Hot News

 Marriott recognized its own in March and Chicago came out on top! At the annual Marriott International Global Conference held at the San Francisco Marriott,  which was attended by 516 Marriott Hotels & Resorts executives throughout the U.S., the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile won four distinguished awards. Robert J. McCarthy, president/chief operating officer of Marriott International North America Lodging Operations presented the 1,198-room property with the following awards: General Manager of the Year;  Property Sales Team of the Year; Revenue Management Team of the Year; and eCommerce Marriott.com Hotel Web Site of the Year.

Greater Fort Lauderdale has become a hot spot for tourism as well as for meetings, conventions and trade shows. Greater Fort Lauderdale is sandwiched between two exciting Floridian cities with fashionable Palm Beach 42 miles to the north, and hip Miami 23 miles to the south, making it a convenient meetings destination. In addition, the area represented by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau includes 23 miles of Blue Wave Beaches and more than 300 miles of inland waterways that run from the Intra-coastal to the Everglades, which has led to monikers such as the “Venice of America,” the “American Riviera,” and the “Yachting Capital of the World.” There are approximately 40,000 registered boats and yachts gracing its harbors and Fort Lauderdale Beach which recently underwent a $26-million renovation with its new walkways, luscious landscaping and an outdoor water wall.

 Toronto—Barry Smith, President and CEO of The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) is the 2006 recipient of the Meeting Professional International (MPI) Toronto Chapter President's Award, given at 17th annual MPI Toronto Chapter Awards Dinner held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. The award recognizes contributions to the meetings and convention industry.

 St. Charles, MO—In its first full-year, the St. Charles Convention Center has exceeded expectations, with bookings outpacing initial budgeted projections for meetings/events by an estimated 65 percent. According to Global Spectrum, managers of the venue, the St. Charles Convention Center ended 2006 with gross revenues of over $4.2 million, which exceeded projections by 44 percent.