2026 Convention Sales & Services Summit

Kick off the summit with fellow Sales & Services professionals at the historic Dallas Arts District Mansion. Enjoy live music by local artist, Tom Sless, start the conversation on insightful selling, and pose for a watercolor-style portrait that is uniquely, beautifully yours provided by Ziyā.

In the highly competitive world of destination sales and service, decisions are rarely based on any one factor – they’re driven by a confluence of criteria. This keynote explores how relationships are established, built and sustained – to give you and your DMO a competitive edge. The content will examine the importance of relationships, explore how trust and personal brands are built and fortified and detail approaches that resonate in the high stakes B2B environment. Rodney Schlosser brings 2+ decades of outstanding success in business development and account service, and he shares a mix of personal anecdotes, academic research and proven key drivers.   

Rodney Schlosser

Principal

Schlosser Consulting LLC

 

 

 

 

Destination services is often treated as a post-booking function, but it has the potential to be much more. In this session, we’ll explore how DMOs can leverage Destination Services as a full-funnel demand driver - influencing planner decisions, enhancing client experience, and driving repeat business. Through real-world examples and peer insights, you’ll learn how to better integrate services impact into sales and marketing efforts to differentiate your destination and create impact beyond the RFP.

Jaimie Hart

VP, Marketing Strategy

Go Fish Tourism + Business Events

 

 

 

 

Every Meeting Counts: Turn Daily Activities into Measurable Results

Sales success for destination organizations isn’t just about closing deals — it’s about knowing which efforts are actually moving the needle. In this session, we’ll walk through how tracking every lead, booking, and team touchpoint creates a single source of accountability for your organization. We’ll show how connecting daily sales activities to budget line items and lead generation efforts gives DMO leaders a clearer picture of ROI across tradeshows, site visits, FAM tours, client dinners, and more. Walk away with a practical framework for turning the work your team is already doing into data that tells a compelling story.

• Randy Fortes, Senior Business Development Manager, Tempest
• Sidney Abramson, Business Development Manager, Tempest

Stop Guessing: How to Actually Measure Sales Success

In today’s evolving meetings landscape, traditional benchmarking is no longer enough. Year over year comparisons only tell part of the story as booking windows shift and economic conditions change. This session will explore a more strategic approach to evaluating performance by looking beyond internal trends and comparing results across the broader industry, your region, and destinations of similar size. Attendees will also learn how to establish more meaningful, customized benchmarks that better reflect their market position. Walk away with practical ways to confidently answer the question every stakeholder asks: How am I really doing?

What actually drives planners to respond, engage and convert? Based on insights from 400+ meeting planners, this session unpacks how they prefer to be communicated with, particularly regarding RFPs. We’ll break down key findings and highlight what planners say matters most in communication, trust and moving business forward.

Stephanie Turner

Senior Vice President, Convention Sales and Strategies

New Orleans & Company

 

 

 

 

Destination services departments have undergone a remarkable transformation-from simple welcome materials and static signage to becoming an essential strategic function that drives partner engagement, enhances client experience and support the overall destination organizational growth.  This session will explore how services teams can evolve beyond traditional roles to become integrated collaborations within partnership programs.  Attendees will gain insights into how sales and services can work hand in hand to elevate the client hand off process, ensuring a seamless journey from initial inquiry to on-site execution.

Liana Acevedo,CMP

Director of Convention Services

Richmond Regional Tourism

Amanda Fox, CMP,CDME

Vice President, Operations & Events

Visit Rochester

 

 

 

What happens when a DMO and convention center align around the same data? In Hawaiʻi, the result was clearer accountability, stronger collaboration, and a unified reporting framework leadership at every level could stand behind. 

Hear how the Hawaiʻi Visitors & Convention Bureau (HVCB) and the Hawaiʻi Convention Center (HCC) broke down silos by integrating their space, financial, and CRM sales data into a shared reporting framework, and what that meant for shared accountability, KPI alignment, and day-to-day collaboration. For destinations navigating the tension between DMO and convention center priorities, this session offers a practical example of how shared data can reduce friction, strengthen trust, and elevate performance in support of the state’s economic priorities.

