CITY BEAT 11-1-2002

Meetings & Conventions: Newsline newsline.gif (8042 bytes) CITY BEATNorthern Calif.
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FAIRMONT MOVES IN
The corks are popping in celebration of Wine Country hotel news. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts put its moniker on the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, after a renovation of the 228-room luxury resort wrapped up last month. The property has 7,000 square feet of meeting space and a 40,000-square-foot spa. In nearby Napa, an 80-room Hilton Garden Inn debuted in September with 1,200 square feet of meeting space and, naturally, a wine bar.

Albuquerque
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IN SEARCH OF FUNDING
The city is debating the issuance of $41 million in bonds for a new hotel. The deal would allow developer John Q. Hammons to build a 261-room Embassy Suites and conference center. Meanwhile, area hoteliers are mulling a 1 percent lodging tax hike to pay for convention center improvements and marketing initiatives by the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. If they OK the idea, the new tax of 6 percent would go to legislators next year.