After all New Orleans has been through following Hurricane Katrina, it’s no wonder hospitality community leaders there are so tuned in to giving back. But one would be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated community member than Michael Smith, general manager of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, who with his team members rose to the occasion during the cataclysmic hurricane and has set a frantic philanthropic pace following the storm.

Groups staying at Omni Hotels & Resorts properties can rest easy knowing that as their head hits the pillow a credit for their stay is helping alleviate hunger in the community where the hotel is located. Since its beginnings two years ago, Omni’s Say Goodnight to Hunger program has resulted in more than 13 million meals being donated to local food banks in each of the markets its 60 hotels are located in, and the spirit of giving doesn’t end there.

UNITE HERE and Marriott International reached an agreement to end hotel strikes in Detroit and Oakland, California.

Meetings Today reached out to Bryan Pettigrew, senior vice president of marketing and sponsorship for the Breeders’ Cup, to get his opinion on why events such as his are an ideal option for an incentive trip.

George Wong, head of George Wong Design, has led inspired projects at top hotels across the globe. Resume pieces include directing the design of Moscow’s Grand Hyatt Hotel as the New York lead for the celebrated design firm Yabu Pushelberg; The St. Regis Hotel at Bal Harbour; New York’s Dos Caminos Restaurant; and Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts’ Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei.

The Communication Network’s annual conference, ComNet18, was scheduled for October 10-12, 2018, at San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis and then UNITE HERE’s Marriott strike abruptly entered into the equation. Gibbons had to react fast, and in the end decided to risk the attrition hit by allowing attendees to cancel out their rooms while booking in other venues for meeting space and guest rooms.

The public profile of LGBT+ people in the meetings industry has grown by leaps and bounds in just the past decade and a half, advancing from what some early adopters describe as the “secret handshake” days to a consolidation into the LGBT Meeting Professionals Association (LGBT MPA).

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson sits down with Trippus Event Solutions' Martin Klofver at IMEX America to talk about his eminently easy to use end-to-end meetings and event solution and meetings tech trends.