Hot News

 Salamander Resort & Spa, which is scheduled to open in spring 2010 in scenic Middleburg Virginia, will be part of the Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) portfolio.  ALHI, a national sales organization that specializes in meetings and incentive programs requiring from 10 to more than 5,000 rooms, will provide sales and marketing services for the luxurious resort, spa and conference center, targeting corporations, associations, independent planners, and incentive specialists wishing to conduct meetings, incentive programs, conventions, and exhibitions.  

That was a heck of a seminar—Hey, Bar Chef, please pour me another! The first decade of the 21st Century has seen dining at Conference Centers become as gourmet as the finest hotels and restaurants. Benchmark Hospitality International, a venue management company specializing in Conference Centers has released its annual five top dining trends. Both an observation of what is being served and a forecast of what will be served at Conference Centers, this year’s "Five Top" includes a supplementary Five Top Cocktail Trends (yes, Bar Chef is the new name for the artists formerly known as Bartender). The overall trend is that in the Food & Beverage Department at Conference Centers, quality, freshness and a return to basics are top of the menus. For more details, read on:

A dynamic new restaurant opens at a Miami hotel redefining South Florida meeting cuisine. Glen Cove Mansion Hotel and Conference Center, considered the first meeting hotel to coin the phrase conference center in order to distinguish its meetings mission has hired an Executive Chef with a reputation made in some of New York City’s finest restaurants. The VOICE, the onsite restaurant of the Destinations Hotel & Resorts managed Hotel Icon in Houston, Texas continues to infuse its fare with international expertise by hiring a Food & Beverage Manager with world-wide experience. And, The Palace at Somerset Park, a meeting and event venue in Somerset, New Jersey with more than 42,000 square feet of meeting/function space has added a dynamic new restaurant with a literary pedigree.

Deborah Sexton, President & CEO, Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Discusses Convention Planning Trends

By Timothy Herrick
Editorial Director

(A slightly shorter version of this interview originally appeared in the 2008 Facilities & Destinations SuperBook)

There are few better ways to take the pulse of the meetings and conventions industry than a conversation with Deborah Sexton, who has served as President & CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) since 2005. A 30-year veteran of the meetings and conventions segment of the hospitality industry,  Sexton has been President of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Coastal Hotel Group and was a principal at Sexton Hospitality Services, a sales and marketing consulting firm for hotel management companies.