From September 19-24, 2018, I was immersed in the Terra Madre Salone Del Gusto slow food exhibition in Turin, Italy. As one of more than 250 U.S. delegates, I was attending local and traditional food preservation organization Slow Food’s biennial event, which brings together international food producers, communities, chefs and visitors to celebrate good, clean and fair food.

Marvel’s The Black Panther did more than smash box office records this year. It inspired Wakandacon, a three-day celebration of Afrofuturism at the Hilton Chicago that combined community building with Blerd (short for Black nerd) culture.

Major hotel chains are introducing so-called “panic buttons” to help ensure the safety of their workers. And while the term “panic button” may indeed evoke a highly descriptive tone, Marriott International at least would like everyone to refer to them by the less alarming moniker Associate Alert Devices. The technology is also referred to as Employee Safety Devices (ESD) and it is being rolled out at hotels across North America.

President Trump unveiled new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Here’s how they’ll affect you.

UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents Chicago’s hospitality workers union, has ratified a contract with Marriott International. The Chicago union says it has reached an agreement with Sheraton, W City Center, W Lakeshore, Westin Michigan Avenue, Westin River North, JW Marriot and Hotel Blake.

Confucius once said, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” In that spirit, music-inspired experiences and venues can add life to any meeting or event. Following is just a small sampling of music venues worldwide that can cater to groups.

CWT Meetings & Events just unveiled its predictions for the top 10 North American cities in 2019. The rankings are based on proprietary and industry data in CWT’s 2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends report, to be published in late September.

Columbus, Ohio’s North Market, dating to 1876 and located firmly within walking distance of the city’s major convention hotels and the Greater Columbus Convention Center, offers a full plate of eating and shopping choices, from the hot chicken craze to Vietnamese, Indian, Greek and Italian—among the United Nations-worthy selection of prepared foods—to fresh meats and sugary treats.

While some meetings were canceled or postponed as a result of Hurricane Florence, North Carolina shouldn’t see much impact in future cancellations, according to Eleanor Talley, Tourism Public Relations Manager for Visit North Carolina, since it is mostly up and running.

Once you’ve seen one convention center you’ve seen them all, right? A recent visit to the Chattanooga Convention Center left me surprised to find some nice touches that many of its bigger—and smaller—city counterparts lacked. Following are five standout features I noticed during my tour of the Chattanooga Convention Center led by Executive Director Mike Shuford, during a press trip with the Chattanooga CVB.