Cake Boss Buddy Valastro (left) and Richard D. Hoelzel, CDM, CFPP, FMP, of Idahoan Foods at Innovations 2024 in Denver. Page 46 DESTINATION COLORADO IN THIS ISSUE USING AI IN MEETINGS MAKING MEETINGS ACCESSIBLE INNOVATIVE SPEAKERS CARIBBEAN CALIFORNIA FLORIDA Courtesy of Dot Foods A COASTAL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION PUBLICATION JUNE/JULY 2024 VOL. 42 NO. 6 $20.00A Healthy Business It all starts with everyone feeling their best. Discover an abundance of health and wellness amenities at Wynn for your next meeting. From state-of-the-art fitness centers and award-winning spas to healthy dining options, golf, pools, and pampering salon services. Book now at wynnlasvegas.comVOLUME 42 NO. 6 | JUNE/JULY 2024 | ISSN 0739-1587 | USPS 716-450 14 18 22 26 30 34 40 46 52 4 Publisher’s Message 6 News & Notes 8 Snapshots 10 Perspective How Business Leaders Can Successfully Adapt to Uncertainty, Disruption BY SCOTT STEINBERG 12 Perspective Unleashing Efficiency: The Impact of AI-Powered Customer Service Solutions BY MERILEE KERN 66 People on the Move departments destinations features The Bahamas & Caribbean A Blend of Natural Beauty, Adventure for Your Next Island Destination BY ERIN DEINZER California The Ultimate Meeting Destination BY KEITH LORIA Colorado Elevating Meetings in the Centennial State BY CHRISTINE LOOMIS Florida Planners Find Success in the Sunshine State BY CYNTHIA BARNES AND MARITZA COSANO TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | June/July 2024 3 Speaker Trends Innovative Speakers Impacting Events BY KELLY SARGENT Defining ADA What You Need to Know About the Americans with Disabilities Act BY DANIELLE LETENYEI Tech Tools Using AI’s Facial Analysis for Attendee Engagement at Events BY KEITH LORIA IN THIS ISSUE Multilingual Meetings A Virtual Melting Pot BY MAURA KELLER Event Registration Trends Turning ‘Late Arrivals’ Into ‘Early Birds’ BY SARA KARNISH 22 40Corporate & Incentive Travel (USPS 716-450) is published monthly by Coastal Communications Corporation, 2500 North Military Trail — Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322; 561-989-0600. Single copies $20.00 U.S.A. only. Yearly subscription price is $140.00 in the U.S.A.; Canada and foreign is $175.00. Back copies $17.00 U.S.A. only. Distributed without charge to qualified personnel. Periodicals Postage Paid at Boca Raton, FL, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Corporate & Incentive Travel, 2500 North Military Trail — Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322. Nothing contained in this publication shall constitute an endorsement by Coastal Communications Corporation (Corporate & Incentive Travel), and the publication disclaims any liability with respect to the use of or reliance on any such information. The information contained in this publication is in no way to be construed as a recommendation by C&IT of any industry standard, or as a recommendation of any kind to be adopted, by or to be binding upon, any corporate/incentive travel planner or agent. Reproduction of any portion of this publication by any means is strictly forbidden. Editorial contributions must be accompanied by return postage and will be handled with reasonable care. However, the publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited photographs or manuscripts. Subscribers: Send subscription inquiries and address changes to: Circulation Department, Corporate & Incentive Travel, 2500 North Military Trail — Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322. Provide old and new addresses including zip codes. Enclose address label from most recent issue and please allow five weeks for the change to become effective. Printed in U.S.A. © 2024 Defining Your Meeting Planner Role For many years, the role of the corporate meeting planner was relatively new. Recently, with budget cuts, it became an added function that you have assumed. This highly detailed task, so important to the corporation’s profit and loss goals, requires on-the-job training, not only for you but also for your support staff and especially for newly hired planners. In recent years, staffing turnover has been due to the pandemic, with plan- ners seeking other employment. Now, there are many newcomers to the meet- ing planning business. According to MPI, the new membership has recently ex- ceeded 500 planners. As a professional meeting planner, you are no doubt aware that planning and pro- ducing a meeting, convention or incentive program has a direct bearing on the suc- cess of the corporation or organization. Rising costs and increases in pricing across essentials, budget management is- sues, sustainability, simpler meetings, and leveraging AI are increasingly affecting your event planning process. However, it always helps to sell the importance of your function to your employer. As many veteran corporate meeting planners can unfortunately attest, the role of the meeting planner is not as valued with corporate man- agement as it should be. I believe that if you, the corporate meeting or incentive travel planner, clearly define your position, to yourself, to your colleagues and to the cor- poration, you will go a long way in becoming a successful and valued cor- porate executive. PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE // A COASTAL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION PUBLICATION PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Harvey Grotsky harvey.grotsky @ themeetingmagazines.