Skift Take

Sustainability is more than a gimmick; the wider meetings and events sector is in the midst of reducing its impact on the environment while providing attendees with a more balanced and less wasteful experience.

In a messed-up world that’s likely in the midst of a devastating environmental breakdown, sustainability has become a must-have element for meetings and events this year. It doesn’t feel good to help destroy the world while attending your annual sales conference.

Skift contributor Allan Leibowitz writes this week on how organizations around the world are embracing more sustainable standards. It can be reducing waste, offsetting carbon from flights, or simply offering green dining options. In addition to being extremely good for the environment, it also provides a differentiator and positive brand halo for your event.

This week’s newsletter is heavy on hospitality, as well, with some deep thoughts from luminaries speaking at last week’s Skift Global Forum in New York City. On the sustainability front, we partnered with Refill not Landfill to reduce the use of plastic cups. Everyone got a sweet Skift water bottle, too.

You should also check out our latest magazine featuring a long-form essay by yours truly about how travel brands need to adapt at a time when every hotel and airline has turned to selling experiences instead of services.

This development has serious ramifications for the meetings and events sector, and in many ways positions the sector well with its deep experience and knowledge when it comes to providing memorable experiences to attendees.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected] or tweet me @sheivach.

— Andrew Sheivachman, Business Travel Editor

The Future of Events and Meetings

Producing Less Waste Is Quickly Becoming a Priority for Events Worldwide: As environmental awareness grows, everyone in the meetings supply chain has to demonstrate their green credentials. For now, events with environmental certifications may have an advantage, but as expectations rise, this will soon be a minimum requirement.

Creating New Twists on Travel Through Stories of Place: The world is a brighter place because of travelers and millions of them increasingly want to spend their vacations doing good rather than showing off their new bathing suits or selfie sticks.

Ian Schrager on How Hotels Get Technology Wrong: The hospitality industry shouldn’t forget its humanity, while continuing to innovate — just in a sensible and appropriate way.

Around the Industry

The Post-Experience Economy: Read the New Magazine: Check out our magazine to learn how travel brands could face an identity crisis if they don’t figure out how to evolve in a post-experience economy. We offer eight tenets to help you figure it out.

Best Western Debuts Two New Boutique Hotel Brands: There’s been a sea change in terms of how new boutique hotel brands are named. Instead of recycling other brand names (ahem, Clarion Pointe) and looking to active adjectives (hello, Avid and Tru), we’ve now entered the era of brands on a first-name basis.

Four Seasons CEO to Suitors: Thanks, But No Thanks: As a large independent hotel company with a distinctive luxury brand, Four Seasons is always going to be a takeover target but it sounds like it is more likely to be a buyer rather than a seller.

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Skift Business Travel Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Meetings Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday.

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Tags: climate change, meetings, meetingsiq, sustainability

Photo credit: A photo of a reception at London's Natural History Museum. LeWeb / Flickr

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