Humans weren’t made to live without natural light. Studies continue to show that exposure to natural light has increased benefits. It’s no wonder that companies around the world are choosing to host meetings and events in sunlit spaces.

Following are six standout ideas in State College that will positively engage attendees outside the meeting room, including fun teambuilding activities, special event spaces for brainstorming sessions and picturesque receptions, and attractions that range from unique museums to a lively ballpark.

The public profile of LGBT+ people in the meetings industry has grown by leaps and bounds in just the past decade and a half, advancing from what some early adopters describe as the “secret handshake” days to a consolidation into the LGBT Meeting Professionals Association (LGBT MPA).

Hilton Washington DC National Mall announced the appointments of two seasoned hospitality professionals to lead its executive team.

Kimpton Monaco Salt Lake City announced the hire of Ric Tanner as its new general manager. Tanner brings over 30 years of industry experience to the Monaco, with his most recent role serving as the regional director of sales and marketing where he oversaw and provided support for Kimpton hotels located within the Pacific Northwest, Mountain and Midwest regions.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sits down with Trippus Event Solutions' Martin Klofver at IMEX America to talk about his eminently easy to use end-to-end meetings and event solution and meetings tech trends.

Meetings Today Chief Content Director Tyler Davidson discusses LGBT+ issues in the meetings industry with Charles Chan Massey, a 30-year meetings industry veteran and advocate who remembers the "secret handshake" days. Now LGBT+ meeting professionals have their own association.

The Gateway Arch, the signature architectural masterpiece of St. Louis and the icon of the Westward Expansion of the United States, is even more emblematic as a symbol of the city’s resurgence. Fresh off the $380 million CityArchRiver project that made massive improvements to the Gateway Arch National Park surrounding the Arch, the re-do added a wealth of impressive event options and remedied a critical design flaw that cut off pedestrian access to the park from downtown by a busy six-lane highway.

Indianapolis’ Capital Improvement Board of Managers (CIB) unanimously approved moving forward with negotiations in developing a 300,000-square-foot expansion to the Indiana Convention Center and two Hilton-branded convention hotels—600 rooms and 800 rooms—on the site of Pan Am Plaza.

Call it a tale of two countries. In Canada, U.S.-based meeting planners and organizations can tap a variety of Canadian government programs and select companies to help them expedite the cross-border customs process for shipping materials to their north of the border events. In Mexico, though, the process is more convoluted, so tapping into the experience of planners who have been there and done that is advice well taken.