Cupcakes still count Although some food writers say that pie has replaced the cupcake as the hippest dessert, the latest online poll from Special Events begs to differ. Only 29 percent say "pie is the new cupcake," while 64 percent say cupcakes still rule. Five percent say they just don’t get the question ...

ISES sets keynoters for 2011 conference Three industry trendsetters will address the ISES Eventworld 2011 conference in St. Louis Aug. 4-6: Don Neal, executive vice president and CEO, Leading Authorities Inc., on "Designing 'Live Branded' Meetings"; Kathy Sulgit, director, global events and operations, Cisco Systems Inc., on "Demystifying Virtual Events"; and David Rich, senior vice president, program strategy/worldwide, George P. Johnson, on "Transitioning from Event Marketing to Experience Marketing" …

Five hotels file for Chapter 11 Big-name properties including the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix and Grand Wailea in Hawaii filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Our sister publications--MeetingsNet—have the full story.

Photo by iStockphoto.com / © Ruth Black.