Understanding the weaknesses and strengths of event attributes plays a significant role in business survivability, specifically the meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) industry, in which the business environment is competitive. To be in business and survive long-term, service and product offerings must satisfy the needs of clients. In the case of the MICE industry, clients include event organizers, planners, and attendees. Thus, the IPA (importance-performance analysis) was conducted with hopes to provide valuable insight into the MICE industry to identify and evaluate their offering (attributes) that can assist Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) to establish better operational strategies that maintain their economic sustainability. Furthermore, this study also addressed the event planners and organizers’ perceptions toward the environment and social sustainability, measuring the importance and performance of ecofriendly venues and the availability of disabled access, which showed neither significant importance nor performance. However, as the main purpose of the research was to examine the essential venue selection criteria based on the perceptional lens of the event organizer and planners to MICE operators on achieving business sustainability, the findings of this study provide strategical direction to establish, maintain, and improve their facility, service, and products. The study also finds that there are different needs depending on the types of event organizers and planners.

Purpose: In-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners and experts in this field. Collected data were qualitatively analyzed both inductively and deductively using a two-stage approach. The UTAUT2 framework was used for deductive analysis.Design/methodology/approach: The impact of COVID-19 on the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry resulting in the adoption of virtual and hybrid events inspired this study to explore the potential impact, sustainability, applicability and limitations of the Metaverse technology on the future of the MICE industry.Findings: Five themes and six factors of Metaverse adoption emerged. The findings suggest that Metaverse technology has limitations in achieving the purpose and function of live events and that its impact on the MICE industry in the future may not be significant. However, its advantages for certain events in reducing barriers to participation, promotional impact and providing entertaining experience were outlined.Research limitations/implications: This study highlights the opportunities and challenges of adopting Metaverse technology, providing insights into preparing for and responding to environmental changes in this industry. This study concludes that Metaverse technology should be seen as a differentiated experience rather than the enhancement. It recommends future research to include younger professionals and event attendees, who are more familiar with digital technology.Originality/value: This empirical research extends previous literature in the impacts of Metaverse on tourism industry that were mostly limited to conceptual discussions. Additionally, this study is one of a few studies to approach Metaverse adoption from suppliers’ standpoint.

The rapid proliferation of peer-to-peer short-term vacation rentals has sparked a debate regarding their impact on housing markets. This study further investigates this issue by examining the effect of Airbnb on relative rent costs in San Francisco. The research addresses a critical gap in understanding whether Airbnb financially burdens local renters within different income groups. The authors also differentiated the effect of Airbnb accommodations with different levels of commercialization by categorizing Airbnb listings based on their level of commercialization. Using the multiscale geographically weighted regression technique, this study also considered spatial variations in the relationship between short- and long-term rental markets. The findings indicate that the density of Airbnb only affects the relative rent of renters with a yearly household income between USD 50,000 and USD 75,000. Furthermore, the density of Airbnb listings from more commercialized hosts that own between three and eleven showed a positive relationship with the relative rent cost. This study highlighted the variability in the impact of Airbnb on the local community by income group, listing characteristic, and geographic region. This finding underscores the need for differentiated regulation toward peer-to-peer accommodations, as the impact on rent affordability varies by host commercialization level and renter income group.