Business News

Even with Covid variants still emerging, the war in Ukraine still raging, and economic indicators still flashing trouble, many signs point to a swift rebound from the 2020 bottom.

History has shown that recessions have been particularly unkind to the event industry, as companies often look to business travel and conferences as the first cuts to make when times get tough.

The event industry was celebrated across the globe through events that focused on connection and collaboration. Advocacy, research and a new relief funding legislation were top of the agenda.

Eighty-four percent of business travelers plan to take at least one trip to attend conferences, conventions or trade shows in the next six months, according to a new survey by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA).

A supply chain bottleneck is impacting all aspects of the event industry. From an increase in food prices and transportation costs to the shortage of microchips affecting hybrid and virtual meetings, event planners are finding open lines of communication and advance deadlines are helping.

Australian events management software provider EventsAIR has selected U.S.-based event tech veteran Matthew Donegan-Ryan as its next CEO. The move is part of a significant private equity investment led by The Riverside Company. Founder Trevor Gardiner, who was CEO, takes on the role of executive director of product innovation.

While the event industry’s reaction to the crisis in Ukraine has varied — ranging from statements of support to direct offers of employment for those affected — few global events have triggered this level of solidarity. Meanwhile, figuring out how and who to exclude in terms of Russian participation from events is proving difficult.

Cvent’s first earnings call as a public company Thursday confirmed it had a good year while forecasting strong growth ahead. As the company moves to invest in expanding its SaaS offerings, will betting on hybrid events pay off?

IMEX is the first major event industry show to exclude Russian participation.

Zoom has been one of the biggest winners of the pandemic-era shift to virtual, but current numbers show that its growth is slowing. A new business model hopes to turn that around. Zoom’s stock valuation took a bit of a dive after hours Monday afternoon as the financial world reacted to their projection that 2022 […]