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kristin Bjornsen kristin.bjornsen @ themeetingmagazines.com MANAGING EDITOR Maritza Cosano maritza.cosano@themeetingmagazines.com EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Rachel Galvin rachel.galvin @ themeetingmagazines.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Cynthia Barnes Erin Deinzer Cynthia Dial Marlene Goldman Dan Johnson Sara Karnish Rayna Katz Maura Keller Danielle Letenyei Christine Loomis Keith Loria Kathy Monte Kelly Sargent David Swanson PRESIDENT & CEO Harvey Grotsky VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS David Middlebrook david.middlebrook @ themeetingmagazines.com ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES 2500 N. Military Trail, Suite 283 Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 561-989-0600 Fax: 561-989-9509 advertising@themeetingmagazines.com REGIONAL MANAGER Lisa Turner 941-400-7419 lisa.turner@themeetingmagazines.com DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS Michael Caffin 914-629-5860 michael.caffin@themeetingmagazines.com 4 June/July 2024 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com Harvey Grotsky Publisher FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA linkedin.com/company/ CorpIncTravel @CorpIncTravel @CorpIncTravel facebook.com/ CorpIncTravelMEETINGS THAT HIT BIG The natural beauty of Central New York’s heartlands blends seamlessly with world-class amenities at Turning Stone Resort Casino. With 125,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space, award-winning golf and dining, 788 guest rooms and exceptional service, you can create the ultimate event experience. NEWS + NOTES // 6 June/July 2024 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com FOUR SEASONS RESORT ORLANDO CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY ORLANDO, FL — Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort celebrates 10 years this August. To mark this milestone, the resort is adding new, exciting activations— from their new speakeasy called Epilogue to animated paintings. They are having a return of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World Resort and a special Starry Night Celebration in August. In December, they are adding a Retro Roller-Skating Rink in the Palm Ballroom complete with disco lights, DJ and concession-style treats. Look for parties on the Lazy River and a poolside pop-up version of the Lickety Split cafe during certain dates. Through September 30, 2024, the resort's Fourth Night Free Offer provides a complimentary fourth night. Additionally, the resort's Advance Purchase Offer enables guests who book at least 21 days in advance and fully pre-pay their reservation a savings of up to 20 percent. For more information, visit fourseasons.com. PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS — Atlantis Paradise Island's championship golf course, the Ocean Club Golf Course, earned the Distinguished Golf Destination status with an ELITE designation from BoardRoom Magazine, in partnership with Forbes Travel Guide. This recognition is the most esteemed accolade a resort, semi- private, daily fee or public golf course can achieve. It highlights exceptional golf courses that exceed expectations regarding the quality of service and amenities, facilities, and the teamwork of the staff and management. Globally recognized for its idyllic setting and masterful design, the 18-hole, par-72 Ocean Club Golf Course spans 7,100 yards and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Nassau Harbour. For more information and reservations, please visit atlantisbahamas.com. OSHKOSH, WI — Fox World Travel has launched its new Prevent Trafficking Toolkit, a travel manager toolkit to empower responsible travel. This comprehensive resource equips travel managers with the tools needed to educate and inform their business travelers to be good stewards in human trafficking prevention. The toolkit was born from a collaborative effort between Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT) and Fox’s Corporate Customer Advisory Board. Recognizing the importance of raising awareness about sex trafficking, child trafficking and labor trafficking, the board requested that the PACT committee develop resources for business travel managers and their travelers. For more information, visit foxworldtravel.com/prevent- trafficking-toolkit. Courtesy of Atlantis Paradise Island FOX WORLD TRAVEL LAUNCHES PREVENT TRAFFICKING TOOLKIT ATLANTIS’ OCEAN CLUB GOLF COURSE EARNS ELITE GOLF DESTINATION STATUS Courtesy of Four SeasonsARLINGTON, VA — Airlines Reporting Corp. recently released data showing May air ticket sales totaled $9 billion for U.S. travel agencies. “Total sales haven’t been above $9 billion for three consecutive months since 2019. This is a sign of the continued strength for air travel in 2024,” says Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. More information is available at arccorp.com. