Take a peek over your shoulder. It’s coming, barreling full speed down the homestretch.

Yep, 2018 is heading for a fast finish, so before you set your out-of-office notification to enjoy family and friends for the holidays, spend a little time with us as we look back on what was an inspiring, challenging, fun, sometimes heartbreaking but always interesting year in the meeting and event industry.

Our annual “Year in Review” offers perspective on the biggest issues and trends of 2018, and the members who shared their expertise and insight on the covers of The Meeting Professional and in our monthly profile, Who We Are.

Our year started with news that Marriott International was cutting back commissions paid to a key industry constituency, independent and third-party planners. By the time the year ended, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group had done the same. Three of our five most-read blogs this year were about this issue, and this is one we’ll continue to follow.

Another industry-critical issue we reported on in 2018 was human trafficking. The Meeting Professional committed to a yearlong series, each month delving into this human rights epidemic. Our coverage included personal tales from meeting professionals and recommendations to help those impacted by human trafficking. Our full series can be found at themeetingprofessionaldigital.org, and our commitment to reporting on this issue will not end.

Nor will our commitment to #MeToo. The movement has inspired meaningful conversations, relevant education and a greater awareness of the respect we must always give our colleagues in all settings.

What about our World Education Congress? With an all-new experiential event design, our signature annual education and networking event received rave reviews. So did SITE + MPI Global Forum, our annual event in Europe. IMEX in Frankfurt and IMEX America in Las Vegas had record-breaking shows.

Natural disasters hit us hard again this year, especially in North Carolina. We know that you will come back strong and we hope the same for our colleagues in California, where the recent fires have been devastating.

We did end the year on a positive economic note. The first comprehensive study on the economic impact of business events and the power of face-to-face meetings revealed a staggering US$1.5 trillion in worldwide spend in 2017 and nearly 30 million jobs impacted by the meeting and event industry.

Before we bid adieu to 2018, we’d like to thank April Ferguson, CMP, CMM (MPI Carolinas Chapter), for her leadership of our Member Advisory Committee. She and the committee provided honest, insightful and helpful feedback for our publications team.

Thanks also to Amanda Armstrong, our outgoing International Board of Directors (IBOD) chair, and Jim Russell, outgoing chair of the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees (GBOT), for your leadership. We look forward to working with incoming IBOD Chair Steve O’Malley and incoming GBOT Chair Carole McKellar.

To our MPI community, to our friends and families, we wish you the very best this holiday season.

Now peek over your other shoulder.

Until next year…

Rich Luna
Editor in Chief
rluna@mpiweb.org