In Cambridge, Mass., the 210-room University Park Hotel at MIT topped out in September. The property, which is set to open next summer, offers the Executive Conference Center on its third floor, complete with a business center and 15,500 square feet of meeting space (including a rooftop garden). The largest meeting room is 2,418 square feet.

Across International Drive from the Orange County Convention Center, The Westin Orlando is under way with a January 2000 opening planned. The 1,200-room convention hotel will feature 115,000 square feet of meeting space.

Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotelopened in November with 502-rooms and not a single slot machine. In fact, the property is the city's first major convention hotel without a casino. It's attached to the new Atlantic City Center by covered skywalk.

Detroit's casino gambling industry will be launched in temporary casinos in 1998, but by 2001, three major properties will be up and running, bringing with them 2,601 rooms for the city's hotel inventory. The city has approved an 800-room MGM Grand, an 801-room Atwater/Circus Circus property, and a 1,000-room hotel operated by the Greektown/Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Construction continues in the nation's casino capital. The Las Vegas Marriott Suites opened in December one block from the Las Vegas Convention Center. The property has 278 suites and a 2,400-square-foot ballroom. And coming soon, more suites: the Embassy Suites-Las Vegas-Convention Center began construction in January, with an opening planned for January 1999. The 277-suite property will have 10,000 square feet of meeting space and it too is a short walk from the Convention Center.

Adding On Boston's Back Bay Hilton began an expansion in October that will add 44 new luxury-class rooms in a 25-story tower by June. A three-year renovation plan for the property's 341 existing rooms is expected to be done by December 1999.

Renovation Time Opryland USA plans to shut down its theme park early this year to make way for Opry Mills, a $200 million entertainment and retail complex. The mega-resort also plans a major refurbishment of the Grand Ole Opry House, improved access between the 2,883-room Opryland Hotel and other Opryland USA facilities, expansion of the Cumberland Landing docking area to include themed dining and entertainment, a new 40-acre family attractions area, and expansion of its broadcast facilities into a broadcast-oriented attraction area. The Grand Ole Opry and Opry Mills are slated for completion in 2000.