I've rebuilt this hotel three times," says James Costello, architect and builder of the 290-room Renaissance Grand Beach Resort, St. Thomas, USVI. "I hope this time is the charm." With 204 low-rise rooms set into a hillside above the bay, the new...

The Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) this year for the first time split its University, an education-oriented midyear meeting, into two events, one for Europe and for the Americas. The concept got off to a strong start in March...

When you make a site inspection trip to the Acapulco Princess, leave behind the beach and sun for a little while and head underground. In the beehive of broad service corridors that wend below the five free-form pools and 1,019 guest rooms of this...

A basic principle of negotiation is that it takes a meeting of the minds to have a legally binding and enforceable contract. Most of the time, meeting executives keep that principle firmly in mind when drafting their agreements. Yet every so often...

Get ready to factor in a new charge on guest folios at some resorts: the daily service fee. While it may sound like one more aspect of the seller's market squeeze, resort staffers say they instituted the fees to help, not hurt...

For meeting executives, it's not whether unexpected challenges will arise, it's when--and how well can they be managed once they do. At the outset of a recent promotional campaign, Carol Rice, manager, recognition and conference planning for...

Few destinations so skillfully blend their natural and man-made attributes as Arizona. There is the beauty of the desert, the constancy of the sunshine, the marvel of the Grand Canyon. But Arizona also has among the nation's most acclaimed resorts...

Marvelous beaches, great weather, and ocean breezes are a given on Curacao, but what endears the 38-square-mile Dutch Caribbean island to incentive groups is its eclectic mix of cultures and venues...

In June, the meetings industry's first Web radio broadcast debuted. Doug Fox, producer of the "EventWeb Radio" program and the companion EventWeb Newsletter, prerecords the half-hour program, which includes news, reviews, and commentary on how to...

Marriott Boosts Site with Interactive Mapping Visitors to the Marriott Web site www.marriott.com will find several technological enhancements, including "interactive mapping," the hospitality industry's first online locator system, with a database...