Smaller meetings key to convention center expansion
Large conventions typically get the most attention, but it’s the smaller meetings that will be critical to ensuring the expanded Indiana Convention Center is adequately occupied.
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ICVA executives sharing leadership duties
Three hospitality industry executives are holding down the fort as the ICVA board searches for a new leader to replace outgoing CEO Don Welsh. Directors are on no timetable to name a replacement.
UPDATE: Convention leaders prepare for business without Welsh
Don Welsh was seen as a revolutionary force as CEO of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. Now he may be one of its biggest competitors as he takes the top job in Chicago.
Local hotel bookings fell in 2010, projected to rise in 2011
Weak economy blamed for 5-percent decline. With Indiana Convention Center expansion set to be complete this month, booking should be on the rise.
ICVA nearing hotel room-reservation target for 2010
As of mid-December, the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association had hit about 93 percent of its 2010 goal of booking 650,000 room nights for future conventions. The group is stepping up its efforts to meet the demands of the new JW Marriott hotel and convention center expansion.
Fourth Artsgarden walkway gets final approval
Construction on the walkway that will connect the downtown PNC Center with the Indianapolis Artsgarden should begin in March. Plans to pave the gravel parking lots on the former site of Market Square also received approval.
Lender seeking to foreclose on northwest-side hotel
Colfin NW Funding LLC claims in a court filing that it is owed $6.4 million by the borrower that operates the Courtyard By Marriott Hotel Northwest under Indianapolis-based Schahet Hotels Inc.
Developer says Broad Ripple hotel will have ‘green’ elements
Developer Debra Stolen Hasbrook found the site at 6520 Westfield Boulevard while running on the Monon Trail.
Unions target Indianapolis hotels
Unite Here has high hopes, but the industry fears its cost advantage would erode.
City’s Conrad hotel investment starts to pay off for taxpayers
The city put up $25 million for the hotel, restaurant and condo development at the corner of Washington and Illinois streets, including $3.75 million in exchange for the economic equivalent of an 8-percent stake.
Hendricks County launches tourism campaign
Six months into a $750,000 plan to increase Hendricks County’s profile as a tourist destination, officials say group travel has doubled and hotel occupancy is up almost 3 percentage points—before an end-of-the-year push to get travelers to “Spend the Holidays in Hendricks County.”
Corporations champion FFA’s mission
The organization’s annual convention, which runs Wednesday through Saturday, attracted 375 exhibitors, an impressive number considering the tepid economy.
AmericInn buys Fishers hotel, enters local market
Minneapolis-based hotel chain AmericInn has purchased a Holiday Inn along Interstate 69 in Fishers, giving the company its first Indiana location.
Suburban hotels take a beating as downtown recovers
As revenue per room falls, some hotels outside the center city are going on the auction block.
Fourth Artsgarden skywalk gets approval
Despite objections, the Metropolitan Development Commission agreed to provide $600,000 in city funds to help build an enclosed pedestrian walkway connecting the downtown PNC Center with the Indianapolis Artsgarden.
EEOC suing local hotel for race discrimination
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s lawsuit against the owners of a Hampton Inn on the east side charges that the hotel treated black housekeepers unfairly.
Crowne Plaza walkway to add to city’s connectivity
Officials for Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown said a $400,000 enclosed connector linking the hotel to the convention center will be done in February.
JW Marriott already sold 100,000 rooms
It doesn’t open until Feb. 4, but downtown’s JW Marriott hotel has already booked 100,000 room nights for 2011—more than any other local hotel—an achievement drawing both praise and concern from others in the hospitality industry.
Indiana Supreme Court won’t hear Lee’s Inns dispute
A long-running legal battle among members of the Lee family of North Vernon over the valuation of their hotel chain has come to an end.
JW Marriott picks top chef
A former executive chef at an upscale Louisville hotel will lead culinary operations at the 1,005-room JW Marriott, which will feature two major restaurants and 100,000 square feet of catering space.