Business events across the U.S. are facing significant disruptions due to the ongoing government shutdown that began October 1, 2025.
Government-focused events are the most directly impacted, with cancellations such as the National Defense Transportation Association and U.S. Transportation Command’s fall meeting in St. Louis. The four-day annual military-transportation conference was expected to bring together 2,000 U.S. government officials and logistics and transportation experts.
Another annual symposium that has been canceled involves the Naval Submarine League. Scheduled for November 12-13 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, it was canceled because many of the uniformed and civilian military personnel scheduled to appear will be unable to attend due to the shutdown. Last year, the event attracted more than 750 attendees.
The Airlift/Tanker Association has also canceled its annual convention for industry and military leaders that was scheduled for November 6-9 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.
Conferences Face Disruptions
Even those conferences that are proceeding are being affected. The HLTH USA conference usually features top health officials. Things were different this year as Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Jim O’Neill, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had to pull out due to the shutdown.
Similarly, IDWeek, the nation’s largest annual gathering of infectious disease specialists saw reductions in CDC participation.
These cancellations follow a pattern of abrupt government cancellations this summer. In August, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) canceled the TECHINT 2025 conference, a classified, two-day gathering of nearly 300 defense and intelligence professionals, less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to begin.
In July, the Pentagon pulled all senior Defense Department officials from the Aspen Security Forum a day before the event began. The last minute-withdrawal happened on July 14 with the four-day conference scheduled to start on July 15. The Defense Department said the forum’s values did not align with the Pentagon’s.
Force Majeure May Apply
For event organizers, there may be legal recourse. Joshua Grimes, attorney at Grimes Law Offices, explained that the shutdown may allow hosts to invoke a Force Majeure clause to terminate or postpone events without liability, if the shutdown makes the event impossible, illegal, or commercially impracticable.
Clauses that specifically reference “government actions or regulations” provide the strongest protection. Grimes noted, “It may be enough that the event cannot go forward as planned. For instance, if a meeting depends on government speakers who cannot attend, that could justify a Force Majeure cancellation.”
Hotel Industry Impacted
The broader economic impact is significant. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) estimates that the shutdown has resulted in $650 million in lost hotel business, with each day costing the economy approximately $31 million in activity that would have been generated by hotel stays.
More than 30 hospitality industry associations sent a joint letter to Congress urging an end to the shutdown, noting that “economic uncertainty and waning consumer confidence are translating into booking cancellations and discouraging future planning, especially as we head into the heart of the holiday travel season.”
“Conferences get canceled, families postpone trips, and hotels lose valuable business,” said Kamalesh Patel, chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
