Meeting Planners Aim to Reduce Damage to Local Communities

Company meetings and events happen frequently, ranging from the small to the very large, often involving travel, as well as catered food and organized activities. This all means that the events industry has a significant impact on the environment and the well-being of local communities, whether or not venues and planners are ready to admit the extent of it.

In the past few years, companies have begun to prioritize sustainability, but much of it has been optics, meant to appeal to a consumer base increasingly worried about the environment. But now, this is changing a bit. Companies are giving meeting planners the freedom to go beyond surface initiatives, organizing events that don’t just pay lip service to sustainability but actually make a measurable and positive impact on the local environment.

Catharine Chaulet, CEO of Global DMC Partners, a network for destination marketing companies, talked to Skift about how meeting planners are addressing sustainability and overtourism — and why this shift is taking place.

Check out this story, 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

Announcing Our Newest Acquisition: EventMB Is Now Part of the Skift Family: Skift has been covering the business of meetings and events for the last three years, and now with EventMB as part of our family, we become the largest independent media source in the events industry as well.

Meeting Planners See Beyond Just Optics on Environment and Overtourism: Planners are starting to embrace their role in addressing climate change — and are moving beyond just surface efforts to preserve the environment and local communities. This trend is an important one and hopefully continues to pick up speed.

Boutique Hotel Brands Rethink Grand Opening Events to Loop in Community: To paraphrase Pink, when a luxury lifestyle hotel is coming out, it’s time to get the party started. Boutique brands are discovering that creating splashy grand openings is a way to build buzz while creating community connections. Expect more investment in these one-time celebrations.

Hilton Doubles Down on Direct Booking Ad Strategy by Targeting Younger Travelers: Hilton’s new ad campaign rollout last year clearly opened the company’s eyes to reaching younger generations to build its leisure business.

Minor Vs. Marriott Lawsuit in Thailand Shows Risks of Chain Consolidation: Global chains and hotel owners will watch this case closely as it addresses the contentious issue of whether brand consolidation affects the ability of chains to drive business to a hotel.

Around the Industry

Langham Lands a New Deal Located Within a UNESCO German Palace: With all the current troubles in Hong Kong, diversifying the business surely is a bigger priority. Langham has said it wants to expand big-time in Europe. It is reentering the continent with style.

U.S. Jobs Data Predict Slowdown in Hospitality Sector Employment: Look beyond monthly jobs reports to see a bigger picture. The U.S. leisure and hospitality sector will cut its employment growth by roughly half over the next decade, according to a government forecast. Hoteliers will cope by boosting the productivity of their existing workforce through training.

The Savoy’s Carpenter Hammers Away to Make the Storied Hotel Instagrammable: As The Savoy’s in-house carpenter, a big part of Sam Beer’s job is to “make things that people want to take pictures of.” Turns out, that’s as fun for him as it is for the luxury hotel’s guests.

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Travel Reporter Isaac Carey [[email protected]] curates the Skift Meetings Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Wednesday.

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