In This Issue
November/December 2025
This December marks our Platinum Choice Awards' 23rd year. This award has been created to honor the hospitality industry’s top-ranked hotels, venues and destinations to provide sourcing decision-makers with a list of partners that deliver the highest standards of overall excellence. While you're taking a look at this year's best and brightest hotels, venues and destinations. While you're in there, why not take a look at 25 Unexpected Events Trends from 2025, a history lesson on Route 66, what Gen Z expects as they enter the events workforce and more.
Features
January 5, 2026
TechnologyAI: Resistance Is Futile
We spoke with AI enthusiasts about the event-changing power of large language model (LLM) personalization. The use of LLMs can free up planners' time for more human-centered tasks.
December 30, 2025
IncentivesIncentive Travel: Value in Motion
According to Stephanie Harris, president of the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF), 2025 was the year incentive programs truly hit their stride again. And in many ways, it marked a turning…
December 22, 2025
The Resort Renaissance
How retreats around the world are redefining renewal through design, sustainability and a sense of placeFrom the misty shores of Loch Lomond to the sun-splashed coast of Antigua and the…
December 11, 2025
AssociationsAssociation Events: Trust as the Lodestar
In uncertain times, association events point the way forwardLODESTAR. It’s a term you may know without knowing its origin. In the 14th century, navigators on the high seas and even…
December 8, 2025
TrendsGen Z Has Entered the Building
The hospitality industry embraces the largest demographic in decadesGeneration Z (those born between 1996 and 2012) will represent 30% of the workforce by 2030. Destination marketing and meetings industry organizations…
December 4, 2025
Trends25 Unexpected Event Trends from 2025
After a busy year covering the surprises, delights and obsessions that changed plans almost daily, our editors compared notes to come up with our annual list of the 25 unexpected…
December 1, 2025
TrendsJingle All the Way to a Successful Holiday Party
Holiday parties can be a mixed bag, ranging from ho-hum affairs to the kind of bashes that have everyone talking well into the new year. How do you ensure yours…
November 30, 2025
Industry Awards2025 Platinum Choice Winners
The world of hospitality is full of exceptional offerings, grand experiences and otherworldly amenities, but how do you parse through the fantastic to find the best of the best? When…
In Every Issue
January 5, 2026
StrategyMeetings MBA: Ask Early, Plan Wisely
Sometimes the most important questions aren’t asked until late in the planning process. Worse yet, some questions aren’t asked at all. Based on years of planning and executing meetings and…
December 29, 2025
Contracts & NegotiationsAsk the Negotiator: The Clauses That Bind
We talked to HelmsBriscoe Senior Director of Global Accounts and contract negotiation expert Wendy Carmichael for tips on how to move forward while minimizing risk. Her goal is to find…
December 26, 2025
Industry NewsTake 5: Vanessa Claspill on Winning Collectively
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Chief Sales Officer Vanessa Claspill is bringing everyone together to elevate meetings and events across the destination. Everyone wins when events are sustainable, memorable…
December 23, 2025
Health and WellnessFitness, Not Fads
What the next gen actually wants at eventsWe keep saying our events should be inclusive. Then we build programs around late nights, heavy pours and passive sitting. That is not…
December 18, 2025
StrategyMeetings MBA: The New Welcome Mat
A well-planned registration station sets the tone, reinforces the brand and demonstrates that every detail has been considered. Done right, it can turn what’s often seen as a functional necessity…
Notes from the Road
December 5, 2025
Hotels & DestinationsNotes from the Road: Boston
Whether or not you share their love for high-intensity cardio, there’s no denying Boston’s pulse. It hums with purpose, history and that particular brand of New England confidence that makes…
Past Issues
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