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Hotel Owners March to Capitol Hill as Flight Delays Threaten Summer Travel

Congress is getting an earful from hoteliers who fear sequester-induced flight delays will ruin the summer tourism season.
Nearly 300 members of the American Hotel & Lodging Association planned to visit close to 200 House and Senate offices on Wednesday to personally lobby on the sequester, which has taken a bite out of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for air traffic controllers.
“This industry has been concerned about this from the beginning, but with some of the recent actions, most notably the new FAA cuts, this industry of course has become even more concerned than they already were," Katherine Lugar, the group’s president and CEO, told The Hill. “We will be working with members on both sides and the administration to try to get the job right.” Read More

Green Meetings in Middleton, Wis.: Good for the Environment and Your Company Reputation
Show customers you mean green by hosting your next conference in eco-friendly Middleton

According to a 2012 study by the Nielsen Company, two-thirds of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy products and services from socially conscious companies. So your business recycles, reduces its water use, buys energy-efficient, non-toxic and locally sourced products. What now?
Holding company meetings and conferences in an environmentally friendly city filled with “green” meeting spaces like Middleton, Wisconsin shows customers you mean green. Six of the seven meeting venues in Middleton are “Travel Green Wisconsin Certified” and able to accommodate a 10-person board meeting or a conference of 1,500. To achieve the Travel Green recognition, businesses must make commitments, set goals and take actions toward environmental, social and economic sustainability. Recycling and composting programs, using recycled and renewable resources, reducing light pollution, energy and water consumption and the purchase of locally made and fair trade products are just some of the ways businesses can earn the Travel Green Wisconsin certification. In Middleton, those honors belong to the Country Inn and Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn, Madison Marriott West and Residence Inn by Marriott.
And it doesn’t stop there. Just outside the city lies a most unconventional but very green meeting space: Holy Wisdom Monastery. Home to the Benedictine Women of Madison, Holy Wisdom also plays host to meetings of up to 400 people. Given a Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council – the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification available – the monastery is one of the greenest buildings in the United States. During the remodeling of Holy Wisdom, 99.75% of the former structure was recycled or reused. It utilizes geothermal heating and cooling, as well as low-flow toilets and faucets, boasts rain gardens and through carefully placed windows, is able to provide daylighting to 85% of regularly occupied areas of the building. The monastery is working toward providing 100% of its energy needs, on a net basis, from on-site, renewable resources.
“Our conference facilities are always searching out new and innovative ways to be the best at what they do,” said Val Steel, Director of Tourism for the Middleton Tourism Commission. “This level of green certification really sets Middleton apart from so many other destinations when it comes to deciding on a place to hold your convention.”
The city of Middleton itself has long been committed to the environment, forming a sustainability committee, resolving to use 25% renewable energy by 2025 and hosting a water conservation challenge which rewards the residents who lower their water use the most during 2013. Middleton was recognized as the “Sustainable Community of the Year” by In Business Magazine in 2010 and in 2012 received the Governor’s Stewardship Award for their use of sustainable practices.
In addition to giving your “green” reputation a boost, holding your meeting or conference is Middleton will be a wonderful experience for employees. The city is home to an award-winning trail system, acres of exciting shopping and more than 70 mouth-watering restaurants. To start planning your meeting in Middleton, log on to www.meetinmiddleton.com or call (608) 831-6350.

Chicago Key Trends taken from Event Trends A Smarter Way To Run Today's Smart Events
Please also see ACTIVE Network Study Reveals Shift in Meeting Trends

Anticipated trends and predictions for conference industry

(MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.) – metroConnections, Inc. – an award-winning conference, event, stage production and transportation services firm – has announced key industry trends and predictions for 2013.
Based on information gathered from a customer survey in November, metroConnections has identified Return on Investment (ROI), e-commerce and mobile apps, social media, vendor relations and branding as key themes and areas of focus for the meeting/event planning as well as transportation services industry for 2013.
According to David Graves, President of metroConnections, the survey was conducted to identify key challenges in this fast-paced marketplace that is experiencing tremendous change.
”In order to make sure we have a pulse on the industry and key challenges in the marketplace, we polled our customers. “As expectations and technologies change in the meeting industry, it is essential to understand as well as guide our clients on how to meet these trends,” said Graves. “This survey validated that 2013 will see a huge emphasis on technology, partnering, branding and ROI.” Read more...

New Study Shows Online Event Attendance Growing

A new report conducted by the Virtual Edge Institute and commissioned by Freeman analyzes attendance trends at face-to-face and online events, and the numbers show that attendees are increasingly turning to their screens to engage with organizations.
The inaugural Digital Event Benchmark Report collected findings from more than 200 event producers and offers a tool to assess and compare the performance of events, marketing strategies and digital initiatives
“Engaging people using online meeting and event technology has never been more important,” Michael Doyle, Executive Director for the Virtual Edge Institute, says. “Armed with the information from this study, we can help the industry gain insight into best practices for digital events and hybrid extensions in order to improve event marketing ROI and deliver real results.”
Read More

metroConnections Announces Retirement of CEO Sam Thompson

metroConnections’ Founder and CEO Sam Thompson has announced he will retire from metroConnections effective Dec. 31, 2013.
David Graves, President, will assume the role of CEO, effective immediately. Thompson will continue to serve metroConnections in a part-time capacity to assist with the transition through the rest of the 2013 calendar year as well as serve as an ongoing member of the board of directors. Thompson is leaving metroConnections after 30 years to spend more time with his family and pursue other business endeavors.
“It is time to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders,” Thompson said, “The strategy is in place and the momentum is strong which will carry metroConnections into its next chapter.” Read more...

Travel Industry Continues to Put Americans Back to Work

David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, provides analysis on today's September 2012 Labor Department report:
"The Labor Department reported today that the economy created 114,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the lowest level in 45 months. Today's report contained both good and bad news. While the good news is that the economy added jobs for a twenty-fourth consecutive month in September, the fact that the September employment rise was slower than the prior two months – and just over half the jobs created last September – it provides little evidence that the economy is rebounding from the slow growth that took place during the first half of this year.
"Employment in the travel industry edged down by 3,000 in September to 7,590,000 – the first monthly decline since last November – with declines seen in lodging and airline industries. Still, over the past 33 months, the travel industry has made up 57 percent of the jobs lost during the great recession, while the rest of the economy has only made up less than half of the jobs lost. This is because companies in the travel industry have added jobs at a 19 percent faster pace than employers in other sectors of the economy since the employment recovery began in the beginning of 2010.
"One of the reasons why the travel industry has been able to add jobs faster than other sectors of the economy has been the strength of travel exports, which have been growing faster than overall exports so far this year. For example, spending by every 33 overseas visitors traveling in the United States supports one American job, which is why continuing to expand travel exports is one of the best ways to get more Americans back to work."