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Insights, tips, and best practices for corporate event management.

Should Your Next Trade Show Swap Badge Scanners for Facial Recognition Check-In?
Event Technology August 28, 2026

Should Your Next Trade Show Swap Badge Scanners for Facial Recognition Check-In?

At the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Indianapolis this month, registration company eShow demonstrated Express Entry, an opt-in facial credentialing system built on Wicket's authentication platform, which already runs at every NFL stadium and has logged more than a million enrolled users. Registration rival Validar has wired the same technology into its own check-in software, aimed at cutting badge sharing on paid events. Neither vendor is pitching it as a replacement for the badge scanner, and the legal reasons why matter as much as the technology does.

6 min read Read more
Should Event Organizers Ban Smart Glasses From the Show Floor?
Event Security August 21, 2026

Should Event Organizers Ban Smart Glasses From the Show Floor?

In the past seven months, DEF CON, the U.S. Air Force, New York's statewide court system, and a UK Comic Con operator have each independently banned Meta-style smart glasses that can record video and audio with no visible signal. EssilorLuxottica sold more than seven million of these glasses in 2025 alone, and Meta has reportedly discussed production targets as high as 30 million units a year. Here's what the trend means for MICE planners writing their own device policies.

7 min read Read more
Can a 3D Scan of the Convention Center Replace Your Site Visit?
Event Technology August 14, 2026

Can a 3D Scan of the Convention Center Replace Your Site Visit?

Freeman launched Blue Echo in March 2026, an AI powered platform that scans convention centers into photorealistic, navigable 3D models, covering 20 U.S. venues including McCormick Place, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and Moscone Center. Cvent's 2026 sourcing survey shows three in four planners already use AI to shortlist venues, but a scan still can't verify rigging capacity or fire code compliance the way a site visit can.

6 min read Read more
Is Agentic AI Ready to Book Your Next MICE Trip on Its Own?
AI Automation July 31, 2026

Is Agentic AI Ready to Book Your Next MICE Trip on Its Own?

Sabre, PayPal, and Mindtrip launched an end-to-end agentic flight booking tool in May 2026, and IHG followed on July 28 with its own AI conversational search, joining Marriott and Hilton in the category. GBTA data shows real adoption building among corporate travel buyers, but every tool that shipped this year books one traveler at a time, not the group rates, room blocks, and approval chains a MICE planner actually manages.

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From 10 People to 3: How A1 Ran a 1,500-Attendee Event Without Spreadsheets
Customer Story July 28, 2026

From 10 People to 3: How A1 Ran a 1,500-Attendee Event Without Spreadsheets

In 2024, travel management company A1 ran the logistics for roughly 1,500 attendees at one of the largest marketing events in Brazil on spreadsheets: nine months of budget control and a peak crew of ten people the week before doors opened. In 2025 the same event came back at the same scale, and A1 ran it on Pypo with three. Here is what changed between the two.

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Is AI Translation Now Beating Human Interpreters at Business Events?
Event Technology July 24, 2026

Is AI Translation Now Beating Human Interpreters at Business Events?

A new survey from Wordly, fielded by Dimensional Research among 205 enterprise meeting and event leaders in the US and UK, found that 66 percent now say AI translation beats human interpreters on quality, rising to 79 percent among planners who use it regularly. The numbers point to a real shift in how multilingual sessions get staffed, but the interpreters' own professional association says the disclosure question hasn't been settled.

7 min read Read more
Are Event Planners Really Using AI, or Just Talking About It?
AI Automation July 17, 2026

Are Event Planners Really Using AI, or Just Talking About It?

PCMA's newest Convene survey found AI tool adoption among meeting professionals grew from 62 percent to 65 percent this year, while Bizzabo reports 95 percent of organizers expect AI use to keep growing. The numbers show real movement, but also a wide gap between the AI planners talk about and the AI they actually use day to day, plus a governance gap most of the industry still has not closed.

6 min read Read more
Will a New Federal Grant Rule Restrict Who Can Attend U.S. Conferences?
Legal & Compliance July 10, 2026

Will a New Federal Grant Rule Restrict Who Can Attend U.S. Conferences?

A sweeping White House proposal to rewrite federal grant rules would require agency pre-approval before scientists, universities, nonprofits, and state and local governments can use grant funds to attend a conference — with public comments open only through July 13, 2026. Here's what MICE organizers with grant-funded attendees need to know before the rule takes effect.