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Global DMC Partners recently concluded its 10th annual Connection in Punta de Mita, Mexico, last month. Co-hosted by local DMC partner Tropical Incentives and host hotel Conrad Punta de Mita, this year’s highly anticipated event held up to its decade-long standing as the premier education and networking conference for meetings and events professionals. Nearly 200 attendees traveled from every corner of the globe to learn key insights and trends, share best practices and foster new and existing relationships through in-person networking, one-on-one business appointments, peer-to-peer breakout sessions and engaging off- site activities. PORTLAND, OR – Travel Port- land President and CEO Jeff Miller has announced his retirement ef- fective in December. A search pro- cess to find a new leader of Port- land’s Destination Marketing and Management Organization is un- derway. Miller will act as a consul- tant for the new replacement until next June. Miller’s depar- ture will mark nearly 19 years in Travel Port- land’s leading role. During his tenure, Port- land experienced record-breaking tourism numbers annually for a de- cade following the end of the Great Recession in 2009. The city was also celebrated by media, and inter- national tourism opened new mar- kets in places such as Australia and South Korea while longstanding re- lationships flourished in Japan and Europe. Convention Sales attracted numerous events to the city and brought the largest conventions the city had ever experienced. Courtesy of Global DMC Partners DepositPhotos.com U.S. TRAVEL AGENCIES AIR TICKET SALES REACH $9 BILLION IN MAY 2024 GLOBAL DMC PARTNERS HOSTS 10TH ANNUAL CONNECTION TRAVEL PORTLAND PRESIDENT AND CEO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PHILADELPHIA NAMED “MOST WALKABLE CITY TO VISIT” BY USA TODAY PHILADELPHIA, PA — For the second consecutive year, Philadelphia has been voted the “Most Walkable City To Visit” in the 2024 USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest. Walkability is a key factor for travelers when choosing a destination and offers significant benefits for city residents. In Philadelphia, visitors and residents can explore the city’s neighborhoods on foot, enjoying sights ranging from public art installations and premier cultural institutions to vibrant green spaces and historic landmarks. The city was nominated by a panel of experts leading to 20 cities being chosen. Then, the public voted the city #1 on the list. To find out more about the city, go to visitphilly.com. Adobe Stock / Courtesy of PHLCVB Miller 10th Annual Connection brought over 200 attendees. L to R: Ana Corona, Tropical Incentives DMC; from Global DMC Partners, Catherine Chaulet and Stacy Roberts. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | June/July 2024 7SNAPSHOTS // WEC 2024 Highlights from Louisville 8 June/July 2024 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com Courtesy of MPI Courtesy of MPI T he excitement among meeting professionals was evident at the recent MPI World Education Congress (WEC) in Louisville, KY. With 1,900 in-person attendees, the demand for in-person connections and professional development was clearly stronger than ever. Adding to the success of WEC 2024 marks the first- time Louisville has served as host city, and attendees were treated to experiences and venues steeped in local culture. MPI is dedicated to giving its members access to top-notch destinations. Louisville shined as the host city of WEC Louisville, where attendees were treated to unique evening experiences steeped in Louisville culture at iconic venues. The event theme, “Craft your experience,” came to life through MPI having surveyed its members to determine what education they needed, which resulted in highly actionable and relevant education. In the strongest indication that our industry is rebounding post-pandemic, MPI is experiencing its highest member in recent years with nearly 12,500 members, showcasing the organization’s successful recovery. More than 4,500 new members fueled MPIs membership growth in 2023, underscoring the vitality of MPI. New member growth is crucial to MPI because it strengthens the organization’s global network, fosters innovation and ensures continued support for its mission to connect the global meeting and event community to learn, innovate, collaborate and advocate.TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | June/July 2024 9Next >