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.

The death of an attendee at NeoCon 2018, held in Chicago’s theMART in June, recently sparked a wrongful death lawsuit against Merchandise Mart Properties, Hollander Design Group—the designer of an exhibit floor showroom swing—and The David Edward Company that operated the showroom.

Following the discovery and public announcement of a massive data breach at Marriott's Starwood-branded hotels that compromised sensitive personal information, including some passport numbers, of hundreds of millions of guests, Marriott International announced the company will pay for passport replacements if it finds customers have been victims of fraud, according to The Washington Post.

Marriott International is taking a $126 million hit to pay for the massive data breach discovered in its Starwood Hotels division in November 2018. The news reinforces the need for meeting planners to protect the data security of their attendees who book or stay at hotels.

Meetings Today Content Engagement Director Christoph Trappe spoke with VOBE Managing Director—and Conference Consultant, Crisis Manager and Event Manager—Steff Berger following her session on "Practical Anti-Terror Strategies for Conferences and Events" at IBTM World 2018.

Meetings Today Content Engagement Director Christoph Trappe caught up with MPI Head of Meeting Innovation Jessie States following one of several sessions she led as a speaker at IBTM World 2018. This particular conversation revolves around States’ presentation about event flexibility and being prepared for meetings emergencies titled “It’s an Emergency: What Will You Do When Everything Goes Wrong?”

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.