The year started with a fury. January 2025 chronicled record-making cold snaps and heat waves, wildfires and floods, along with blizzards, landslides, and a rather unappetizing combo of tropical cyclones and European windstorms. January was also the hottest one ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organization, despite the U.S. experiencing some of its coldest temperatures in more than a decade.

This new normal is impacting the trade show and events business faster than rock salt on a wintry walkway, and everything from rising insurance costs to potential travel and shipping disruptions is on the radar. Even the choice of venue is under scrutiny since regional weather and timing of a show, for example, can have a dramatic impact on an event's viability. California during the threat of wildfires? Florida in hurricane season? How about the roar of an unseasonal Chicago gale? Give me a minute, please.

In the past several years, science has allowed researchers to pinpoint the impact of climate change on weather disasters like heat waves, hurricanes, and even wildfires, according to Alejandra Borunda of NPR. And though true that not all flux can be attributed to climate change, it's clear that planet-wide warming is a critical factor. Thus the impact on business is real and ramping up, but awareness and careful planning can do a lot to mitigate the fret.

It Takes Planning
When it comes to the intersection of trade shows and wild weather, the old adage, “Climate is what you plan for and weather is what you get,” might be smartly paraphrased this way: “Just plan for everything.”

“It starts with a risk management plan that outlines potential scenarios, like severe weather, and how we'll respond,” says industry veteran Glenda Brungardt. “Who are the key players? What are the critical steps? Who do I call first?” She says all members of the team should know their roles, from securing assets to communicating with attendees. “I make sure I've got a list of key contacts ready: venue personnel, local vendors, transportation companies, company leadership, and that all-important chain of command. Even local emergency services should appear on that list.”

Brungardt continues, “Sharing weather updates ahead of time and suggesting things like flying in a day early when storms are on the horizon can make a huge difference. The bomb cyclone snowstorm that shut Denver down in March 2019 comes to mind. I was stuck at the airport, but because I stayed flexible and knew who to call in my company, and could lean into my hotel status, I managed to find a hotel for the night.” She also managed to get on the next available flight, even if it did mean flying west to go east. “Staying in constant communication during that six-hour scramble was critical,” she says.

But what if wonky weather hits during an event? “When weather hits during the event, on-site preparedness becomes priority number one,” Brungardt explains. “I ensure my team [internal and external] is familiar with the venue's emergency protocols, like evacuation plans and key contacts.” She says it's also critical that her team knows how to handle attendee concerns and stay calm under pressure.
Kirstin Albert, communications coordinator at the Tampa Convention Center, explains that she and her colleague Juan Lopez, sales and marketing manager, oversee bookings and contracting, and assist with the sales process, among a plethora of other important tasks. They concur that as the hurricane season is becoming more and more active — witness the one-two punch of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in September 2024 — apprehension among clients has increased, though the probability that a meeting may be impacted by weather is still low.

Despite wild weather patterns, the Tampa Convention Center is experiencing record numbers of attendees at the majority of shows, says Lopez. “People want to be in Tampa — its weather, culture, easy access — and with lots to do in the area,” he says.

The organization works tirelessly with its clients to make the trade show experience as pleasant as possible. Sometimes that means tweaking show dates and/or setups to circumvent weather or assisting with insurance options (via the Cover Your Event insurance program at VisitFlorida.com) to make visitors whole in the event of a natural disaster. There's a solid multi-level emergency plan in place for handling out-of-the-norm weather, which comprises a finely tuned protocol that includes show management and the Tampa community at large.

Insurability
Tommy Goodwin is vice president of the industry advocacy organization Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA). Established in 2021, the ECA is a coalition of leading professional, industry, and labor organizations, and the events delivered by its alliance partners and their members attract exhibitors, attendees, and buyers from around the world.

The ECA's Public Policy Agenda for this year includes, among its many pro-trade-show-industry initiatives, to secure government support for event cancellation insurance. Goodwin says wild weather is undoubtedly having an impact on trade shows, particularly when it comes to insurance, insurability, and risk, and he predicts that exhibitors will increasingly make their venue decisions keeping factors such as the availability and cost of cancellation insurance in mind.
And speaking of insurance, Brungardt counsels, “Every brand has different policies, so understanding what's covered is critical. Does your event cancellation insurance or the force majeure clauses in your contract cover weather-related disruptions? Does it account for freight damage or delays? These details matter.”

Betsy Earle has lived through a few stormy times of her own since she founded her company Event Driven Solutions, a marketing agency that specializes in trade shows and event management, in 2010. Interruptive weather was dramatically one-upped by the pandemic shutdown, which lent its own unforgettable frisson. But Earle's grit saw it through and she remains a staunch champion of live shows. “I believe in live events and I will always stick up for them,” she says.

With a mission to take the stress out of her clients' trade show program, she shares some practicalities in the face of the unpredictable. High on the list is the importance of general liability and freight insurance. “We remind our clients that if they are buying their own components, it's imperative that they insure them.”

Earle also cautions about the havoc wreaked by often-weather-related late or canceled flights, which are happening with increased frequency. She suggests arriving a day or two early to a trade show is a sort of insurance policy of its own and is well worth the peace of mind that the cost savings of a shorter hotel stay cannot provide. A couple of other practical recommendations? When traveling to a warmer location, think about climate control when warehousing heat-sensitive elements. And remember that loading-dock doors are usually left open during setup, so consider heading off powerful wind gusts capable of damaging displays with sandbags or other functional remedies.

Getting to the Source
The future may seem dire when it comes to climate change and what that means for business. But there are things that event professionals can do to make an impact from within what can be a waste-heavy, carbon-intensive industry. Foregoing disposable plastic for multi-use materials in shipping is a solid choice. So, too, the use of vendors local to an event in order to cut down on shipping distances. Reusable and reconfigurable stand design components are perhaps the most available path to sustainability, with multiple modular options that will make you look good and feel even better about your impact. E