The personal touch, even with convention-sized groups, is a hallmark of Marriott’s Convention & Resort Network (CRN), which is comprised of 115—and always rapidly growing!—of the world’s largest brand’s biggest group properties. Meetings Today got to sample the CRN touch on a recent familiarization trip to four of its Southern California properties.

The Howard, an Oshkosh, Wisconsin, property that includes an event space, a concert hall and a café, debuted The Lanes, a vintage-style bowling alley.

I was staying at the San Diego  Marriott Marquis for the ContentTech Summit in 2019 and the team there gave me a tour of the hotel event space.

Rosen Hotels & Resorts launched Amazon Echo voice technology to empower meeting planners with instant information about three of its Orlando convention hotels. Meeting Planners simply have to command “Alexa, Ask Rosen..." to an Echo device or mobile app to get key event information.

World Pork Expo 2019 has been canceled by the National Pork Producers Council due to the spread of African swine fever in China and other parts of Asia.

Caesars Entertainment partnered with Event Design Collective (EDCo) to make 1,000 meeting professionals Certified Event Designers by 2022 at no cost to participants. Caesars said the investment will help deepen its relationships with meetings clientele, understand their objectives and help them innovatively deliver on expectations. The hotel casino giant’s sales and convention services teams are also participating in the certification program.

In partnership with the nonprofit organization KultureCity, MGM Resorts International announced plans to make its major Las Vegas arenas, theaters and event centers sensory inclusive for individuals with autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and other sensory-sensitive conditions. It’s the most recent set of venues to commit to making their environments more accessible to people with autism and other sensory needs.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, Philippines launched Collabor8, an interactive teambuilding program that utilizes the resort’s secluded island location and surrounding natural beauty.

The Events Industry Council (EIC), the umbrella group representing more than 30 meetings and events industry organizations, appointed a new CEO. Amy Calvert, who currently works as senior vice president of convention sales and services for Visit Baltimore, was announced as the EIC’s new leader. Calvert replaces Karen Kotowski, who resigned from the EIC in January 2019 after 10 years leading the organization.