Following are 10 tips for a risk management strategy that puts attendee safety first and meets the four duty of care standards: investigate, inform, recommend and prepare.

Five confirmed cases of measles in L.A. County include potential exposure at LAX and UCLA. Find out what meeting planners should know to keep attendees and themselves safe.

Meetings industry veteran Sandy Biback, who worked as a planner in a variety of capacities over a 35-year career, has jumped headlong into a new all-consuming endeavor since retiring: battling human trafficking through Meeting Professionals Against Human Trafficking, or MPAHT. Here she shares some top-level tips to fight human trafficking for planners, suppliers and venues.

One question asked in the 2019 Meetings Today Trends Survey was “Do you have a written disaster/security plan?” The responses were 28% yes, 44% no and 28% working on it. This is the question and responses that, perhaps more than others, caught my eye. It’s also the one I’ve also written in more detail about in the blog section of the February 2018 Friday With Joan newsletter. I asked three colleagues to review and respond the article

The coldest weather in years will sweep the Midwest and Northeast United States in 2019 due to the impending polar vortex, resulting in windchills as cold as -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Here are five suggestions to help meeting planners and participants better handle the extreme cold and help ensure that big annual meeting can still go off without a hitch, even in subzero temperatures.

The Washington Hospitality Association (WHA) voiced its approval for Senate Bill 5258. According to the Washington State Legislature, this bill will help prevent “the sexual harassment and sexual assault of certain isolated workers.” Senate Bill 5258 was introduced following the Washington State Court of Appeals’ blocking of Seattle Initiative Measure 124, which included broader protections.

Risk management should be at the top of every planning list for meetings. Potential hazards include manmade threats such as terrorism, shootings, protests and cybercrime. “Natural” occurrences like earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires are also included. The following are my top 10 tips to help with risk management preparations.

The massive data breach of guest information at Marriott-owned Starwood Hotels & Resorts properties revealed by Marriott International at the end of November 2018 has grown in its severity, with the passport numbers of more than 5 million guests compromised, according to The New York Times.

Meeting planners in the Meetings Today Market Trends Survey respond to whether their organizations have a security or disaster management plan.

The specter of active shooters carrying out mass shootings has fallen on the meetings industry after a drumbeat of such horrific incidents in 2018 and before. Sadly, this realization that a violent attack could occur has become part of our lives, and the “new normal” is to have a heightened sense of awareness and risk management preparation in order to protect attendees at events.