UNITE HERE union members at seven San Francisco hotels and in San Jose go on strike.

Vice President & Chief Content Director Tyler Davidson talks with Omni Hotels & Resorts' Dan Surette, senior vice president of sales and marketing, and Laura Trussel McKoy, creative director and vice president of interior design, about the hard-charging brand's newest developments and design concepts.

Starting her career at 19 as a budding marketing and promotions executive, Nova Browning Rutherford spent much of the next six years on autopilot. She worked in the hip hop music business in Toronto and Hollywood with artists such as Kanye West and other top names. Under the pressure of it all, combined with personal incidents that led to depression and anxiety, she hit a wall. Today, she is a top personal development coach and mindfulness and wellness expert with plenty of advice for busy professionals. 

Meetings Today Vice President & Chief Content Director Tyler Davidson and Chief Content Engagement Director and speaker Christoph Trappe talk with Christine Ahanotu, booking agent with AE Speakers, about the most critical issues meeting planners need to know before hiring a speaker.

Keynotes. The boon of the conference world and an anxiety inducing responsibility for any planner. The perfect one will leave your audience dazzled and an inept one will leave everyone with a sour taste in their mouths. An opening keynote sets the tone for the week(end) while the “breakout” leaves employees thinking. A proper closing keynote wraps it all up and sends them on their way, inspired. No pressure, right? With the world of expert speakers growing every day, the options are expanding while true expertise is getting harder to find.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian recently announced that Hyatt will no longer allow hate groups to host meetings or events at its properties. The announcement came in the form of a memo to company employees, which Hyatt did not release.

The Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu is launching the Hoʻomaluō Program, a comprehensive environmental sustainability initiative with the goal of enhancing the overall meetings experience. The Hoʻomaluō Program is kicking off in conjunction with the 2018 American Dental Association (ADA) – America’s Dental Meeting, held October 18-22, 2018.

Workers at seven downtown Boston hotels operated by Marriott International went on strike as of 5 a.m. October 3, 2018, with UNITE HERE union members set to expand strikes in other U.S. cities as soon as Thursday, October 4.

The Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report accusing former Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB VP of Convention Sales Christine Roberts, currently the executive director of the MPI Foundation, of steering over a quarter million in contracts to her boyfriend’s event company.

Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB) announced that Mike Jackson has been appointed as its new senior director, group sales. In this role, he will work to increase hotel room night production, as part of the organization’s group sales and destination services team. He will also take a leadership role in collaboration with the Palm Beach County Convention Center, “Boca-wide” events and hotel community partners to achieve more destination-wide bookings.