USAE
THE WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWS OF ASSOCIATIONS, CVBs AND HOTELS
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BWH Hotels Notifies Guests of Six-Month-Long Data Leak By Jordan Bradley
Visit Savannah is bringing the sights, sounds, flavors, and hospitality of Savannah directly to travelers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport through a four-week, multi-sensory brand activation in Terminal 3, which runs through May 24. Shown here with Savannah Brand Ambassadors, wearing navy Emily McCarthy dresses, are Angela Westerfield (second from left), Chief Marketing Officer, Visit Savannah; Savannah Mayor Van Johnson (center left); and Visit Savannah President & CEO, Joseph Marinelli (center right), President & CEO, Visit Savannah.
IAEE Announces Partnership with China Trade News By Jonathan Trager
The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) announced on May 12 a strategic media partnership this week with a state-affiliated Chinese publication tied to the country’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry. The partnership with China Trade News (CTN) expands Dallas-based
IAEE’s footprint in China amid ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington, D.C. It will allow CTN to publish excerpts and highlights from research produced by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the research arm of IAEE. IAEE said the effort is intended to establish the organization “as a trusted research reference in the Chinese market.”
Boise’s Largest Hotel Opens with 296 Guest Rooms By Jordan Bradley Downtown Boise gained almost 300 hotel rooms with the opening of a new property on May 12, hospitality officials announced. The AC Hotel Boise Downtown and Element by Marriott Boise Downtown is the city’s first dual-branded property and its largest hotel. The 296-room dual-branded hotel is divided by floors, with the Element by Marriott occupying
floors five through seven, and the AC Hotel occupying floors eight through 15. Each property offers guests a different stay experience: Element consists of 121 studio and one-bedroom suites intended for extended-stay guests and featuring full kitchens; and the AC hotel consists of 175 guest rooms designed to accommodate short stays for business and “design-conscious leisure travelers,” officials said. Please turn to page 5
The agreement also is intended to promote IAEE membership, educational programs, and professional standards to Chinese exhibition and trade professionals. “This partnership represents a significant milestone in our mission to serve the global exhibitions and events community,” said IAEE President & CEO Marsha Flanagan. “By
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The cyber security team of BWH Hotels discovered a data breach spanning six months that leaked guests’ names, email addresses, phone numbers and/or home addresses alongside their reservation numbers, dates of stay and any special requests made. An unauthorized third-party was discovered to have accessed the information through one of the company’s web apps on April 22, but the hackers had been accessing the system since October 14, 2025, according to an email sent to certain BWH Hotels guests and shared on social media in early May. BWH Hotels is the parent company of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, World Hotels and SureStay Hotels. It was not immediately clear which guests at which BWH Hotels branded properties were impacted by the breach. “Importantly, payment and other financial information was not stored in the affected system and therefore was not accessed,” the letter from Bill Ryan, BWH Hotels Chief Technology Officer, read. In the letter, Ryan went on to note that as soon as the breach was discovered, the company “immediately took
Chattanooga Hosting Spanish National Team During World Cup By Todd McElwee
Page 3 Page 4 PCMA Announces Sustainability Certification and Advisory Board Page 6 Illinois Hard Rock Casino to Add Hotel & Conference Center Page 8 Bill Edwards Jr., Longtime Hilton Executive, Dies
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What happens in Chattanooga this summer may well decide the FIFA World Cup. The Spanish national team (La Roja) has selected the southeastern Tennessee city as its home base for the group stage of the world’s largest sporting event. La Roja will stay at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Chattanooga Downtown, with training
sessions occurring at Baylor School’s worldclass athlete facilities. FIFA’s second-ranked men’s national team, Spain, is amongst the betting favorites to win the World Cup. “This validates what our community has always known about Chattanooga: we’re a special place worth sharing,” Susan Harris, Interim CEO, Chattanooga Tourism Co., told USAE. Please turn to page 4