Meetings Today Podcast

Meetings Today's Sarah Kloepple talks with Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), about the organization's Safe Stay guidelines, supporting hotel workers as these new healthy and safety protocols are put in place, and how technology will play a critical role in future live meetings.

As we reach mid-May, Meetings Today's Sarah Kloepple checks in with Stephanie Glanzer, chief sales officer and vice president of MGM Resorts International, who delves into MGM's new Seven-Point Safety Plan for enhanced health and sanitation protocols at its properties.  Glanzer also explains how meeting and event spaces specifically will look different, from exploring pre-packaged F&B, coordinating foot traffic flow, to helping planners put on a virtual component.

Thinking about launching virtual meetings as a standalone event option or augmentation to a live event? Amanda Ma, founder and CEO of Innovate Marketing Group, dove into the virtual events pool headfirst after COVID-19 hit, and offers her expert tips on how to pull them off, from pre- and post-event preparation and follow-up to technical issues to look out for and how to put that little personal touch on them that the digital world often lacks. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson spoke with Ma, who wrote “Case Study: 5 Pandemic Safety Tips for High-Level Summits” story in late March, about her secrets to virtual meetings success.

Led by exhibitions and event management giant Freeman, Go LIVE Together put together and advocacy group with hundreds of member organizations at breakneck speed. Being on the ground—literally—at meetings, conventions and exhibitions also gives the Dallas-based company a unique perspective on what the “new normal” will look like when we start gathering again. What will this new world look like? Will the government step in to regulate the industry? How is the conventions and exhibitions industry especially well-suited to meeting challenges such as social distancing and sanitation policies? Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talked with Sue Sung, senior vice president of corporate strategy for Freeman, about the ambitious efforts of Go LIVE Together as well as what the brave new world of meetings, conventions and exhibitions will look like after the COVID-19 shutdown ends.

Alarming initial statistics reflecting the massive loss of employment and revenue in the U.S. travel industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have only gotten worse. Tyler Davidson talks with Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association, about how bad it is and where we go from here.

After COVID-19 is in the rear-view mirror, how will the meetings and hotel industry have changed forever? Meetings Today Contributing Editor Robert Nieminen discussed what this new world may look like with top designer Michael Suomi, founder of Suomi Design Works. From social distancing to a hyper-aware focus on cleanliness, hospitality design and the meetings and conventions experience may never be the same.

The coronavirus crisis has led to a revolution in the workplace—at least temporarily—in which the office is now in workers’ homes. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson spoke to Heather Mason, founder and CEO of Caspian Agency, to get her insights on the best strategies to implement if you’ve found yourself working in this “new normal” environment.

The hospitality and meetings industries are at a standstill as the COVID-19 crisis levels its crippling effect on travel and public gatherings of any size. Its top market, Las Vegas, is always a bellwether of the health of an economic segment that is one of the top drivers of the U.S. economy. Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talks with Stephanie Glanzer, chief sales officer and senior vice president of MGM Resorts International, about the status of meetings and events in Las Vegas and the city’s substantial inventory of MGM properties. Are meetings and events rebooking cancelled events, and in what time frame? What questions should meeting planners ask facilities to ensure their events enjoy the standard of service they are accustomed to as currently shuttered properties quickly ramp up to resume business? Glanzer answers these questions and details MGM’s laudable efforts to help its employees weather the coronavirus crisis.

How are you coping with the coronavirus pandemic? Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talks with Kristine Iverson, owner and founder of wellness company CROW Practice, about strategies all of us can incorporate to calm the mind and ease the body while we navigate the global pandemic and resulting economic turmoil.

Tyler Davidson checks in with meetings risk management expert Brenda Rivers to talk about the free on-demand Risk Management Primer: How to Protect Your Attendees and Organization From Disaster webinar she presented for Meetings Today. Brenda talks about the current state of coronavirus meetings and events readiness as well as lessons to apply for future events.