Susan Bruinzeel

Chief Data Strategist

SightLIGNE

Teri Orton

General Manager

Hawai‘i Convention Center

Lynn Whitehead

Vice President, Global MCI Sales and Marketing

Hawai‘i Visitors & Convention Bureau 

 

 

Planners don't choose your destination. They choose the version of your destination where their event succeeds, and the DMOs who understand that are the ones booking business and securing repeat business. This high-energy, debate-style session puts a meeting planner and a DMO leader face-to-face, with the audience as judge. Fueled by original research from Future Partners and the Miles Partnership Future of Meetings 2026 Study, each round tackles the real questions destinations don't always ask: Are we actually reducing friction or just saying we are? Are we designing for the experience or handing over a venue list? Are our planners leaving wanting to come back? Through live polling, table discussions and before-and-after reveals, attendees will walk away with:

• A practical framework for translating destination assets into planner language
• Strategies for aligning sales and services around what planners actually need
• A clear understanding of what drives booking decisions and how to influence them

Colleen Phalen

VP, Meetings Strategy and Innovation

Miles Partnership

Jilien Harvey

Corporate Event Planner

AEG Vision

 

 

 

Designed for senior leaders who manage teams, this interactive workshop translates the principles behind strong business relationships into practical communication strategies. Focusing on four key aspects of effective communication, the session explores how to build trust, strengthen client interactions and create consistency across sales and service teams. Through a blend of presentation, small-group engagement and applied discussion, participants will leave with a clear, practical toolkit they can immediately use in day-to-day leadership and client settings.

Rodney Schlosser

Principal

Schlosser Consulting LLC

 

 

 

 

The way we evaluate business opportunities is evolving—and not always in sync across destinations, hotels and convention centers. This session will set the stage by unpacking the distinct approaches each stakeholder takes when assessing leads, and where misalignment can create friction or missed opportunities.

Through insights from CVENT and Tourism Economics, we’ll explore current trends in planner sourcing behavior, shifting expectations and how destination marketing and sales strategies are adapting. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how today’s planners are making decisions—and where traditional evaluation models may be falling short.
This session lays the groundwork for a deeper, more interactive conversation to follow, equipping participants with the context needed to rethink how we define, prioritize and pursue business collectively.

Suzzanne Ravitz

Client Relationships & Insights Manager

Tourism Economics

Kristen Altman

Principal Account Manager

Cvent

 

 

 

The question is no longer whether AI belongs in destination management — it's how far ahead you want to be. Destination organizations are already leveraging AI across sales, services and operations to work smarter, move faster and deliver more. In this session, we explore what that looks like in practice, then pull back the curtain with a fireside chat featuring VisitPITTSBURGH — showcasing how AI-powered guides are being built and deployed for real audiences, from leisure visitors to business event attendees to conference organizers.

Andrew Ortale

Executive Vice President, Business Events & Destination Experience

Visit Pittsburgh

Adam Paulisick

CEO

Skilly

Tyler Kirsh (Moderator)

COO and Chief AI Officer

UNCHAINED

 

 

This is a working session for senior leaders who need to make real decisions with limited time, budget, and internal expertise. Todd Brook opens with a brief overview of where the industry stands today, then turns the room over to you. Through guided discussion and a structured workshop exercise, you'll pressure-test your current approach, hear how your peers are navigating the same challenges, and walk out with two or three concrete commitments you can act on immediately. ** Laptops strongly encouraged for real-time work with AI tools.**

Todd Brook

CEO

Unchained AI

 

 

 

 

Building on the insights from the previous session, this interactive Community Lab will move from understanding to action.

Facilitated by CVENT and Tourism Economics, participants will engage in guided table discussions to explore how destinations, hotels, and convention centers can evolve their lead evaluation processes together. Through peer-to-peer dialogue, groups will examine how to better align priorities, strengthen partnership approaches and create more coordinated, compelling responses to planners.

