Andy McNeill, CEO of American Meetings, Inc. was a recent guest on the Tourism Entrepreneur Podcast, where he shared his knowledge and expertise on the state and future of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry and tips for success. The following article is a Q&A derived from the podcast.
As we move into a world of post-pandemic meetings, the Hybrid Meeting Model is here to stay. Technology in this area made huge strides over a very short period of time, and it will continue to evolve as the benefits continue to be demonstrated. These three main hybrid meeting types are being used to meet the majority of event needs. We look at the live component(s), virtual elements, and the likely associated fees to help guide planners to the right solution for a number of hybrid meeting scenarios.
In this podcast episode of Destination on the Left Podcast, AMI Founder Andy McNeill talks about the evolution of virtual meetings as the event industry emerges from the pandemic. From the economic downturns of 9/11, the 2008 recession, and now COVID-19, Andy understands the highs and lows of the industry and how to shift and even grow during them.
AMI Founder Andy McNeil was recently featured on Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast to share more about hybrid events. Before the pandemic, there was a lot of excitement about virtual events, but more people were experiencing some level of burnout through it. This often sounded like, “Ugh, another virtual meeting.”
As we begin to unravel from the 2020 pandemic, the demand for corporate meetings remains strong. We are social creatures, and business meetings must happen to help us align on goals and with each other. The shift organizations made to online meetings, and virtual events showed us that business, events, and meetings needed to continue to move forward, regardless of the global pandemic landscape.
Restrictions on travel and in-person meetings are lifting, but uncertainty still exists for the event industry. For much of 2020, and even in 2021, corporate meeting planners had to quickly pivot to...
If 2020 was the year of virtual meetings, it looks like 2021 might be the year of hybrid solutions as we begin to reconnect in person. With this shift comes some challenges as well as exciting...
Our Virtual Meeting programs allow clients the ability to have an integrated strategy that is required to take place in a virtual environment. When transitioning a meeting on-line, we carefully balance the overall strategy while maintaining best in class, redundant technologies to ensures success.
