition of force majeure, which usually includes language about civil unrest and event riots. The key to the force majeure provision is not just that a riot occurred, but that it rendered the meeting or event either impossible, impracticable, commercially unreasonable, illegal, inadvisable, or all of those things. Force majeure doesn't when there are riots in a city and people choose not to attend. You would need to have a separate provision about any type of civil unrest that leads to a reasonable fear or suspicion that a meeting would be unsafe, and is therefore unable to take place. Planners are concerned that the administration's immigration policies are going to have an impact on hotel staffing, such as banquet servers and housekeepers. How can you address this contractually? About two years ago, there were labor shortages that were hitting us pretty hard, coupled with high inflation and supply chain issues. I included specific language about headcount ratios and minimum staffing levels for each service category. For example, how many people need to be available at check-in, drilling down to establish a measurable number of staff in correlation with the number of guests. How can planners address attrition from international attendees who either can't or won't travel to the U.S.? Instead of benchmarks based on headcount or guaranteed headcount, you can include language like 'obligations around best efforts' and 'market conditions' — phrases that are far more ambiguous. That is not my favorite approach, but it's one that is an attempt to try to find some middle ground. Not attending because of a personal preference is different than not attending because you can't, because of travel bans. That is not a reason for contract cancellation or a severe modification 99% of the time.
Skift
10-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
Exclusive Survey: Planners Face Rising Costs and Uncertainty Amidst Trump Policy Shifts
New research by Skift Meetings shows that planners are grappling with the effects of Trump Administration policies on their events — with 9 out of 10 expressing concern about rising costs due to tariffs. Skift Meetings' exclusive survey of 103 meeting professionals* paints a picture of a confusing and challenging landscape for meeting planners as they adjust to new Trump Administration policies. While for some it's business as usual, others are experiencing rising costs from tariffs, cancellations in industries affected by government cuts, fewer international attendees willing to travel to the U.S., and concern about the impact of immigration policies on hotel staffing. Almost a third of respondents (29%) have already changed the location of this year's meetings or incentive trips due to geopolitical conditions. When asked if they are considering changing locations for future events, 39% said yes, 21% were unsure, and 37% said no. Tariff Impacts Rising costs are plaguing the vast majority of planners: When asked about the main concerns impacting their jobs right now, 90% said potential cost increases and 66% said potential recession. A full 82% said they expect meeting costs to increase in 2025–2026 because of the tariffs. Respondents also reported cost increases on promotional products and incentive gifts, combined with an increase in the length of time it takes to receive goods. Certain Industries Hit Hard Government meetings, academic and scientific meetings, and those with international attendees have been hardest hit. Said one anonymous planner: 'The government meetings industry has disappeared.' Kyle Jordan, director of meetings at INFORMS, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, said that while he anticipates 10-15% lower attendance this year because 35% of his attendees come from outside of the U.S., 'As an academic-focused organization, we anticipate seeing a bigger hit to our domestic attendance in 2026 as universities shore up funding for potential long-term court battles.' International Attendees Staying Home International attendees now face a combination of visa challenges and concerns about border access and safety. 'Our international members have informed us that traveling to the U.S. for a conference is currently not in the cards,' said an anonymous planner. 'Many of our members have lost funding, and are having to cut back conference attendance. Overall, our registration pace is much slower than it has been the last three years.' Mark Phillips, chief operating officer at LamontCo, said he has seen international attendance at U.S. meetings drop by 30% or more, 'especially those where the air tickets have not yet been purchased.' As cross-border tensions have increased, plans for inbound meetings from Canada are getting nixed. Of those respondents with Canadian clients or divisions in Canada who were planning to meet in the U.S. this year, 18% have already changed their plans and 15% were considering doing so. Hotel Staffing Concerns Another concern among planners is the potential effect of immigration policies on hotel staffing, including kitchen help, housekeeping, and banquet servers. More than two-thirds of respondents (72%) said they expect hotel staffing to be impacted in 2025–2026, while 15% were unsure and 13% did not foresee any impact. State of Confusion A number of respondents, including LamontCo's Phillips, said they expected more regional meetings as a result of the falloff in international attendance. Other impacts mentioned by respondents included scaling back on using 5-star properties; looking for much lower rates than in the past; longer lead times for sourcing and contracting; challenges for students and attendees of color getting needed support to attend certain meetings; and tradeshow exhibitor cancellations. Even for those planners who said they are not feeling any impact from Trump Administration policies, Tim Barrett, senior director, global meetings at Destination South, summed up the current state of confusion being felt by many respondents: 'It's chaotic, especially the whiplash of one day to the next and the differing totals and/or start dates.' TOP 7 PLANNER CONCERNS (ranked by percentage of respondents) Potential cost increases (90%) Potential recession (66%) Entry challenges for incoming international attendees (57%) Job security (45%) Challenges with bringing U.S. groups internationally (44%) Challenges for LGBTQ+ attendees (28%) Pregnant attendees requiring emergency care (15%) *Methodology: Skift Meetings' email survey of meeting planners was conducted between May 9 and June 9, 2025, resulting in 103 usable responses.
