Meetings Mean Business Fully Integrates With U.S. Travel to Bolster Industry’s Voice and Recovery

November 19, 2021

In another move aimed at boosting the industry’s recovery through the full return of in-person professional meetings and events, the Meetings Mean Business Coalition (MMBC) and the U.S. Travel Association announced the full integration of the coalition under the U.S. Travel umbrella.

With the assimilation, MMBC will strengthen its critical mission of uniting the meetings and events industry with one strong and powerful voice. The coalition will benefit more directly from U.S. Travel’s robust public affairs resources and advocacy network while providing greater value to coalition members as the business travel and professional meetings and events industries rebuild from steep pandemic-related losses.

With the help of industry partners, Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel, headed the effort to create the MMBC in 2009, which has continued to aggressively promote and defend the value of face-to-face business meetings, trade shows, conferences and conventions. 

“Since its founding, the Meetings Mean Business Coalition and the U.S. Travel Association have been close partners in producing meaningful programs that highlight the value of meetings and business travel events,” said Michael Massari, chief sales officer of Caesars Entertainment and co-chair of MMBC. “Taking this next step to integrate resources will further elevate our collective work as we emerge stronger than ever from the pandemic.”

Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company and co-chair of MMBC, echoed that sentiment.

“Fully integrating Meetings Mean Business and its scope of work under the U.S. Travel Association umbrella makes great strategic sense, given the level of need and advocacy for the recovery of the meetings and business events travel segment,” Dixon said. “We are excited to closely align the coalition’s work further within U.S. Travel and its public affairs program.”

The return of professional meetings and events is vital to the recovery of the travel economy and is a top priority of the association, along with rebuilding international inbound travel and the growth of domestic leisure travel, according to Dow.

“Meeting and business events—in conjunction with international inbound and domestic leisure travel—is one of the three critical segments of the U.S. travel economy,” Dow said. “The overall recovery of the industry relies, in part, on the swift return of professional meetings and events.”

According to U.S. Travel, in 2019, nearly 500 million business trips were taken in the U.S, with $306 billion spent on travel-related goods that supported 2.5 million American jobs. Despite making up just 20% of total trip volume pre-pandemic, business travelers accounted for a disproportionate 40-60% of lodging and air revenue.

Pandemic-related losses in business travel spending in 2020 and 2021 is estimated at $315 billion.

U.S. Travel’s latest forecast projects that domestic business travel spending will reach 76% of 2019 levels in 2022 while the segment is not expected to fully recover until 2024. International business travel spending is projected to reach 65% of 2019 levels in 2022 and fully recover around 2025. The association is advocating for a set of policies to accelerate the industry’s recovery, including the following:

  • Congress should enact temporary tax credits to venues, event organizers and/or small businesses to help cover the cost of running or participating in an in-person business meeting or event that meets certain safety criteria, such as proposed in Section 2 of the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act.
     
  • Congress should enact government-sponsored event cancellation insurance coverage for pandemic-related losses, such as proposed in the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2021. Businesses and organizations need pandemic risk insurance to gain the certainty they need to fully re-engage in hosting and registering for in-person meetings and events.
     
  • Congress should provide new targeted relief grants to small travel businesses that experienced significant revenue loss in 2021 compared to 2019. Relief grants should be provided through expanded eligibility for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, or a new relief program with a similar structure to RRF. Eligible travel businesses should include hotels, restaurants, tour operators, meeting and event planners and venues, tour operators, attractions, and similar businesses that have been impacted by travel restrictions, capacity limitations or other COVID-related policies.

The MMBC integration with U.S. Travel, formalized during a meeting at IMEX America 2021 in Las Vegas Nov. 9-11, comes following three other positive developments and initiatives that have recently taken shape: the opening of U.S. borders to fully vaccinated international travelers Nov. 8; a September gathering of industry officials in Washington, D.C. to make a compelling case for the full and safe return of in-person professional meetings and events; and the launch in June of the Let’s Meet There campaign, spearheaded under the U.S. Travel umbrella by an alliance of industry associations and coalitions, including MMBC.

Global Meetings Industry Day, a signature program of the MMBC that celebrates the value of professional meetings and events, will take place on April 7, 2022.

