Martha Sheridan was hired as the president and CEO of the Greater Boston CVB.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation will join Marriott International, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in cutting independent meeting planner commissions from its current 10 percent rate to 7 percent. Jack Horne, global head of sales and revenue for the hotel chain, revealed the news in a letter sent to meeting and event planners who have done business with Hyatt on Thursday, November 15, 2018.

The expert of record for all things meetings tech for more than 20 years, Corbin Ball—owner of Corbin Ball & Co.—has ingrained himself in the meetings industry on a global level. An inveterate traveler—he spends about a third of his time on the road every year—Ball recently received the highest honor in the industry after being inducted into the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) Hall of Leaders.

Association services company SmithBucklin acquired 360 Live Media in a move that will significantly augment both companies’ meetings offerings in an environment that increasingly demands a high level of experiential elements, immersive attendee experiences and other format disruptions.

Wynn Resorts has scuttled its lagoon project but is restoring its 18-hole Tom Fazio designed golf course that has been closed since December 2017, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

An insatiable appetite for everything “food” is essential in the makeup of Mark Kropczynski, executive chef at San Diego’s THE US GRANT, a Luxury Collection Hotel. In fact, if you walk down to the San Diego shoreline after the kitchen of the Marriott-brand property’s Grant Grill closes you may find Kropczynski, dive light in hand, hunting for California spiny lobsters.

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.