Fort Wayne, Indiana, offers a compact downtown convention core next to its Grand Wayne Convention Center, as well as a new Riverside Fort Wayne development that is bringing a new commercial, residential, nightlife and dining scene to the city. The Grand Wayne Convention Center also offers a wide variety of free services to meeting planners.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has joined other major hotel chains, such as Marriott and Disney, in eliminating miniature bathroom amenities. The company will switch to bulk-size amenities in nearly all of its 843,000 guest rooms worldwide by 2021.

Tyler Davidson discusses some of the top developments in the meetings industry for the week, including our June 2019 cover story about stellar rooftop event venues and MGM International's scuttling of plans for acquiring the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor resort casino in the Boston suburb of Everett.

Meetings industry attorney Tyra Hilliard shares legal contract tips for meeting and event planners faced with destination boycotts, such as corporate bans on travel to Alabama, Missouri and Georgia following a surge of strict anti-abortion laws. She also explains what a frustration of purpose clause is and how it can protect your event from liability.

In our newly rebranded weekly podcast covering some of the top stories from Meetings Today, editor Tyler Davidson highlights an article on what could be severe meetings industry financial ramifications resulting from states' restrictive anti-abortion laws, along with a piece on laws governing service animals and coverage of the buying power of the LGBT MPA.

When combined with its melting pot of cultures, this heady mixture of New Mexico arts and culture translates into a gallery of great offsite options for meetings and events groups.

Legislation strictly limiting abortion rights in Alabama, Georgia and Missouri has resulted in numerous states and cities forbidding the use of civic funds for employee travel to these destinations. The potential impact on meetings and conventions from destination boycotts is creating fear of an industry-wide calamity.

SMERF segment meeting planners representing social, military, education, religious and fraternal organizations share their greatest event planning tips and challenges. Organizations include Full Gospel Baptist, the Military Reunion Network, Any Reason to Plan and Duke University.