Come ready to share, challenge assumptions and co-create solutions with your peers.

Planners expect more. Budgets are tighter. The bar for delivering exceptional experiences keeps rising. So how are destinations and their tech partners meeting that challenge, and what does it look like when technology actually works? Join this peer-driven conversation to exchange real strategies, honest perspectives, and the insights shaping how our community thinks about technology as a competitive edge.

Mark Morrow

Regional Sales Director

Encore

Tyler Kirsh

COO and Chief AI Officer

UNCHAINED

 

 

 

General service contractors see events from the inside out. In this panel, GSC leaders share what they are experiencing across clients, teams and execution. From evolving expectations to resource challenges, learn what is changing and how destinations can better align, adapt and deliver value.

There’s often a gap between what gets promised in the sales process and what actually gets delivered on the ground. At the same time, destinations are being asked to think differently about value—moving beyond volume to focus on community, culture, and experience. This session explores how destination stewardship shows up in the real work of sales and services teams. It looks at how better alignment between what is sold and what is delivered can strengthen the visitor experience, support the community, and create a more meaningful and competitive destination.

Practical and grounded, this conversation focuses on how to make what you promise… actually show up.

Tonya Fitzpatrick

CEO, World Footprints &
Author, Destination Stewardship

 

 

 

 

In today’s evolving meetings landscape, traditional benchmarking is no longer enough. Year over year comparisons only tell part of the story as booking windows shift and economic conditions change. This session will explore a more strategic approach to evaluating performance by looking beyond internal trends and comparing results across the broader industry, your region, and destinations of similar size. Attendees will also learn how to establish more meaningful, customized benchmarks that better reflect their market position. Walk away with practical ways to confidently answer the question every stakeholder asks: How am I really doing?

Carleigh Dworetzky

Director of Convention Sales Strategy & Analytics

Simpleview, a Granicus Company

 

 

 

 

A new era is unfolding for convention sales and services, one where AI handles the research, surfaces the insights, and automates the busywork that used to consume your day. That should excite you. It should also make you uncomfortable. In this session, Todd Brook challenges sales leaders to stop watching from the sidelines and start building the skills that will define the next decade: technology fluency paired with the kind of authentic relationship-building that no platform can replicate. This isn’t a tech demo. It’s a conversation about relevance, opportunity, and the courage to move now.

Todd Brook

CEO

Unchained AI

 

 

 

 

COWBOYS FIT HIIT is a high energy, no-equipment workout using bodyweight exercises to build strength, endurance, and cardio fitness. This fast-paced class combines short HIIT intervals with full-body movements for an efficient, challenging sweat session suitable for all levels.

What does it really take to host a successful industry event — and how do you know it was worth it? This session brings together sales and services voices from two destinations to explore the full lifecycle of hosting both client-facing events and professional development gatherings, from securing and supporting events to measuring ROI and outcomes. 

Zack Davis

VP of Destination Services

Louisville Tourism

Jason Sojka

VP of Convention Development

Louisville Tourism

​Jason Purifoy

VP Sales

Visit Houston

Brad Weaber (Moderator)

Summit Emcee

 

UNSCRIPTED is a raw, unfiltered panel conversation in which three industry leaders field questions they have never seen before — live, on stage, in front of the audience. There are no talking points, no rehearsed answers, no safety nets. Just honest reflection on what it really takes to build a career.

Sports tourism has never been more competitive or more complex. Whether your market is hosting a recurring signature event, chasing an NFL franchise, or investing in youth amateur weekends, the strategic calculus is shifting. This candid panel brings together three distinct perspectives -- global professional events, collegiate and amateur sport, and signature destination events — to explore what's working, what's overpromised, and how destinations can build a sports portfolio that delivers real, lasting value. Audience discussion follows.

The role of destination services has never been more expansive or more misunderstood. Building on concepts explored in earlier sessions, this conversation takes a candid look at how the function has grown in response to evolving planner expectations and increasing organizational complexity. From foundational services to emerging capabilities, speakers will explore how forward-thinking DMOs are redefining what support truly looks like. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the full value destination services bring and practical approaches for articulating that value to internal teams, partners, and clients, setting the stage for deeper discussion and application in the working groups that follow.

