headquarters 42
DESCRIPTION
HeadQuarters is the EMEA Magazine for Association Executives Supported by ESAE, European Society of Association Executives, and UIA, Union of International Associations, BrusselsTRANSCRIPT
the EMEA Magazine for Association Executives Supported by ESAE, European Society of Association Executives, and UIA, Union of International Associations, Brussels
HEADQUARTERSE U R O P E , M I D D L E - E A S T, A F R I C A
ESAE & UIA DISCUSS MEMBERSHIP
CANADACONFERENCES
BETWEEN PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC
Meeting Media CompanyMeetings Industry Publishers (Belgium)Afgiftekantoor 2800 Mechelen 1 Bureau de Dépôt 2800 Malines 1Published 6 times a year: February, April, June, September, October & DecemberEdition December 2010 - P3A9029
42
PROFILE HQ EMEADistribution
+ HQ Magazine is the EMEA magazine for international associations+ Circulation: 5,000 copies+ Published 5 times a year+ Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Readership+ International associations
organizing international congresses in EMEA and other continents (94%)
+ Members of ESAE, the European Society of Association Executives (1%)
+ the EMEA meetings industry - PCO’s, AMC’s, members of EFAPCO, IAPCO (5%)
HQ EMEA stands for Headquarters Europe Middle East Africa, the magazine for EMEA-based associations.
HAP stands for Headquarters Asia-Pacifi c, the magazine for Asia-Pacifi c-based associations.
PROFILE HAPDistribution
+ HAP is an Asian-Pacific magazine+ Circulation: 2,500 copies+ Published 4 times a year+ 14 Asian-Pacific countries
ReadershipThe readers of HAP consists of 3 important groups:+ the Asian-Pacific associations
organising congresses in the region: 65%
+ the internationanl associations organizing international congresses: 30%
+ the Asian-Pacifc meetings industry, international agencies (PCO’s, AMC’s, members of IAPCO): 5%
5%
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HQ IN 2011
5% 1%
94%
HQ EMEA HEADQUARTERS
HAP HEADQUARTERS
65%
30%
W
HeadQuarters magazine, The EMEA Magazine for Association Executives
HEADQUARTERS magazine, The Asia-Pacific Magazine for Association Executives
PLANNING HQ EMEA PLANNING HAPPrintIssue # Publication Booking Additional Date deadline Topics Distribution HQ43 March 2011 7 Jan. Practical issues EMIF (insurance, visas, GIBTM customs, exchanges, rates, etc.)HQ44 April 2011 22 March Alternative types IMEX of events venuesHQ45 June 2011 18 April Conference hotels AIBTM Technology ASAE Annual Meeting (social media, design, new software, etc.)HQ46 Sept. 2011 22 June Sustainability CIBTM IMEX America ESAE Annual CongressHQ47 Nov. 2011 3 Oct. Alliances and EIBTM partnerships of
Each issue includes a destinations, venues,
cover interview, a special feature etc.: how it is beneficial and destination reports. to associations
OnlineHQ publishes a Global E-Zine, in which where can choose to promote your activities in one or several of the following sections: meetings professional, events and fairs, destinations, venues, hotels. HQ Global E-Zine is sent out to professional association planners.
PrintIssue # Publication Booking Additional Date deadline Topics Distribution HAP 5 April 2011 25 Febr. Sustainability IMEXHAP 6 July 2011 26 May Alternative types CIBTM of events venuesHAP 7 Oct. 2011 26 Aug. The services of IT&CMA and CTW Convention Bureaus ITB Asia to associations HAP 8 Dec. 2011 28 Oct. Cultural experiences EIBTM for association delegates
Each issue includes a
cover interview, a special feature and destination reports.
OnlineHQ publishes a Global E-Zine, in which where can choose to promote your activities in one or several of the following sections: meetings professional, events and fairs, destinations, venues, hotels. HQ Global E-Zine is sent out to professional association planners.
RATES HQ EMEA RATES HAPMagazinePublicity Size Publicity Advertorial 2/1 5,500€ 6,250€1/1 3,750€ 4,000€ 1/2 2,500€ 2,750€Covers include a surcharge of 15%
Destination reports 8 pages 12 pages 16 pagesWithin the magazine 12,500€* 16,500€* 20,500€*Loose supplement 14,500€ 18,500€ 22,500€*with cover picture of the destination
OnlineSmall banner 400€ / monthBig banner 600€ / monthPreferred partners 350€ / monthEmailing 3,500€Your logo and URL in HQ E-Zine 650€Special feature in HQ E-Zine 1,600€
MagazinePublicity Size Publicity Advertorial 2/1 4,500€ 5,100€1/1 2,950€ 3,550€ 1/2 1,750€ 1,950€Covers include a surcharge of 15%
Destination reports 4 pages 6 pages 8 pages 12 pages 16 pagesWithin the magazine 7,000€* 8,500€* 10,000€* 13,000€* 16,000€*Loose supplement / / 12,000€ 14,000€ 18,000€ *with cover picture of the destination
OnlineSmall banner 300€ / monthBig banner 500€ / monthPreferred partners 250€ / monthEmailing 2,500€Your logo and URL in HQ E-Zine 450€Special feature in HQ E-Zine 1,300€
D O W N L O A D T H E T W O 2 0 1 1 M E D I A K I T S O N
W W W . H E A D Q U A R T E R S M A G A Z I N E . C O M
54
40
m
Note: Agency commission to be added. Prices do not include VAT.
