Meeting Industry Mergers

AV leader PSAV is now operating under the Encore name, with a new Encore brand and icon reflecting the combined company’s forward focus. “When we first announced this news in early 2020, little did we know about the year our world would experience,” said Ben Irwin, President and CEO. “As the global pandemic threatened the well-being of our industry, we never stopped moving forward. We provided leadership by defining standards on how to safely meet in person. We created new platforms and tools to keep our meeting planner customers and venue partners moving forward. And these expanded services have allowed us to continue to meet through transformative hybrid, virtual and in-person events all over the world.”

Meetingjobs and Cadre

A merger between Meetingjobs and Cadre will open up new channels for meeting planners to find jobs by combining full time placement and job board services for “gig economy” freelancers, project-based contract planners and on-site event staff. “Our skill sets for event staff now includes virtual roles, meeting producers, audiovisual talent and event technology services,” said Meetingjobs Founder Dawn Penfold.

Sonesta and Red Lion Hotels

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation recently added more than 200  former InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Marriott International hotels to its portfolio and unveiled two new brands, Sonesta Simply Suites and Sonesta Select. Then in December, the company announced the acquisition of Red Lion Hotels Corp (RLH), which will add another 900 properties and eight brands, many with meeting space.