FelCor Lodging Trust has completed the sale of the Embassy Suites hotel near Nashville International Airport as well as a New Orleans property for a combined $70 million. Texas-based FelCor first announced the deal last month. Still no word on the buyer, though.

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. today announced it has added to its board of directors Don MacLachlan (seen on right in photo), executive vice president of administration and facilities for the Tennessee Titans, and Kevin Lavender (on left in photo), senior vice president and managing director of national commercial banking for Fifth Third Bank.

In addition, Ed Hardy, president of Great American Country, will serve as chairman of the NCVB board of directors for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Ken Levitan, president of Vector Management, will serve as chair-elect.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Don and Kevin, both talented and respected business leaders, to our board,” Hardy said in a release. “The hospitality industry is Nashville’s second largest, employing nearly 60,000 people locally and boasting 11 million visitors each year. It’s one of the most successful industries in terms of revenue, jobs and development in Nashville. Our volunteer board is a key component to that success, and these new members will add greatly to an already highly effective leadership team.”

In addition to Hardy and Levitan, existing NCVB board members for fiscal 2013 include the following:

• Bob Patterson - Bradley, Arant, Boult Cummings
• Steve Turner – MarketStreet Enterprises
• John Fleming – Renaissance Nashville Hotel
• Shannon Bowles – Marriott Airport Hotel
• Pete Weien – Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
• Beth Fortune – Vanderbilt University
• Mike Dungan – UMG Nashville
• Tom Negri – Loews Hotels
• Beth Seigenthaler Courtney – Seigenthaler Public Relations
• Henry Hicks – GrayLine
• Jason Sheer – Tin Roof Restaurants
• Rick Schwartz – Nashville Zoo at Grassmere
• Pam Wright – Wright Travel
• Stacey Garrett – Bone McAllester Norton
• Patrick Franzone – Millennium Maxwell House Hotel

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched an updated website. The site provides enhanced interactive tools, according to Butch Spyridon, NCVB president.

“Our goal is to convey the feel of Music City to everyone who visits the site," Spyridon said in a release. "We wanted our website to keep up with our destination, which is at an all time high right now. We also wanted to make this site the most useful tool available for our visitors to get information, book hotels and tickets and plan their trip, and with the cutting edge features and intuitive component of the site, we have accomplished just that.”

Midtown's Aloft Nashville Music Row — formerly Hotel Indigo — is now sporting new signage, with crews spotted late Thursday afternoon afixing the eye-catching pieces. In addition, a portion of the hotel has been painted gray. Aloft officials could not be reached for comment regarding the changes to the building's exterior (an example of Aloft signage is seen here). Aloft Nashville Music Row is located in the 1700 block of West End Avenue. Read a bit more here.

The Nashville International Airport enjoyed its best September for passenger numbers since 1992, the peak of the facility's American Airlines hub. Almost 788,000 passengers passed through the gates of the facility.

Other highlights from the Metro Nashville Airport Authority's latest report:

• BNA recorded its 26th consecutive month of passenger growth.
• Gross parking revenue for September was 1.47 percent higher than for September 2011.
• Month over month, fuel sales were up and air cargo tonnage was down.

See the details here.

Nashville will host the 7th Annual Southern Obesity Summit in fall 2013.

Mayor Karl Dean made the announcement at the 6th Annual Southern Obesity Summit, which is being held in Charlotte, N.C. The event is the largest regional obesity prevention event in the country, drawing hundreds of participants from 16 Southern states.

Since taking office in 2007, Dean has allocated, and the Metro Council has approved, the expenditure of more than $130 million on health-related infrastructure.

“Nashville and the entire Southeast is the battleground for this issue of obesity,” Dean said in a release. “It is clear to me that the fight over a country regaining its health is going to occur in the South.”

Nashville International Airport (BNA) will see its short-term parking rate reduced 20 percent as part of a simplified parking-rate structure.

The reduction — from $24 to $19 — renders the rate one of the lowest of its kind in the nation, according to Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority  officials.

“As we attract more businesses and visitors to Nashville, we are focused on making our airport services as convenient and affordable as possible,” Rob Wigington (pictured), MNAA president and CEO, said in a release. “The new simplified parking-rate structure will make it more affordable for our customers to use covered parking in the lot closest to the terminal, Short Term, and offer a range of parking options.”

The new rate structure (see below) reflects continued upgrades at BNA, the fourth fastest growing among the top 75 airports in North America in 2011.

Nashville-based ground transportation company Grand Avenue announced today it has launched “The It City” — an advertising, marketing and social media campaign focused on Nashville’s history and future as a cultural, civic and business center.

The campaign, a cost for which is not being disclosed, will include billboard, print and online ads highlighted by retro art work and a custom logo. It comes as ABC unveils its new drama Nashville tonight at 9 p.m.

“Everyone and everything in Nashville is clicking on all cylinders right now — from the restaurants and retailers to the tourism industry,” Grand Avenue President and CEO Carl Haley said in a release. “We can feel it everywhere we go — and, in our business, we go everywhere.”

The “My It City” social media contest is designed to spur locals to photograph themselves in front of their favorite Nashville hot spots and attractions and submit their photos via ItCityNashville.com. Grand Avenue will select one winning photo each month, and winners will receive prizes including tickets to top Nashville attractions. The “My It City” contest will run throughout the life of the campaign, a timetable for which has not been disclosed.

October's contest winner will receive two tickets to the Grammy nominations award show, to be held at Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 5.