Meetings Today reached out to Joe D'Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel, to discuss a major medical association’s decision to opt out of a longstanding contract with the city due to open drug use on the streets and other safety concerns voiced by those visiting the city for meetings.

A major Chicago-based medical association is moving its $40 million convention out of San Francisco due to safety concerns for attendees. The city’s—and in particular the Moscone Convention Center’s SoMa neighborhood’s—open drug use and homelessness issues are being blamed for the decision.

The former Trump International Hotel & Tower Panama in Panama City will be managed by Marriott International as a JW Marriott. Ithaca Capitol took control of the property from the Trump Organization in March 2018 following a fight that included court cases in the U.S. and Panama and Trump Organization lawyers asking president of Panama to intervene in the dispute.

California’s Santa Clara CVB had its funding suspended for 60 days by the City of Santa Clara until a new management company can be found. Employee salaries and benefits will be paid during the 60 days.

Teneo Hospitality Group identified the top concerns and trends within the meetings industry so far in 2018, according to its recent poll of planners in the U.S. The results presented by Teneo identify budgets, quality control, cost and reliability of audiovisual and technical services, security of content and the challenges of meeting increasingly complex dietary demands as the most prominent concerns of planners.

Joint venture partners the Bernstein Companies and Boston Properties broke ground on the new Marriott International headquarters complex and adjacent Marriott hotel in downtown Bethesda, Maryland.

Now more than ever, people want to be immersed in destinations and have a sense of well-being when they visit. When it comes to incentives at resorts, the same holds true. Authentic experiences, locally inspired food and design, and plenty of wellness options are high in demand, according to five industry experts we contacted to get their take on 2018 market trends.

Kalahari Resorts and Conventions owners the Nelson family and company executives gathered with more than 100 attendees to break ground on the expansion of the company’s Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, convention center. Scheduled to open in late 2019, the addition will more than double the size of meeting facilities on location, adding 105,000 square feet of space to the convention center.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a judgement on June 21, 2018, in favor of RockStar Hotels and rejecting claims of trademark infringement in a suit brought by Hard Rock Hotels. This allows the hotel company to continue using the RockStar Hotels name.

Urban districts are heating up in a multitude of places around the country. We asked meeting planners for input on what cities they think are up-and-coming and why the locations are trending nowadays.