In an effort to provide cost-saving choices and advice, SmartAsset, a financial technology company reported the Best U.S. Cities for Conferences in 2018, based on recent data from forecasting company Oxford Economics.

Sustainability and wellness are on-trend and continue to drive the superfood revolution and the whole vegetable movement, according to Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ fifth annual Culinary + Cocktail Trend Forecast. However, the emergence of more adventurous preferences, from offal-based dishes to bold African and Israeli influences hasn’t slowed, according to the 2019 forecast from Kimpton.

Association services company SmithBucklin acquired 360 Live Media in a move that will significantly augment both companies’ meetings offerings in an environment that increasingly demands a high level of experiential elements, immersive attendee experiences and other format disruptions.

It’s official. After two failed attempts, Miami Beach will finally get the convention headquarter hotel that local tourism officials have been angling for over the past several years. Voters approved the project by a super majority in the 2018 General Election Nov. 6, 2018, paving the way for the critical missing piece in the destination’s meetings and conventions package.

Most people think they know how they would react if they were suddenly faced with an active shooter. You’d leap into action, take charge, bar the door—maybe even tackle the assailant—and save the day. Most people are wrong. I was. While active shooter training may be hard to implement during your actual event for all attendees, I believe it is something that would be valuable for meeting and event planners to take part in.

Convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and destination marketing organizations (DMOs0 are becoming increasingly inventive in the ways they assist planners. These entities can be game-changers when it comes to helping stage outstanding meetings and events. Ventura County Coast, Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, Destination DC and Visit Savannah share strategic ways to utilize their services and some improvements on tools.

Wynn Resorts has scuttled its lagoon project but is restoring its 18-hole Tom Fazio designed golf course that has been closed since December 2017, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) purchased the 299-room Marriott St. Louis West, adding to the company’s portfolio of 18 hotels in the St. Louis metropolitan area. LHM Chairman and CEO, Bob O’Loughlin, said the company will invest up to $10 million for upgrades over the next two years.

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.