Smart Meetings

Since 2002, Smart Meetings has been showcasing the best venues and destinations for meeting professionals. We are now two decades in running and proud to present the 20th annual Platinum Choice Awards.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is expanding. There will be 12,000 hotel rooms in and around the "new" LAX, some of which are new or renovated. But LA isn't the only city making itself more attractive for groups. Anaheim, Santa Ana and Pasadena are also making additions of their own.

What is training the "Marriott way"? As the company continues to fill thousands of jobs, they're making sure new employees understand the brand's "people-first" culture.

In opposition to cities preventing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, organizations have enacted a practice that has come to be known as the “weaponization of travel,” affecting many U.S. states. And they aren't the only ones suffering.

Greater Zion recently hosted the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, which ran in late October, as well as other events such as Huntsman World Senior Games and Red Bull Rampage—proving to be a choice playground for those who appreciate the desert gateway in the Southwest corner of Utah.

Even before IMEX 2022 commenced, plans were already being made for IMEX 2023. FSmart Meetings debriefed with Tahira Endean, head of program with IMEX Group, about what worked and what will be changed for next year.

Incentive meetings are back in a big way, according to new research. This includes domestic cruise incentives, U.S. and border destinations like Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean are booming. Find out the where and why behind the comeback.