Need more information? Contact [email protected]
Want to know where to send your press releases? [email protected]
Feel free to bring your next convention to Copenhagen – the capital of sustainable meetings. Feel free to be inspired by Denmark’s wide open spaces –indoors and outdoors.
Denmark – where restrictions don’t apply.
For the rest of Denmark:
+45 3288 9937 [email protected]
For Copenhagen enquiries:
+45 3325 7400 [email protected]
HOUSECome on in, we’ve got plenty of room for all of you
HQ> M A R C E L ’ S P A G E
Are there people in the meetings industry with a vision of Europe? That’s
the question I’ve been asking myself for fi ve years now, and I’ll tell you why.
For more than 40 years I’ve been active in Europe, as a student, employee,
entrepreneur, employer, publicist and husband. And in all those roles I dealt
with the European Union. During this period I watched it grow up to 27 member
states. Now, when I want to go to Italy for example, I don’t have to stop three
times at different borders and I don’t have to exchange money. These are some
of the good things about Europe, and there are a lot of other examples out there.
My vision of the European meetings industry took shape in 2006, when
I interviewed former European Commissioner Günter Verheugen (Industry and
Entrepreneurship) for Brussels Meetings Week. Günter was responsible for the
meetings industry too. He taught me the following: ‘An industry of whatever
nature is well advised to speak with one voice. For the commission, it is always
easier to deal with organizations that represent one sector, but we cannot create
them. We can only encourage them.’
My fi rst question is: who is the representative
of our industry? ESAE, EFAPCO, ECM? I call
them the ‘E’s. Some of these professional as-
sociations already tried to talk to the European
Commission in Brussels directly. That proved
to be a hopeless task. First, there should be a
consultation between all associations with ‘European’ in their name, so that they
can draft a blueprint together. Second question: what are we going to tell the
commission? And who are we going to talk to? What do we want
and where do we want to go? In my opinion, there is still tremendous progress
to be made.
In 2007, I invited a couple of key people to Brussels to talk about this issue, at
my own initiative. They were interested, but ‘protectionism’ still prevailed. In
2008, HQ organized an Academic Session in cooperation with UIA, to show the
industry how we could interact with Europe. The presentation was praised, but
real support for our ideas wasn’t really given. Afterwards, following the example
of Singapore Convention Bureau, I closely worked with Brussels Convention
Bureau to fi nd a party that could fund and sponsor the project. Singapore does
this for the Asia-Pacifi c. They want to be the ‘Association Capital’, like for exam-
ple Washington is.
A few months ago I was positively astonished when I heard the E’s were talking
again. Brussels Convention Bureau took the lead in these talks. As an advocate
for the topic from the beginning, I’m closely following these developments.
And don’t be afraid of the media. There’s an ‘E’ on our cover as well!
THE EUROPEAN MEETINGS INDUSTRY HAS NO VISION!
MARCEL A.M. VISSERSEditor in Chief
An industry of whatever nature is well advised to speak with one voice. For the commission, it is always easier to deal with organizations that represent one sector
» READ MORE OF MARCEL’S STORIES ON WWW.MARCELSBLOG.TYPEPAD.COM!
NATURE ALWAYS TAKES ITS TIME, IT’S NEVER IN A HURRY. THE TREES THAT WERE
PLANTED IN OUR MEETINGS FOREST LAST SPRING HAVE STARTED THEIR WINTER SLEEP.
JANE BEATON, OF TREES FOR LIFE, TOLD US IT’S GETTING COLD IN THE CALEDONIAN
FOREST. SHE’S EXPECTING US TO PLANT MORE TREES IN THE SPRING OF 2011. THE
NUMBER OF TREES IN OUR MEETINGS FOREST IS STEADILY RISING. TEXT MARCEL A.M. VISSERS
THE MEETINGS FOREST IS ASLEEP
Jane Beaton put it like this: ‘It’s a bit late
to visit the Meetings Forest this year, as we
already have snow on the ground and only
have daylight from 9am until 3pm. Most of
our work stops during the winter months.
Because of the diffi cult weather conditions,
there is no tree planting or conservation
activity in the Caledonian Forest during these
months. We will start our activities again in
the springtime. We would love to have one of
your team or readers come and visit us here
during that period. I think the best option
might be for them to come on one of our
conservation holiday weeks in the Spring of
2011. If you look at our information brochure,
you will see there are eight weeks based here
between March and June - so they could pick
any of those dates.’
