BREAKING GROUND Construction began this summer on a new 32-story hotel linked to Chicago's McCormick Place convention complex. When completed two years from now, the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place will offer 750 guest rooms, 50 hospitality suites...

Corporate executives want not only to reduce their investment in meetings, but also to increase their return on that investment. Conference centers say they can help...

Rich Teerlink and Jeff Bleustein are sitting ringside at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN, watching the slow race. Both look relaxed in black jeans and Harley-Davidson shirts. Teerlink's feet are propped up on the railing in front of his seat...

EVEN meeting planners who are comfortable and confident with audiovisual equipment at their U.S. meetings get heart palpitations when considering AV in locations abroad. Their concerns are justified. It takes about twice as much effort and...

You have the details of your hotel or convention center meeting under contract. Yet the success of your meeting may well depend on the satisfactory performance of vendors. Let's review some of the common issues-the nuts and bolts-of vendor...

Japan's original life insurance agents were the widows of servicemen who died during World War II. In the 50 years since then, women have continued to dominate in selling life insurance. Unfortunately, this is not cause for a celebration of women...

The Halifax Nova Scotian Hotel (formerly Hilton International) has been purchased for $4.5 million by New Castle Hotels, a hotel ownership and management company based in Shelton, CT. The property, franchised by Westin Hotels & Resorts...

* Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites recently named its first corporate director of convention and meeting services. He's Sam Bonfe, formerly the senior director of catering standards for Marriott International in Washington, DC. Still based in...

Well-known among divers for its reef and aqua waters, Curacao is also a sophisticated commercial center, thanks to its strategic location between North and South America and a harbor that is the fourth-largest port in the world. Now this beautiful...

* http://www.ojairesort.com-When the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, CA launched its Web site earlier this year, the goal was to make it a friendly place. To that end, virtual visitors can e-mail the Inn's general manager, Thad Hyland, who personally...