Behind the Scenes of Skift’s Live Events

Skift hosts 10-12 live events annually, including its flagship, Skift Global Forum, and Skift Meetings Forum, the premier gathering of meeting professionals. Skift’s live events take place worldwide and cover different aspects of the travel industry. They follow a specific and intentional format based around a single TV-ready stage and candid conversations with CEOs.

In this episode of the Skift Meetings Podcast, we explore the meticulous planning, innovative strategies, and unique storytelling approach that make Skift’s live events stand out among B2B travel events. Brian Quinn, Skift’s Vice President of Editorial Events, shares his insights on how the forum brings together industry leaders for thought-provoking conversations, all within a carefully curated experience designed to push the boundaries of travel and inspire the future.

Key Points

Skift Global Forum: Skift’s flagship event focuses on cutting-edge discussions about the future of travel. Characterized by its single-stage format, it welcomes around 1,000 travel industry leaders annually. Skift Global Forum always features interviews with major travel company CEOs, including companies like Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Uber, and Marriott.

Format and Content: Skift’s live events share a common single-stage design with no breakouts, creating a unified experience for the audience. Sessions are concise, usually 20-25 minutes, to maintain high engagement and respect attendees’ time. The content focuses on strategic discussions and industry trends, avoiding long-winded bios or company origin stories.

CEO Conversations: Skift emphasizes honest, in-depth conversations with CEOs facilitated by their strong journalistic relationships. The interviews aim to uncover core industry challenges and provide valuable insights for the audience.

Audience Engagement: The format attracts a highly engaged audience, and careful curation ensures that the content is relevant and impactful. The event design considers the audience’s attention span and the need for a dynamic and thought-provoking experience. Skift Meetings Forum features additional audience interaction aimed at facilitating connections among the audience of senior planners.

Comparison with Virtual Events: Skift sees in-person events as having irreplaceable value, particularly the energy and connections made in the room. Virtual events are complementary, serving as a lead-up or follow-up to the main event rather than a replacement.

Success Metrics: Skift measures the success of its live events by the energy in the room, audience engagement, feedback, and, ultimately, their impact on the industry. Skift continually seeks to innovate and improve the event experience, aiming to push industry boundaries.

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Skift Meetings Podcast, editor-in-chief Miguel Neves sits down with Brian Quinn, vice president of editorial events at Skift, to discuss the intricacies of planning and executing the Skift Global Forum, one of the most anticipated events in the travel industry.

Skift Global Forum, known for its single-stage format and intimate, high-level conversations, brings together around 1,000 leaders across the travel sector. On stage, one of the highlights is the candid interview format featuring CEOs from major companies like Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Uber, and Marriott.

Quinn shares insights into what makes the Skift Global Forum unique, emphasizing its focus on creating a unified experience for attendees through carefully curated content and thought-provoking discussions. Unlike many industry events with multiple breakouts and panels, the Skift Global Forum intentionally maintains a single stage, allowing for a cohesive narrative and ensuring that every session is impactful and engaging. This format, often compared to the “TED Talks of travel,” encourages honest and open dialogues on the future of travel.

The conversation also delves into the strategy behind Skift’s event design, highlighting the importance of storytelling and the meticulous planning of crafting each session. Quinn discusses how Skift leverages its journalistic background to secure top-tier speakers and ensure the discussions are relevant and forward-thinking.

The conversation explores the challenges of maintaining audience engagement in an era of short attention spans and the ever-evolving expectations of event attendees. It also delves into the differences between in-person and virtual events, emphasizing the unique value of being in the room for live conversations and networking.

Listen to the full episode to discover how Skift continues to push the boundaries of travel events and what it takes to create an unforgettable experience for attendees.