Almost all this week, just about every Sheraton Hotel in the world was without a general manager for a few days, and that's because they had all converged in the Emerald City for a first-ever global meeting. Pauline D. Loh reports from Seattle.

Every now and then, we need our passions revived and energy recharged and there is no better way to do this than to hunker down and talk shop for a few days with your peers in a beautiful city.

That was the reason more than 400 general managers of Sheraton Hotels and top brand managers of Starwood Hotels and Resorts gathered in Seattle from March 10 to 13 for the 2014 Sheraton General Manager Global Brand Summit.