Shamed by images of wealthy corporateers cavorting at the expense of ordinary people, U.S. companies canceled an estimated $1 billion worth of conferences in the first two months of this year and trimmed back on others.

Hoteliers are calling it “the AIG effect,” after the insurance company that took a public drubbing for spending freely on corporate perks despite its financial turmoil.

It all started with a kind of Marie Antoinette moment in September, when executives of AIG spent $443,000 at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point just days after accepting an $85-billion federal bailout.

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