Yesawich: Focus on promoting longer stays ; Top ten meeting trends for 2009; Promotion of the Week: Vero Beach Hotel & Spa

As Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul gear up for their moment in the spotlight, local hoteliers would be wise to examine what happened during previous conventions.

Conventions provide political parties a platform to send their messages to the country. Such a stage provides hoteliers in convention cities with the same opportunity.