Housing for StonExpo 2008 opened today online and both attendees and exhibitors can now begin making reservations to attend the stone industry event of the year! StonExpo 2008 will take place October 15-18th, 2008,
at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Show participants are strongly encouraged to book their travel arrangements well in advance of the show through Travel Planners, Inc., the official travel service provider for StonExpo.

To secure the best available rooms and rates, participants are encouraged to book online 24 hours a day/7 days a week by clicking on the Travel and Housing links at www.stonexpo.com. Travel Planners also has agents available to assist with all travel reservations from booking to checkout via telephone Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 7:00 pm ET at 800.221.3531 or 212.532.1660.

“Every year we see the same pattern: the most popular and most convenient hotels always fill up first. With Travel Planners, you are not required to prepay your entire stay and there are no fees or penalties to change or even cancel your hotel reservation. This means there is literally no risk in booking all your hotel reservations today,” says Debbie Guthrie, StonExpo Travel and Housing Manager.

The official host hotels for StonExpo 2008 are Mandalay Bay, THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, the Luxor and Excalibur.

Online registration will open in late June and show information will be available online at this time as well. StonExpo will once again offer FREE exhibits admission and discounted conference admission when participants register by September 26, 2008.

StonExpo’s Official Sponsors are the Marble Institute of America (MIA) and Natural Stone Council. The mission
of the MIA is to promote the use of natural stone and be the world's most authoritative natural stone information resource. Membership in the association is worldwide and includes over 2,000 natural stone producers, exporters/importers, distributors/wholesalers, fabricators, finishers, installers, and industry suppliers—all committed
to the highest standards of workmanship and ethics.

The Natural Stone Council, home of the Genuine Stone® brand, is the leader in the stone industry that represents the major associations who are committed to promotion and education of the industry and general public of the value and benefits of natural stone. Member associations include: Allied Stone Industries, Building Stone Institute, Elberton Granite Association, Indiana Limestone Institute, Marble Institute of America, National Building Granite Quarries Association, National Slate Association and Natural Stone Alliance.

StonExpo’s Official Endorsers are Veronafiere/Marmomacc and Milanez & Milaneze/Vit_ria Stone Fair.

About Hanley Wood
Hanley Wood, LLC, is the premier media company serving housing and construction. Through four operating divisions, the company produces award-winning magazines and Web sites, marquee trade shows and events, rich data and custom marketing solutions. The company also is North America’s leading publisher of home plans. Hanley Wood Exhibitions (Dallas) conducts 17 trade shows, including World of Concrete, one of the top 20 trade show events in the country. Founded in 1976, Hanley Wood is a $250 million company owned by affiliates of JPMorgan Partners, LLC. CCMP Capital Advisors manages the Hanley Wood investment for JPMorgan Partners.