Joan Drammeh

Untech 10, the unofficial conference that was held when the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) canceled its 2010 Technology Conference & Expo due to a blizzard in Washington, D.C., was a grassroots effort that attracted 500 total attendees — 75 in person and 457 via Webcast. [...] Read more

The Annapolis & Anne Arundel, Md., County CVB (AAACCVB) and Newport & Bristol County, R.I., CVB (NBCCVB) will hold joint invitation-only luncheons for more than 100 meeting planners in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Va., at the end of March. [...] Read more

Barack Obama declared his love for Las Vegas at the start of a Feb. 19 speech before the city’s chamber of commerce at Aria, a recently opened hotel at the $8.5 billion CityCenter development. [...] Read more

Last August, the San Jose Convention Center made a decision that resulted in some serious unintended consequences: They contracted exclusively with the Teamsters Union’s Local 287 for all labor services provided to decorators and exhibition contractors at the center. [...] Read more

Cruise lines saw more people at the 30 ports of embarkation in America last year due to deep discounts. As a result, the cruise industry is supersizing while other industries are downsizing. In 2009, cruise companies built 14 new ships and 12 new vessels are in the pipeline for 2010. [...] Read more

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts is adding 50 new hotels and more than 20,000 rooms in the next three years, in a $4 billion expansion plan that spans four continents and 15 countries. [...] Read more

Three Santa Clara, Calif., city hotels changed flags in February 2010. The Joie de Vivre property dropped its Best Western affiliation and is now simply the Avatar Hotel. [...] Read more

Artistic meetings: Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Atlanta Midtown has developed new Art of Meetings promotion that features four signature meetings: Fun Worship, Degrees of Discovery, EarthCare and Elements of Wellness. [...] Read more

Benchmark Hospitality International was named one of the “Best Companies to Work for in Texas” for the second consecutive year. [...] Read more

The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach is refining its image with new logos for each of its properties in preparation of the opening of the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport and additional markets which Southwest Airlines will be servicing. [...] Read more