Skift Take
While this shift is well under way, it's still early days. Many companies are trying to figure out basic information, like how many meetings they have in a year.
It’s no mystery why small, less complex meetings have gone untracked for so long. They happen so frequently, organized by employees all over the company, that keeping tabs on all of them can feel nearly impossible.
Plus, they’re not big events or high-profile conferences, so they’re easy to overlook. For decades, many companies have done just that.
Over the past two or three years, though, this has shifted. Companies have woken up to the massive amounts that they are spending on simple meetings — and the risks that come along with lax reporting standards.
We talked to execs at Groupize and Splash, two event technology platforms, to understand what’s happening in the industry. Plus, Booking.com has begun charging hotels a commission on their controversial resort fees.
Check out these stories, and many more, below.
If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet @ikcarey.
— Isaac Carey, Travel Reporter
The Future Of Events And Meetings
The Era of Ignoring Simple Meetings Is Over: Beyond savings, companies can get rich data from tracking these meetings, which is key for improving their events going forward.
Booking Holdings Makes Good on Resort-Fee Commission Charges: It appears as though big hotel brands that scream the loudest can get a reprieve from Booking.com’s resort-fee commission charges. But that reprieve appears to only be temporary.
BCD Travel Grows in North America by Adding Adelman Travel: BCD Travel has been steadily growing around the world, but its latest acquisition will help it compete in the crowded U.S. market for travel management services.
Socio Raises $6 Million for Event Management: Travel startups announced approximately $95 million in funding last week. One standout was Socio, a company that offers software for managing events. Its funding highlights a broader trend of investment in the event tech sector.
Around The Industry
Why Is the U.S. Never Deemed ‘Unsafe’ as a Travel Destination? In the wake of a tragedy, destinations are hugely beholden to the public perception of how safe it is to travel there, regardless of the reality on the ground. But the United States — which has experienced more mass shootings than there are days in 2019 — is unfairly exempt from that struggle.
Namibia Lures New Travelers Seeking Desert Solitude: It would be easy to see Namibia’s ascent as a run of great PR, but the country has been playing a long game to attract visitors from around the world. And now there’s both more access and new product to match rising demand from travelers who crave isolation — not to mention social media cred.
How Can Airbnb Guests Live Like Locals if Hosts Are, Well, Corporations? The professionalization of Airbnb may mean cleaner bedsheets and more front desks. But it may also contribute to higher home prices to the detriment of housing-squeezed neighborhoods — and a brand identity that is in dire need of a reboot.
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Skift Senior Enterprise Editor Andrew Sheivachman [[email protected]] curates the Skift Meetings Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday.
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Tags: groupize, meetings, meetingsiq
Photo credit: Employees use Airbnb as a meeting space. Companies are starting to track all of their meetings to truly understand how much they are spending, how they can save, and to ensure employees are complying with corporate policy. Airbnb