According to the U.S. Department of Labor, meeting and convention planning is one of the best careers to be in for the next decade. But finding colleges that offer degrees in meeting, convention or event management is difficult. One of the few colleges that did have a degree program, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, […]
Cost-saving strategies and solutions to industry challenges
Despite reassurances that the recession is over, corporate purse strings aren’t getting any looser. And that, coupled with increasing hotel and transportation costs and short booking windows, is leaving meeting and event planners feeling pinched. On the meeting supply side, hotel and convention sales managers are having a hard time connecting with potential clients and […]
Taking a trip through Texas at the PCMA Opening Night Reception
The opening night reception for the 2010 PCMA annual convention in Dallas had the theme The Trails of Texas. The organizers aimed to give attendees a taste of north Texas’ many communities, from sophisticated fashion mecca Dallas to the Stockyards of Fort Worth. There were Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, rides from the Texas State Fair and […]
Delta to reinstate its meeting fares program
Since Delta Air Lines acquired Northwest Airlines last year, corporate travel buyers have been wondering if Delta would eliminate Northwest’s discounted fares for people flying to meetings and events. After all, when Delta eliminated its Delta Meeting Network in 2005, it inspired many other airlines to do the same. Instead, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports, […]
Coolest way planners (and speakers) can walk the green talk
Things seemed pretty straightforward at the 2009 Greening the Hospitality Industry conference in Pittsburgh yesterday (stainless steel water bottles, reusable china, local/organic cuisine, multi-stream recycling, composting bins) until the keynote presentation. That’s when Green Meeting Industry Council Executive Director Tamara Kennedy-Hill introduced our keynote speaker, L. Hunter Lovins of Natural Capitalism Solutions. Lovins didn’t walk […]
2009 PYM Town Hall Atlanta: State of the Industry
The PYM Town Hall: State of the Industry event was a partner appreciation luncheon hosted by Plan Your Meetings and held at the Atlanta Botanical Garden on Jan. 29, 2009. It was the second of its kind, the first having convened in July 2008. The event was designed to be a group “think-tank” session between […]
Names in the news: September 2008
New hires and promotions throughout the meetings industry.
Names in the news: August 2008
New hires, promotions, mergers and more throughout the meetings industry…
Hilton Americas-Houston on the block
The Houston Convention Center Hotel Corp. has put its 1,200-room convention center hotel up for sale. Any purchase would have to be approved by the City Council, which may use sale profits to fund the construction of a second convention center hotel on the north end of Discovery Green, an idea the council bandied about earlier this year.
Tornado damage in Atlanta
Major meetings and events were disrupted by a tornado that cut a six-mile swath through downtown Atlanta Friday, March 14. Events lost over the weekend included the Atlanta Home Show, a dental convention and much of the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. Estimated damage to the city is in excess of $250 million.