7 min read Read more
Is Your AI Meeting Notetaker a Wiretap Risk for Your Next MICE Event?
Legal & Compliance July 3, 2026

Is Your AI Meeting Notetaker a Wiretap Risk for Your Next MICE Event?

A federal judge in San Jose is weeks from ruling on whether Otter.ai's AI notetaker illegally recorded private meetings without consent — the first real test of whether decades-old wiretap law reaches an AI bot that silently joins a call. For MICE professionals who run hosted-buyer meetings, breakout sessions, and board calls with the same tools, here's what the litigation means and how to get consent policies in place before the ruling lands.

8 min read Read more
Why Are Housing Poaching and Attendee-List Scams Still Plaguing Trade Shows in 2026?
Event Security July 3, 2026

Why Are Housing Poaching and Attendee-List Scams Still Plaguing Trade Shows in 2026?

The FTC just reported a record $3.5 billion in imposter-scam losses for 2025, with business impersonation accounting for $1 billion of it—the same tactic behind years of trade show housing poaching and attendee-list fraud. Two years after the exhibition industry helped push through a federal anti-impersonation rule, here's what the data shows and what MICE professionals still need to do to protect exhibitors and attendees.

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The State of MICE in 2026: $1.3 Trillion in Direct Spend, Fewer Events, and the Shift to Agentic AI
Industry Trends June 11, 2026

The State of MICE in 2026: $1.3 Trillion in Direct Spend, Fewer Events, and the Shift to Agentic AI

The EIC and Oxford Economics confirmed that business events generated $1.3 trillion in direct spending in 2025 — 12.2% above pre-pandemic levels. With planners running fewer but higher-stakes events, 84% expecting AI to transform their operations, and the first autonomous agent platforms entering production, here is what the industry's new economic baseline demands from event technology strategy.

9 min read Read more
Event Data Analytics in MICE: How Planners Are Using Attendee Intelligence to Prove ROI in 2026
Event Technology May 14, 2026

Event Data Analytics in MICE: How Planners Are Using Attendee Intelligence to Prove ROI in 2026

72% of event organizers say dedicated technology improved attendee satisfaction, yet most still rely on attendance counts and survey averages to defend their budgets. Here’s how leading MICE planners are using data analytics — from registration pipelines to on-floor behaviour tracking — to measure real event ROI and make smarter programme decisions.

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The Billion-Dollar Convention Center Boom: How Venue Mega-Expansions Are Reshaping MICE in 2026
Venues & Infrastructure April 1, 2026

The Billion-Dollar Convention Center Boom: How Venue Mega-Expansions Are Reshaping MICE in 2026

Over $2 billion in convention center expansions are underway across the U.S. alone in 2026, from Kentucky’s $460M transformation to Indiana’s 143,500 sq ft expansion. With 12 new venues opening in NYC and the global MICE market projected to hit $2.1 trillion by 2035, the physical infrastructure powering business events is being reimagined at unprecedented scale.

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India's MICE Boom: From Emerging Market to Top-10 Global Destination by 2030
Market Growth March 31, 2026

India's MICE Boom: From Emerging Market to Top-10 Global Destination by 2030

India’s MICE tourism market is projected to nearly double from $37.75 billion to $66.91 billion by 2030. With 35–40% of domestic activity now in Tier-II cities, 60%+ hybrid adoption, and the ICPB Roadshow 2026 positioning Goa as a global events hub, India is racing toward its goal of becoming a top-10 global MICE destination.

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The Rise of Second-Tier Cities as MICE Powerhouses in 2026
Destinations March 28, 2026

The Rise of Second-Tier Cities as MICE Powerhouses in 2026

Nearly half of event planners are now exploring second-tier destinations for business events. From Jaipur to Nashville, Kigali to Baku, emerging cities are capturing MICE market share with new convention centers, competitive pricing, and unique destination storytelling.

8 min read Read more
AI as the Event Planner’s Co-Pilot: How Smart Automation Is Transforming MICE Operations in 2026
AI Automation March 24, 2026

AI as the Event Planner’s Co-Pilot: How Smart Automation Is Transforming MICE Operations in 2026

With 95% of event teams expecting to increase AI usage and 79% reporting improved planning efficiency, AI has moved from buzzword to operational backbone in MICE. From AI writing assistants and intelligent scheduling to real-time translation and predictive analytics, here’s how smart automation is reshaping day-to-day event operations in 2026.

9 min read Read more