What We Took Away from Connect Marketplace 2026
Our team recently attended Connect Marketplace 2026, and it was a great opportunity to connect with people across the events, hospitality, and tourism industries and hear what others are seeing in the event space.
Over the three days, we attended educational sessions, explored different event activations, and met with 27 organizations, including destinations and CVBs, hotels and hospitality partners, and event service providers.
There was a lot to take in, but a few themes stood out and gave us ideas that we can bring back to the events we support at Redstone.
Creating Experiences People Want to Attend
One of the biggest themes was the continued importance of the in-person experience.
With webinars and virtual meetings now being such a normal part of how we work, attendees are looking for something different when they make the effort to attend an event in person. We heard a lot about experiential design and creating moments that people can’t get online, whether that’s interactive activations, curated networking, behind-the-scenes access or other immersive experiences.
There were some fun examples of this at Connect Marketplace too. Paintillio’s collaborative paint-by-numbers activation was simple, but it was busy and gave attendees something they could actually participate in. We also saw creative giveaways, purpose-driven activations and technology being used in different ways throughout the event.
It was a good reminder that an activation doesn’t need to be complicated to be memorable.
Making Event Technology Work Together
Technology was another big topic, particularly when it comes to making both the planning and attendee experience easier.
There is growing need to have registration, hotel reservations, housing management and attendee communications work together rather than operating as silos. Beyond making things easier for attendees, more integrated systems can also give event planners better access to data and reporting.
We also heard about the demand for flexible event spaces that can support everything from mobile event apps to hybrid and livestream capabilities.
For us, the takeaway wasn’t that every event needs more technology. It’s that the technology being used should have a clear purpose and make things simpler for both attendees and the team behind the event.
Finding New Ways to Keep Attendees Engaged
One session that stood out was The AV Price is Right: An Educational Gameshow.
Instead of delivering technical AV information through a traditional presentation, the session turned it into a game show and got both the audience and participants on- stage involved. It was a fun way to approach educational content that could otherwise feel fairly technical.
It also got us thinking about how the same idea could be applied to association events. Educational sessions don’t always have to follow the standard presentation or panel format. Adding more participation, interaction, and even a little friendly competition can help people stay engaged and remember what they learned.
Thinking About Representation Across the Whole Event
We also attended Representation with Receipts, which focused on moving beyond good intentions when it comes to representation and accountability.
One of the points that stood out was the importance of looking at representation across the entire attendee experience, including speakers, partners and programming, rather than treating it as a separate initiative.
Another session looked at women in sports tourism and the role that access, representation and wellbeing can play in creating better outcomes for organizations and the communities they serve.
These conversations were a helpful reminder of how many individual decisions go into creating an event where people feel represented and included.
Bringing the Ideas Back to Redstone
One of the best parts of attending an event like Connect Marketplace is coming back with ideas we can put to use.
Some of what we saw reinforced things we’re already thinking about with our clients, while other conversations introduced new approaches to attendee engagement, event technology and the overall event experience.
There isn’t one formula for creating a great event. Every organization, audience and community is different. But staying connected to what’s happening across the industry helps us continue to find new ways to improve the events we support and create experiences that people genuinely want to be part of.
We’re excited to bring some of these ideas into our upcoming work and see where they take us!