Your annual meeting came off without a hitch. Attendance was lower than expected, but all in all, the meeting was a success. Shortly after the event, a letter arrives from the hotel claiming your group owes room attrition damages. However, your...

They are two clean-cut guys who like to dress in tights and toss around chainsaws to Strauss's "On the Beautiful Blue Danube." They've been on "The Tonight Show," performed for Prince Charles, and won 18 gold medals from the International Jugglers...

Four years ago, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company made a leap of faith by launching an incentive travel program to spur profit growth. It was a leap because there is still no accepted way to measure the effect such trips actually have on sales and...

PATRIOT AMERICAN RESTRUCTURES In an attempt to pay off its debts, Patriot American Hospitality Inc. has merged into its operating arm, Wyndham International Inc., and changed from a real estate investment trust (REIT) into a tax-paying corporation...

OFFICEDEPOT.COM DELIVERS Even the most organized meeting planner can run out of pens, pads, or name tags. Using OfficeDepot.com, planners in a pinch can get supplies fast. At the Web site, visitors enter the zip code to which they want items...

SHIPS CAUGHT DUMPING WASTE A record $9 million fine against Royal Caribbean for dumping oily waste into the ocean has raised awareness about a serious problem in the booming cruise line industry. After a four-year investigation by the U.S. Coast...

COULD YOUR MEETING DIRECTORY PAY FOR ITSELF? Companies that want to hand out photo directories to meeting attendees without breaking the bank can sell advertising space to offset their costs or even make a profit...

I Move that Meetings Improve Your annual incentive meeting always gets the highest evaluations from attendees. But what about the weekly marketing team meeting you conduct? Is it as efficient as it should be? Is it as productive as you'd like it...

LET'S MAKE A DEAL For the first time since it began eight years ago, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo had exhibitors outside the Asia Pacific region at its trade show, held in February at the Melbourne Exhibition & Conference...

Memorial services for Chuck Northup, formerly of Nationwide Insurance and president of the Insurance Conference Planners Association in 1992, were held April 16 in Worthington, Ohio. He passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer...