MINNEAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER EARNS AWARD

The Minneapolis Convention Center was recently recognized as one of North America’s best-managed venues, earning a 2025 Venue Excellence Award by the International Association of Venue Managers. The award recognizes the center’s achievements in operational excellence, safety and security, professional development and community service. The Minneapolis Convention Center is one of five venues to receive this year’s recognition.

In 2024, nearly 200 events at the Minneapolis Convention Center and more than 719,000 attendees helped sustain over 10,000 tourism and hospitality jobs in the community. In addition, the convention center generated an estimated economic activity of $523 million for Minneapolis.

The award submission highlighted several areas of the center’s success:

  • Seamless event execution through cross-departmental collaboration, real-time client support and continuous process improvement, resulting in consistently strong client satisfaction.
  • Zero Occupational Safety and Health Administration incidents across nearly 300,000 work hours in 2024. The staff was also supported by renewed law enforcement partnerships, real-time emergency response tools and comprehensive staff training.
  • Professional development through hands-on training, entry-level career pathways, long-running internship programs, cultural awareness education, equitable hiring practices and national certification opportunities.
  • Community service via food recovery, rental grants, educational tours and philanthropy.
  • Environmental stewardship by being 100% renewable energy- powered, a 60% recycling rate and an 85% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions since 2008.

This marks the third time the center has received this award, previously winning in 2014 and 2018.

AI REACHES TIPPING POINT IN MEETINGS & EVENTS

The meetings and events industry is entering a new era of confidence and digital transformation. Professional optimism has reached its highest level in five years, with 85% of respondents saying they are optimistic or very optimistic about the year ahead — up from 74% from 2025, according to the 15th Annual Global Meetings and Events Forecast by American Express Global Business Travel, the travel, expense, and meetings and events software and services company.

At the heart of this shift, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from an emerging technology to an essential tool for 2026, with 50% of industry professionals now integrating AI throughout event planning and execution. AI is already helping organizations unlock creativity, streamline operations and elevate attendee experiences. From generating content and themes to tracking engagement and sentiment, the technology can help meetings professionals optimize budgets and deliver measurable impact.

The most anticipated AI use cases for the year include:

  • Connection, aiding with event communications (35%), and AI-powered matchmaking for attendees and sponsors (35%).
  • Content, aiding with creative theme generation (34%) and content creation (31%).
  • Measurement, aiding with engagement tracking (31%).

Improving the attendee experience remains meeting professionals’ top priority for 2026 (33%). Planners have long strived to measure return on investment, but that is giving way to the return on experience (ROE) as a metric. With much of the value of meetings and events tied to the impact they deliver, understanding ROE more accurately pinpoints how an event delivered against its objectives.

AI is essential for ROE, enabling event monitoring via badge scans and session check-ins, and transforming behavioral data into actionable insights. Adoption of AI is trending up with 28% of meeting professionals planning to use it for post-event evaluation in 2026.

To create truly memorable events, it’s crucial to encourage attendees to be active participants rather than spectators. Compared to five years ago, attendees today crave active engagement, with 42% wanting more interactive sessions, such as workshops or demos. This was closely followed by the desire for more social activities and networking opportunities (40%).

INSTANT GROUP BOOKING FOR PLANNERS

Groups360, a hotel booking and attendee management solutions provider, recently agreed to launch instant online booking capabilities for groups with Hyatt, with the addition of Hyatt properties to the GroupSync Marketplace, in early 2026. Through direct integration with Hyatt’s systems, organizers will gain real-time access to group room and meeting space rates and availability. This advancement streamlines booking, reduces reliance on traditional requests for proposal, and allows participating Hyatt properties to offer faster, more seamless service.

By deploying live inventory and group rates within GroupSync Marketplace, Hyatt will save planners time by allowing them to filter and search using real-time room rates and availability. Once a property is selected, planners may instantly book rooms, event space or both, as well as food and beverage needs and audiovisual equipment, all in a single transaction. For larger or more complex events, planners may still elect to send a traditional request for proposal through GroupSync’s proprietary streamlined process.

Planners can already access select Hyatt properties in GroupSync for streamlined request for proposal submissions. Starting in early 2026, participating Hyatt properties will also unlock instant online booking for planners to secure group rooms and meeting space in real time. With the addition of Hyatt, organizers will have more options for instant online booking on GroupSync across 32,000 cities.

CLEVELAND TO HOST 2028 NATIONAL COALITION OF BLACK MEETING PROFESSIONALS

Destination Cleveland recently announced the city’s selection as host of the 2028 National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Annual Conference, the largest annual gathering for Black meeting professionals. Among those who attend are planners and association leaders charged with selecting destinations for their own meetings and events. The National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Conference will bring an estimated 550 attendees to Cleveland for educational seminars, networking events and special programming.

The city’s selection as the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals’ 2028 host underscores its growing appeal as a meeting and convention host. In 2025, Destination Cleveland will have welcomed over 300 meetings and conventions; its sales team is currently booking as far as 2031.

NEW PARTNERSHIP AND SERVICE MANAGER AT MEET CHICAGO NORTHWEST

Meet Chicago Northwest, the official convention and visitors bureau for the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, recently welcomed Jenny O’Brien as its new partnership and service manager. Her past experience as both a tourism professional and a business owner gives her valuable perspective on partner relations and community development. Meet Chicago Northwest serves Itasca, Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wood Dale.

TRAVEL MARQUETTE LAUNCHES 360-DEGREE ACCESSIBILITY VIDEOS

Travel Marquette recently launched a series of 360-degree accessibility videos, expanding its online accessibility guide, and offering an interactive way to explore local hotels, restaurants, businesses and outdoor recreation sites. The guide, available on mobile devices, provides detailed information on how Marquette County businesses accommodate visitors with wheelchairs and other mobility needs. The videos permit planners to interact with businesses virtually, preview spaces in detail and better anticipate potential accessibility barriers.

CHICAGO VOTED BEST BIG CITY IN THE U.S. AGAIN

Chicago has once again been crowned the Best Big City in the U.S. in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, the ninth consecutive year the metro has claimed the title. Events are a key component of its visitor economy, generating over $3 billion in economic activity last year and introducing hundreds of thousands of new visitors to the city. Chicago’s meetings and conventions infrastructure remain key to its appeal. From McCormick Place to Navy Pier to theaters, banquet halls, sports arenas and easily accessible airports, the city’s capacity to host events of all sizes and profiles continues to lure leisure and business guests.

HALL OF FAMER BECOMES FIRST AUGMENTED-REALITY SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Visit Milwaukee is introducing what it believes to be the first AI-powered augmented-reality sales representative on a trade show floor. The immersive experience, Ask LeRoy, debuted at Connect Marketplace in Miami Beach. Visitors scan a QR code and see Pro Football Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler appear as a lifelike 3D avatar. Once he “arrives,” he greets guests, shares meeting capabilities, answers venue questions, and recommends local dining and attractions. These responses are AI-generated based on data from Visit Milwaukee.

The Ask LeRoy experience will accompany Visit Milwaukee to trade shows and appear in key locations in the greater area. Butler starred as a safety for the Green Bay Packers, played in Super Bowl XXXI and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022. Today, he is a proud Milwaukeean, making him the ideal ambassador.