Venue News
History, design, and innovation continue to intersect at the newly transformed, world-class event space, the Design Exchange (DX). Purpose-built in 1937 as the original Toronto Stock Exchange, the DX has cemented itself as a go-to venue for corporate and social events. Recently there have been some dynamic new upgrades revealing a contemporary venue fueled by events and catering partner Eatertainment, and powered by Elevate. The most exclusive new feature of the venue is Canada’s first dedicated fully immersive projection mapping system featuring 45-foot tall by 230-foot projections, providing event clients access to a state-of-the-art system with fully customizable content to bring immersive, virtual, and interactive elements to meet their event needs.
People on the Move
Meet Chicago Northwest (MCNW), the official convention and visitors bureau for the northwest suburbs of Chicago, has announced the hiring of Michele Zurlo as its new Partnership and Service Manager. In her new role, Zurlo will work closely with both the MCNW marketing and sales departments to help coordinate convention bureau partnership events. She brings over 30 years of experience in hospitality, sales, and business development in Illinois, including Itasca, Lincolnshire, and other surrounding suburbs. Most recently, she served as the Director of Sales for Pinstripes.
Awards and Accolades
The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, The Official Hotel of The National WWII Museum and the epitome of luxury and elegance in the heart of New Orleans, is thrilled to announce its recent recognition as a winner in this year's Resorts & Retreats Awards 2023 by LUXlife Magazine. In its eighth year, the Resorts & Retreats Awards program by LUXlife has become a highly anticipated event in the hospitality industry, celebrating excellence, innovation, and creativity among luxury resorts and retreats worldwide. The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center was presented the “Best Luxury Hotel & Conference Centre 2023” in the magazine’s annual awards program.
Hot off the Press
Efforts in Boston and Chicago to improve diversity and inclusion in the events industry set a positive tone for the start of Global Diversity Awareness Month. Meet Boston officially launched a supplier diversity initiative on October 5 to expand the CVB’s network of businesses owned by women, BIPOC, veterans, and other underrepresented groups. In Chicago, Tourism Diversity Matters is partnering with Choose Chicago in a new apprentice program. Read more about these efforts at meetingsnet.com.
GlobalMeet, a virtual event company that hosts engaging and accessible hybrid and virtual events, announced its partnership with Hive Streaming, a leader within enterprise video experience, to provide companies with powerful tools to secure, control and optimize internal video communication events at every stage, while maximizing their reach and quality. The partnership supplements GlobalMeet’s secure event solutions with access to invaluable video performance and experience insights, including employee engagement analytics from a growing suite of Hive’s next-generation products.