Photo: IMEX America 2021 show floor on day 1.

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Partner Voices
Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors. TSNN had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to future female leaders. Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, LVCVA With Las Vegas becoming The Greatest Arena on EarthTM, what are some of the things you’re most excited about in your role? Our team was at The Big Game’s handoff ceremony earlier this month, and I couldn’t help but think, “We’re going to crush it next year!”  These high-profile events and venues not only drive excitement, but also provide unmatched opportunities for event planners. Allegiant Stadium hosts events from 10 to 65,000 people and offers on-field experiences. Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Las Vegas in November, after the year-one F1 race, the four-story paddock building will be available for buyouts and will also offer daily ride-along experiences that will be available for groups. And, of course, the MSG Sphere officially announced that it will open in September, ahead of schedule, with a U2 residency. It’s going to be the most technologically advanced venue as far as lighting, sound, feel, and even scent, and it will be available for buyouts and next-level sponsorships inside and outside. There’s no ceiling to what you can do when you’re doing events in Las Vegas.  Allegiant Stadium As the trade show and convention business returns to the pre-pandemic levels, what shifts are you noticing and how do you think they will impact the industry going forward? Our trade show organizers are very focused on driving customer experience. Most of our organizers are reporting stronger exhibitor numbers and increased numbers of new exhibitors, with trade shows proving to be almost or above 2019 levels. Now our organizers are really doubling down on driving attendance and focusing on the data to provide that individualized, customized experience to help attendees meet their goals and get the best value. Some companies continue to be cautiously optimistic with their organizational spend when it comes to sending attendees, but I think it will continue to improve. As the U.S. Travel Association makes more progress on the U.S. visa situation, we also expect a growing influx of international attendees. What are some innovative ways the LVCVA helps trade show and convention organizers deliver the most value for their events? We focus on customer experience in the same way that trade show organizers are thinking about it. We got rave reviews with the West Hall Expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), so over the next two years, we will be renovating the North and the Central halls, which will include not just the same look and feel, but also the digital experiences that can be leveraged for branding and sponsorship opportunities.  Vegas Loop, the underground transportation system designed by The Boring Company, is also a way we have enhanced the customer experience. Vegas Loop at the LVCC has transported more than 900,000 convention attendees across the campus since its 2021 launch. Last summer, Resorts World and The Boring Company opened the first resort stop at the Resorts World Las Vegas , with plans to expand throughout the resort corridor, including downtown Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport. The LVCVA also purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in 2020, the 3.9-mile-long elevated transportation system that connects eight resorts directly to the convention center campus. This is the only rail system in the world that integrates fares directly into show badges and registration. For trade show organizers, these transportation options mean saving time, money and effort when it comes to moving groups from the hotels to LVCC and around the city. Also, the more we can focus on building the infrastructure around the convention center, the more it supports the customer experience and ultimately supports our trade show organizers. Scheduled to debut in Q4, Fontainebleau Las Vegas will offer 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting and convention space next to LVCC.  What are some of the plans for advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within your organization? We’re currently partnering with instead of working with a leading consulting firm, to lay the foundation and create a solid DEI plan and be the leader when it comes to DEI initiatives. The heart of that journey with the consulting firm is also talking to our customers about their strategic approaches to DEI and driving innovation in this space.  What are your favorite ways to recharge? My husband and I have an RV and we’re outdoorsy people. So, while we have over 150,000 world-class hotel rooms and renowned restaurants right outside our doorstep, one of my favorite things to do is get out to Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. Five of the top national parks are within a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, so there’s a lot you can do. We love balancing the energy of Las Vegas with nature, and we’re noticing that a lot of attendees add activities off the Strip when they come here.  Valley of Fire What advice would you give to women following leadership paths in destination marketing? I think it’s about being laser-focused on what you want to accomplish; building a team around you that lifts you and helps you achieve your goals; and being humble and realizing that you do it as a group. No one gets this done alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of women in leadership in this organization, in our customers’ organizations, and in this city that we can be really proud of. We’re a formidable force that is making things happen.   This interview has been edited and condensed. This article is exclusively sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. For more information, visit HERE.