The Online Weekly Community Newspaper of Associations, CVBs, and Hotels
Top Story
Global Meetings Industry Day 2024 Highlights Why “Meetings Matter”
By Todd McElwee
Poems were penned, events staged and lessons shared all in the name of “Meetings Matter” during Global Meetings Industry Day on April 11.
Powered by U.S. Travel Association’s Meetings Mean Business Coalition, the day was dedicated to championing the professional, personal and economic benefits of business meetings, trade shows, conferences and conventions.
Photos of the Week
Trending Now
Industry Movers
Ben Ly
Ben Ly is now General Manager at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in California. He has two decades of experience. Most recently, Ly served as the general manager at the Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach in Oxnard, California. In this role, he spearheaded rebranding and repositioning efforts. He held positions at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, The Beverly Hilton, and Embassy Suites San Francisco Airport.
Alan Love
Alan Love has been named Associated Luxury Hotels International’s (ALHI) Regional Vice President of Sales, International Markets. Love has more than 30 years of group sales and hospitality experience, including with Mandarin Oriental in Riviera Maya, Mexico; Rosewood Hotels and Resorts where he had sales responsibility for the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico; and recently with Fairmont overseeing sales strategies and negotiations for FIFA officials and invitees.
Misoon Kong
Misoon Kong has been appointed Hilton Chicago’s General Manager. She is the first woman to hold the position in the property’s 97 years of history. Kong brings more than 20 years of hotel industry knowledge to her new role. She has a successful history running hotels in the United States and Korea. Her tenure includes postings at JW Marriott Seoul, Marriott Seattle, and Marina del Rey by Marriott.
Chef Michael Zmigrodski
Chef Michael Zmigrodski steps into the position of executive chef at The Omni Homestead Resort. With over two decades of culinary experience, the New Jersey native initiated his culinary journey at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. He immersed himself in refining his craft, gaining valuable experience in kitchens of famous restaurant organizations such as Union Square Hospitality Group and Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.
Association NEWS
Around Associations
Dr. Brandy McNeil Named 2025–2026 President of Public Library Association… Public Library Association (PLA) members elected Dr. Brandy McNeil, Deputy Director, Branch Programs and Services, The New York (N.Y.) Public Library, to the office of 2025–2026 PLA president. She will serve a three-year term beginning this June, including one-year stints as president-elect (2024–2025), president (2025–2026), and immediate past-president (2026–2027). PLA is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as the President-elect of the Public Library Association,” said McNeil upon learning the election results. “This honor represents a shared success, and I am thrilled to continue the legacy of outstanding leadership set by those who came before me. I am eager to support and collaborate with public library professionals nationwide. Together, alongside the exceptional PLA Board and staff, we will tackle the challenges ahead, adapt to the changing landscape of information dissemination, and ensure that our libraries remain beacons of knowledge and cultural enrichment.”
McNeil has worked to transform community access to technology, knowledge, and opportunity across the 89 branches of the New York Public Library, ALA said. Her contributions to library science include serving on the PLA board of directors, as a liaison on the PLA Conference Committee, as the chair and co-chair for the PLA Digital Literacy Committee, as well as serving on the executive board of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and being a contributing writer for the book “Libraryland; It’s All About The Story.”
McNeil holds a doctorate in business, a master’s degree in entrepreneurship, and has worked for several Fortune 500 companies.
Hotel NEWS
Checking Inn
Newly renovated DoubleTree Hilton at the Greensboro Airport in North Carolina announced the re-opening of the hotel on April 9.
The 196-room hotel, operated by Kentucky-based Commonwealth Hotels, underwent a property-wide renovation that updated all guest rooms, guest corridors, the lobby, restaurants and bar, meeting room and pre-function space.
“As the general manager of our newly opened hotel, I am thrilled to welcome guests to our area,” said Michael Ratcliff, General Manager of the DoubleTree Hilton. “Positioned in the heart of Greensboro, this hotel has remarkable potential and will deliver travelers best in class service and genuine hospitality.”
Opening Team at the Doubletree Greensboro Airport
Clear Sky Resorts, an independent lodging company based in Phoenix, Arizona, announced the soft opening date of August 1 for their second property near Bryce Canyon National Park in Cannonville, Utah.
Capitalizing on the national park’s designation as a Dark Sky Park, Clear Sky Resorts in Utah will offer 62 Sky Domes with floor-to-ceiling panoramic glass and feature modern interior design with luxury furnishings, according to the company, on an 80-acre property.
“This is where natural beauty meets modern comfort,” said Hal Feinberg, Co-Founder of Clear Sky Resorts.
Aside from the property’s Sky Domes, guests will have access to the resort’s Sky Nova Cafe Bar & Grill and many on-resort activities. The newest Clear Sky Resort is situated a short drive from Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.
Convention Bureau/Center NEWS
CVB Update
Visit Chicago Southland has won the Illinois Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Website Budget A. The recognition came during the 2024 Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism in Peoria, Illinois.
The nine different Excellence in Tourism Award categories contained Budget A and Budget B divisions, with Budget A organizations operating annual budgets of $750,000 and above. The nine categories are Niche Targeting, Social Media Marketing, Branding Initiative, Cooperative Partnership, Event or Festival, Website, Tourism Marketing, Printed Collateral, and PR Campaign, plus an overall Best of Show.
The three-day Illinois Governor’s Conference on Travel & Tourism—the state’s premier educational and networking conference for tourism industry professionals—gathered more than 360 tourism and hospitality leaders, travel experts and visionaries at the Peoria Civic Center to explore the latest industry trends and insights that contribute to Illinois tourism. Annual awards were presented on night one.
“Awards such as this 2024 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Award for Best Website Budget A give us pride and validation that our efforts to help promote and grow tourism in the Chicago Southland area are worthwhile,” said Visit Chicago Southland President & CEO Jim Garrett. “Our team cares deeply for this region and its people.”
