Executive Chef Mark Kropczynski of THE US GRANT, a Luxury Collection Hotel shares his California spiny lobster recipe (serves four).

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.

Check out this highlight reel from Meetings Today LIVE! South held in Marco Island, Florida. Geoteaming produced the video on behalf of Meetings Today. Footage filmed by John Chen.

In an era of mergers and endless merger rumors, with Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts perhaps at its peak, one possibility reported by the New York Post includes the two top names in Las Vegas and Atlantic City—Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International.

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.

About two-years ago I was introduced to AllSeated. I fell in love with it in 20 minutes after playing with its intuitive operating system. AllSeated is one of the fastest growing networks for the event industry. With designed and scaled floor plans in the system—tens of thousands are currently available—and a reach of over 500,000 users, AllSeated provides cloud-based tools to run an event.

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

Island-wide is the key word spreading across Marco Island's three main resorts—Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa, JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort and Marco Beach Ocean Resort.