While security threats in the physical world understandably grab most of the headlines, cybersecurity breaches have also impacted the meetings and events world, from corporate espionage over insecure Wi-Fi networks to credit card hacks and data theft at major hotel chains.

Most people think they know how they would react if they were suddenly faced with an active shooter. You’d leap into action, take charge, bar the door—maybe even tackle the assailant—and save the day. Most people are wrong. I was. While active shooter training may be hard to implement during your actual event for all attendees, I believe it is something that would be valuable for meeting and event planners to take part in.

The mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on October 1, 2017, tragically underscored the challenges of securing one of the world’s most active leisure and business destinations. In Las Vegas, built on tourism and meetings, security monitoring is a formidable task, with metrics to match.

In the ever-escalating #MeToo climate, MPI is standing by its commitment to establish harassment-free, safe environments that foster healthy exchanges, professional growth and collaboration. The association just rolled out MPICares, a reporting system for harassment complaints and concerns that can be completely confidential at the reporter’s request.

Peak hurricane season may be drawing to a close, but not before potentially dealing the U.S. its biggest hit of the year. Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 2 storm Tuesday morning, October 9 as it charged toward Florida's northeast Gulf Coast, predicted to make landfall in Florida’s Panhandle Wednesday afternoon, October 10, as a Category 4 storm, according to the National Weather Service.

October marks a year since actress Alyssa Milano reignited the #MeToo movement, persuading millions of people to take a stand against sexual harassment. While Courtney Stanley, speaker, writer and business consultant at CS Consulting, was inspired to start speaking on the topic well before October 2017, #MeToo further encouraged her, along with her good friend, Sarah Soliman Daudin, president and CEO of Soliman Productions, to move the conversation forward in the meetings and events industry, where they have both continuously experienced sexual harassment.

Major hotel chains are introducing so-called “panic buttons” to help ensure the safety of their workers. And while the term “panic button” may indeed evoke a highly descriptive tone, Marriott International at least would like everyone to refer to them by the less alarming moniker Associate Alert Devices. The technology is also referred to as Employee Safety Devices (ESD) and it is being rolled out at hotels across North America.

We checked in with four female leaders in the hospitality and meetings industry—Courtney Stanley, Sarah Soliman Daudin, Sangeeta Sadarangani and Karin Seelow—to get their take on the best safety tips for women to avoid sexual harassment and assault while on the road.

Meetings industry veterans Tyra Hilliard and Joan Eisenstodt share advice for meeting planners impacted by hurricanes, including legal advice and contract and safety concerns.

Residents of South Carolina and North Carolina were ordered to evacuate coastal areas as Hurricane Florence approaches.