ESPA, Visit Indy Leader: 6 Priorities Redefining Successful Meetings

What makes a meeting successful? 

For years, the industry has measured success through attendance, room nights, economic impact and whether an event delivered what planners and attendees expected. Those measures still matter. 

But Roberta Tisdul, CMP, Senior Director of Destination Experience, Conventions at Visit Indy, sees another priority gaining importance: what a meeting leaves behind for the community that hosts it. 

It’s a philosophy known as destination stewardship. 

Destinations International, the largest association representing destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards, defines destination stewardship as “the continuous pursuit of a net positive tourism ecosystem that exists in alignment with shared community values.” Rather than focusing solely on marketing a destination, the approach considers its long-term health and seeks to balance the needs of visitors, residents, local businesses and the natural environment. 

For meetings and events, two principles stand out: economic prosperity, which ensures tourism benefits local communities, and social well-being, which prioritizes residents’ quality of life and voice in tourism decisions. 

These philosophies can show up in surprisingly practical ways. 

For instance, when severe winter weather disrupted the annual Event Service Professionals Association (ESPA) conference in Arlington, Texas, organizers were left with more than 150 pounds of unused food. As an ESPA member, Tisdul points to the organization’s response as an example of the industry’s collaborative mindset. ESPA and Loews Arlington arranged to donate the surplus through the hotel’s partnership with Goodr, a food-waste management and hunger-relief organization. That’s the broader opportunity Tisdul sees today. 

“It’s not just about us as a city or a destination solely meeting the clients’ needs or our organization’s needs,” she said. “It’s about what are we bringing back to the city besides just dollars? How are we engaging?”

That question is becoming increasingly relevant as meeting professionals reconsider what events can accomplish, not only for the people attending them but also for the communities welcoming them. 

“The world that we live in is different,” Tisdul said. “The political landscape is heavy. The world is heavier. You need to make a greater difference.”

Destination stewardship is one response to that changing environment. Tisdul sees five more priorities reshaping what successful meetings look like today. Here’s a look. 

Authenticity Matters More Than Ever 

Attendees are no longer satisfied with simply showing up for meetings. Increasingly, they want to experience the destination they’re visiting. 

“They want more authentic experiences in the community,” Tisdul said. “They want to engage more in the community. They want us as cities, as DMOs, to incorporate authentic experiences that represents the culture and community of where they are meeting into their program.”

That demand for authentic experiences is changing the role of destination organizations. Rather than simply providing venues and hotel rooms, they’re increasingly partnering with planners to connect attendees with local neighborhoods, businesses and cultural experiences that better reflect the destination. 

Collaboration Is Becoming a Planning Strategy 

Partnerships have always been part of meeting planning, but Tisdul says collaboration is becoming more intentional. It’s also becoming more valuable. 

Planners are increasingly working with hotels, venues, community organizations and even other groups meeting in the same destination to uncover new programming ideas, expand networking opportunities and stretch limited budgets. 

That collaborative spirit extends beyond individual events. Tisdul says destination professionals routinely share ideas, solve problems together and help one another prepare for major events through organizations like ESPA. 

“We have a very close-knit community. We talk to each other,” Tisdul said. “We love sharing that dialogue, supporting each other. It is our own industry support group.”

Well-Being Is Part of the Agenda 

Delivering educational content is still essential, Tisdul said, but it can no longer be the only goal. Today’s meetings also need to give attendees opportunities to reconnect and recharge. 

As attendees arrive carrying the weight and pressure of work and life, planners are paying greater attention to how meetings support the entire attendee experience. That includes everything from quieter spaces and neurodiversity considerations to opportunities for genuine conversation and connection. 

“We’re going to give you the education. We’re going to give you the content,” Tisdul said. “We know you need the people part of it. You need that community and that connection.”

AI Should Save Time, Not Replace Relationships 

Like many industries, the meetings business is still figuring out where artificial intelligence fits. 

At Visit Indy, Tisdul says AI is now a practical tool for organizing destination information, researching planner requests and handling routine tasks more efficiently. That allows her team to spend less time searching for answers and more time working directly with clients. 

“It’s about embracing it because people are afraid, ‘Oh, it’s going to take over your jobs.’ It’s not going to take over your jobs, but can it make you more efficient?” Tisdul said.

For Tisdul, that’s the real opportunity. AI can make meeting professionals more productive, but the relationships, problem-solving and personal service clients expect still depend on people. 

Never Underestimate Peer Learning 

For all the new technology transforming the meetings industry, Tisdul says some things haven’t changed. 

“We don’t go to conferences just for who’s presenting from the main stage,” Tisdul said. “We’re going to conferences to talk to our peers and our clients so we can learn, grow and share ideas.”

Those conversations become even more valuable as experienced professionals retire, and new generations enter the workforce. The industry’s willingness to exchange ideas and learn from one another has long been one of its greatest strengths. It may become even more important as the definition of a successful meeting continues to evolve. 

Economic impact, attendance, education and content still matter. They always will. But increasingly, success also means authentic destination connections, cross-organizational collaboration, attendee well-being and using technology to make more time for meaningful relationships. 

Through destination stewardship, it also means asking one more question: Is the community better because the meeting happened there? Tisdul says meetings are now about experiences that don’t just bring people together but create lasting value for the people and places around them.