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1 week ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
San Francisco, long a tier-one darling of the meetings and conventions scene, has been hit hard by the pandemic and departure of major businesses—especially in the tech sector—from its downtown.
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1 week ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
A longtime meetings favorite due to its world-class live music scene and thriving technology industry, Austin is taking a giant leap forward with a massive convention center expansion that will rewrite the book on the Texas capital’s conventions offering. Also in the works is a $4 billion expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that will add more than 20 gates and result in the destination providing the third-most airlift in the state by the end of 2030.
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1 week ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
David Hollands is a man who loves his city and treasures his job. Having lived in San Francisco since the age of 2, the executive chef of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis is practically a native of a city known globally for a lofty dining scene that excels in the cuisine of myriad cultures and fusions thereof.
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2 weeks ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
Boasting the largest convention center on the West Coast in the 1.8 million-square-foot Anaheim Convention Center, which is right next to the “Happiest Place on Earth” in the sprawling Disneyland Resort, Anaheim’s “sweet spot” has always enjoyed a large circumference.
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2 weeks ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
Ryman Hospitality Properties entered an agreement to purchase the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa from Trinity Investments for $865 million. Trinity bought the property in 2019 for $602 million and completed a nearly $100 million renovation in 2023 that improved the lobby and guest rooms as well as added a water park and two restaurants. The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2025.
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3 weeks ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
After a meetings industry career that has lasted nearly 50 years, Joan Eisenstodt announced she is dramatically scaling back her work. Like many in the industry, my work and understanding of it has benefited greatly from Joan’s influence. If I ever wanted information about virtually any person or issue impacting the meetings industry, she was always one call or email away.
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1 month ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
While when we meet, we change the world, as the MPI slogan so aptly states, all that meeting can result in a lot of food being wasted. The USDA and other sources have estimated that the U.S. wastes approximately 40% of its food annually, and as any veteran meeting and event planner knows, that could be low-balling our industry’s contribution.
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1 month ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
Specializing in mammoth properties that offer everything a meeting will need under one roof, Gaylord Hotels is quite adept at going big, but another key meetings differentiator is its personalized service for events of any size. This high standard of service ranges from its Teal Coats—the nickname for its teal-blazered Event Experience Managers—to Celebrity Services and event planning teams that serve as onsite partners dedicated to executing a successful meeting.
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1 month ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
Caesars Entertainment is transforming one of its storied Lake Tahoe properties via a $160 million renovation that will result in Harveys Lake Tahoe being reborn as the luxe Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino. Set to unveil the rebranding July 1, the project will include upgrades to its accommodations, dining and gaming options. The full renovation project is expected to wrap in the summer of 2026.
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1 month ago | 
meetingstoday.com | Tyler Davidson
The U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed the firings of five Brand USA board members, including board Chair Elliott Ferguson, who also leads Destination DC. “Pursuant to the Brand USA bylaws, the service of five members of the Board of Directors has ended,” said a spokesperson for the department, which oversees Brand USA, in a prepared statement.
