Global Business Travel just released their mid-year forecast study. It's good news. Worldwide business travel is predicted to jump 9.2 percent and surpass $1 trillion.

The study also explored business travel levels by industry, finding that "service industries that tend to be much more prevalent in developed economies such as business services and banking have cut T&E budgets more aggressively over the last few years; meanwhile, industries such as food processing, plastic manufacturing, paper, textiles and industrial machinery, more prevalent in the developing world, have seen strong growth over the last few years."

With more travel, comes more meetings! We like that!

I often ponder why I moved back to the great Pacific Northwest after studying (& playing) in the California sun?! It's definately not the weather. It must be the air-waves or caffeine they put in the water...or entrepreneur zing in the gas. Maybe it's the amazing sunsets on a summer evening?

Whatever the case, Scientific American thought Seattle was it, voting it the top city for technology. Now, if we could just get a network of angel investors up here!

We hear all the time about city and governments lobbying for improvements in their local resources. Libraries included. You would think it would be all about acquiring new books or computers. Nope. In this day and age of Social Media, corporate downsizing, and working virtual, libraries are fast becoming small meeting havens. Think about it. It's quiet; no loud Starbucks in the background. It's resourceful; plenty of free wi-fi, clean bathrooms, and newspapers and magazines to browse. Finally, it's free.

For the community of Niles, Illinois (just outside Chicago), they seem to be in the heat of battle. Their library is due to be receiving some funds and the town is up in arms on how to spend it. Books v. meeting space.

These are just the types of problems we like to see!

There are a lot of articles out there today that focus on building your company exposure thru SEO/SEM, analytics, PPC/CPC, banner advertising...yada yada.

However, but what happended to good ol' fashion articles on why and how to build a good website? Well, I happen to stumble upon a good one yesterday on Slate.com. This one, focused on the suckiness of restaurant & hospitality websites and why they suck. Hmmmm...I thought for a moment. Really...even when we have great sites like Urbanspoon, Yelp, and others?  I couldn't resist given we run into this all the time at eVenues. We've asked ourselves the same question time and time again as we find cool meeting venues and spaces that don't have any website, let along a page, mention or sliver of info by a venue. Wow, I can only imagine how much $$$ each are leaving on the table. Go figure.

Anyway, this article suggests nothing new or innovative, but rather a focus on simplicity with some good reminders. Happy reading - click on picture below.

Great NYT article  on the build-out of new boutique hotels across country. Here is one of the great quotes:

“Good design is not enough any more,” he added, especially since business travelers “will not tolerate bad service. They require functionality.”

Not all accelerators, incubators, and co-working dens are created equal. Depending on who you ask, there can be debate on the similarities and differences between all three. The latest comes from Jason Johnson, one of the founders of the Founder Den, a co-working space in San Francisco. To quote Jason:

"Most co-working spaces lack a curation process which we saw as important to creating a dynamic, iron-sharpens-iron community, similar to the traditional private clubs which appealed to the entrepreneurs of prior innovation eras (steel, railroad, oil, etc.). In New York, SoHo House and The Core (while less of a co-working space and more of a lounge) appeal to entrepreneurs. With Founders Den, we sought a unique, differentiated model of one-half private club and one-half co-working space."

Read the entire NYT story here.

Coffee retailers and distributors are beginning to feel the pinch on operating expenses from escalating coffee bean prices as featured in this Inc. article. As a result, coffee houses are forced to create new ways to generate revenue. Anyone say meetings?

Seth offers a fine list of things to do and keep in mind when organizing a retreat. Step #1, of course, is secure the best and proper venue for the event.

Read the entire article here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/12/how-to-organize-a-retreat.html

Cheers

We're happy to announce our new space profile design, along with checkout and confirmation pages. We worked hard to "flatten" the once tab-based space profile form so it's easier for users to scan the profile, as well as select the data & time. Now it looks and behaves more like a travel booking site!

Summer may be vacation time, but we are using it as a time to design, test, and update lots of new features users and venues have suggested to us over the last few months!  Stay tuned!