Skift Take
Tourism Montreal is sharing great meetings-specific digital content, which is inspiring other destinations like Palm Springs to do the same. In the hospitality sector, Hilton Hotels is the leader of meetings content with its Connect+ platform.
Skift Meetings is our new newsletter defining the future of meetings and events by deciphering disruptive strategies that improve knowledge sharing.
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What You Need to Know
Behind The Launch of The New Skift Meetings Newsletter
How we communicate is as important 
as what we communicate in today’s meetings industry based on the rise of so many different digital channels and platforms. Content is fluid, global, 24/7 and platform agnostic.
Therefore, the meeting of the future is an open-source, co-created hybrid of live and virtual engagement that leverages the collective knowledge of the community. Much of the meetings and convention industry is still trying to catch up with these shifts. Read more at Skift
Social Quote of the Day
“‘#IoT [Internet of Everything] companies aren’t selling products anymore, they are selling an experience.’ Salesforce CEO @Benioff insights at #Techonomy15”
— Elin Elkehag, CEO of Vinna Ventures, on Twitter
Destinations
Interview: Palm Springs Tourism CEO on Engaging Millennial Meeting Attendees: Goodbye Frank Sinatra. Palm Springs is retooling its brand image for the Millennial generation with a new website this summer and a slew of video content to engage meeting attendees. Scott White, president and CEO of Visit Greater Palm Springs, says, “We’re really trying to push the Millennials to go back to their meeting planners and say, ‘Hey, have you thought about Palm Springs as a destination?’” Read more at Skift
Visit Dallas CEO Says Houston’s Anti-LGBT Vote Bad For State’s Convention Business: The citizens of Houston overwhelmingly voted against the passing of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance last week, ensuring that Houston businesses can continue to legally discriminate against members of the LGBT community. Visit Dallas CEO Phillip Jones says that runs counter to most Fortune 500 company’s views on equality and tolerance, and it could negatively impact other cities across Texas. Read more at Skift
London’s Olympic Legacy Is, Fittingly, Teamwork: London & Partners, the city’s marketing organization, and ExCeL, London’s largest convention center, have learned how to work together after being joined at the hip to bring the Olympics to life. Read more at MeetingsNet
Montreal Academics Leading The Field Of Women’s Studies: Tourism Montreal’s meetings blog showcases the city’s academic leaders in feminist theory who helped secure the National Women’s Studies Association conference in 2016. Why can’t every bureau celebrate its homegrown intellectual capital like this? Read more at Tourism Montreal
Events & Venues
Behind Every Meeting Is a Planning Hero (Cvent): Your company is built on excellence, by employees who execute flawlessly no matter what the pressure. You think you respond by giving praise for every job well done. But when it comes to recognition, meeting and event planners are often overlooked within the corporate travel environment. Read more at Skift
Web Summit 2015 Goes Social & Mobile: At the Web Summit event this month in Dublin, global online traffic hit an all-time high, increasing 39.3% compared to 2014. SimilarWeb’s analysis of the traffic data shows a combination of social and mobile contributed to dramatic growth. Read more at SimilarWeb
Orlando’s Theme Parks Attract the Bleisure Traveler: Many conventions and conferences work with theme parks to plan an exclusive, customized outing for their participants, often in the afternoon or evening. The events typically include catered food and drinks, and exclusive access for a period of time to rides and attractions in that section so they don’t have to wait on lines. Read more at Skift
Hospitality
Behind Hilton Hotels’ Online Learning Hub for Meeting Planners: Hilton Worldwide’s Connect+ content platform represents the first time a global hospitality brand is engaging planners at the corporate level with (for the most part) substantive education. Read more at Skift
Hotels, Don’t Let Outdated Strategy Kill Your Group Business (Cvent): How often does instinct play a role in deciding which pieces of group business to pursue? Times are changing, and making revenue impacting decisions based upon instinct no longer works in today’s highly competitive meetings and event market. Read more at Skift
Tips & Comments
Skift MeetingsIQ is curated by meetings industry veteran Greg Oates. Send story ideas and feedback to [email protected].
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch
Tags: dallas, houston, palm springs
Photo credit: SimilarWeb tracked the jump in attendance at Web Summit 2015 this month due to increased focus on social media and mobile usability. William Murphy / Flickr