Lisa Bethea

Director of Destination Services

Visit Frisco

Michelle Haider

Senior Director of Event Experience

Visit Milwaukee

 

 

 

The panel gave you three perspectives, now it's your turn. Pull your chair in and talk with the people around you. This peer roundtable is designed for candid, practitioner-to-practitioner exchange on how destinations of all sizes are actually building their sports strategy: what's in play, what's been shelved, and what questions you haven't been able to answer yet. Three guided prompts will shape the conversation, and we'll close by bringing the room's best thinking back together.

Brad Weaber (Moderator)

Summit Emcee

 

 

 

 

You know what your destination offers. But do planners? And does your current menu reflect what they actually need? In this hands-on working session, participants will collaborate across destinations to map the services landscape from the inside — sharing what's working, naming the gaps and co-creating a practical Services Menu that attendees can bring back to their own organizations. The goal isn't a perfect document. It's a starting point built by the people who know this work best.

Lisa Bethea

Director of Destination Services

Visit Frisco

Michelle Haider

Senior Director of Event Experience

Visit Milwaukee

 

 

 

From VPs to coordinators, teams are navigating over-capacity, burnout, personality pullbacks, and the sense that “we cannot keep doing everything for everybody.” This session focuses on the tools and actions that build trust and foster true team synergy. Designed for sales and services teams, it offers practical ways to strengthen alignment, improve collaboration and create a more sustainable path forward. Synergy is not a role. It is a shared responsibility.

Jennifer Johnson, CDME, SHRM-CP

VP of People and Culture

Visit Dallas

 

 

 

 

What does it truly mean to put community first and how can that approach drive measurable results for meetings and events?  Join us for a 30-minute fireside conversation with leaders from Visit Baltimore as they share how the Baltimore First initiative is bringing community insight into the heart of destination strategy. Through a candid, conversational discussion, we’ll talk about what’s working, what’s evolving and how stronger collaboration across partners is helping create a more connected experience for both residents and visitors. Designed for sales and services professionals, this session will highlight real-world examples and lessons learned along the way. We’ll wrap with a 15-minute Q&A, giving you the opportunity to ask questions, share perspectives and explore ideas in more depth. 

Brad Weaber (Moderator)

Summit Emcee

Aurelia Welsh

Interim Vice President of Sales & Customer Experience

Visit Baltimore 

Jen Dwyer

Director of Sales

Visit Baltimore

Greg Morris

Vice President of Meetings & Events

Destinations International

 

Destination sales teams are under constant pressure to answer forward-looking questions, yet too often they are forced to rely on backward-looking data. This session explores how DMOs can move from simply reporting on what happened to making smarter decisions about what is coming next. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of three essential future-looking tools: forecasting, booking data and pace data and learn how each supports different sales and planning decisions. Designed for destination sales professionals, this session breaks down the nuances between these data types in a clear, approachable way. It focuses on helping DMOs better understand what each tool can and cannot do, how they work together and how to apply them with confidence to support strategy, stakeholder conversations and stronger destination leadership.

Travis Napper

Director of Destination Partnerships

Tourism Economics

Mike Pistana

Associate Director of Destination Partnerships

Tourism Economics

 

 

 

Step into the DMO kitchen for an idea-packed session where we explore how destinations are creatively putting data to work. From attendee movement patterns to in-market behaviors, uncover the insights that reveal what truly drives engagement—and how to transform those ingredients into winning strategies. Featuring real-world “recipes” from Visit Oklahoma City and Visit Austin, this session showcases how destinations are mixing the right data ingredients to cook up real results.

This isn’t about following a fixed recipe. It’s about experimenting, adapting and discovering new ways to turn data into something meaningful for your destination. You’ll leave with fresh inspiration and practical ideas to take back to your own kitchen.

Steve Genovesi

Executive Vice President

Visit Austin

Katie Cook

VP Client Success

Zartico