CONSERVATION HOLIDAYS IN 2011 The Trees For Life Conservation Holidays
are voted one of the Top 10 Conservation
Holidays in the world. The 2011 program
begins in March and runs through the spring
and autumn at many beautiful locations
throughout the Highlands in Scotland. If
you are unable to come on a week yourself,
why not consider sponsoring a volunteer? It
costs Trees for Life £300 per participant to
run each week, though Trees for Life offers
volunteers places for a subsidized rate of
£63 - £130. Sponsoring a volunteer directly
benefi ts the environment and enables
someone to come and be inspired by the
natural beauty of the Caledonian Forest and
by their own and other’s positive actions to
restore the wilderness of the Highlands. Visit
www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl .ww.html for more
dates and booking information or to sponsor
a volunteer.
NEW TREES FOR THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY IN 2011Recently, Headquarters and MIM Magazines
offered their readers about a hundred new
trees to be planted in 2011. For example, all
the winners of the Dress To Impress Awards
at the ICCA congress gala evening in Hydera-
bad received a tree and a certifi cation telling
them the following message: ‘This is to cer-
tify that a tree will be planted in the HQ and
MIM magazine MEETINGS FOREST on behalf
of ‘name of the winner’, as part of Trees for
Life’s work to restore the Caledonian Forest
in the Highlands of Scotland.’
And the winners are:
+ 1st Prize: Lynda Cadieux, Tourisme Montréal
+ 2nd Prize: the ICCA Boys,
Nigel, Dennis and Mathijs
+ 3rd Prize: Jean- Philippe Favre,
Geneva Convention Bureau
+ Public Award: Hamish Reid, GM of the
Jersey Conference Bureau, and Jorge
Franz of Houston Convention &
Visitor’s Bureau
+ Consolation Prize: Jeremy Hurter,
acting CEO, ICC Durban
More info
+ www.headquartersmagazine.com >
meetings forest
+ www.treesforlife.org.uk
HQ> M E E T I N G S F O R E S T
A TREE COST JUST £5 AND YOU CAN BUY / DONATE IT ON WWW.HEADQUARTERSMAGAZINE.COM
HEADQUARTERS 6
HQ> C O N T E N T S
CONTENTS
NEWS 8
AIPC MEMBERS SPEAK 10
EMIF 11
ASSOCIATION PORTRAIT: SPIE 12
COLLOQUIUM 17
ESAE & UIA ON MEMBERSHIP 20
CONFERENCE HOTELS 45
COVER FEATURECANADA 28
DESTINATIONS
JAPAN 38
ESTORIL 41
ICCA IN INDIA 42
DESTINATION SUPPLEMENT > AUSTRALIA
Cover HQ42:
Bordering both the Pacifi c and Atlantic oceans,
Canada offers a great alternative as an association
conference destination.
COLOPHONHQ OR HEADQUARTERS IS A NICHE PUBLICATION FOR EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA-TIONS HEADQUARTERED IN BRUSSELS AND ALL MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES DEALING WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF WORLDWIDE CONGRESSES. IT IS PUBLISHED 6 TIMES A YEAR. CIRCULATION IS 5000 COPIES.
SubscriptionsSubscription amounts to 65 EUR (all incl.) in Belgium, 75 EUR (all incl.) in the EU and 95 EUR (all incl.) in the rest of the world.The subscription entails 6 editions of HQ per year including the special edition Meeting Trends, as well as an online access to the website. To subscribe: www.headquartersmagazine.com
Editor in ChiefMarcel A.M.VissersT: +32 (0)3 226 88 [email protected]
Managing DirectorCécile Caiati-KochT: +32 (0)2 761 70 [email protected]
Managing EditorRémi DévéT: +32 (0)2 761 70 58 [email protected]
EditorsIgor HendrickxJonathan Ramael
Design UPSILON advertising, KortrijkT: +32 (0)56 24 94 [email protected]
PrintCartim - Destelbergen
Supported by ESAE and UIA
Address59, rue René Declercq B - 1150 Brussels (Belgium)T: +32 (0)2 761 70 50 F: +32 (0)2 761 70 51 www.headquartersmagazine.com
Responsible PublisherMeeting Media Company Marcel A.M. Vissers Mechelseplein 23, bus 1B - 2000 Antwerpen (Belgium)
HQ magazine sets great store by sustainable development and therefore chose environment-friendly FSC certifi ed paper which comes from a controlled source. More info: www.fsc.org ® FSC, A.C. FSC-SECR-0045
Cécile Caiati-Koch
Rémi Dévé
IN MEXICO, THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY IS A GROWING INDUSTRYA dramatic expansion of meeting space
together with the hosting of several high
profi le meetings has propelled Mexico
forward this year with considerable growth
in the meetings industry. In September 2010,
the Cancun Messe Convention centre was
inaugurated, with a new Queretaro conven-
tion centre opening in November 2010 and
another facility planned for Puebla in 2011.
In addition to Mexico’s main beach resorts
and greater Mexico City metropolitan area,
there are several emerging destinations such
as Zacatecas, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi,
Tampico and Puebla, which have invested
in new facilities with state-of-the-art
technology and modern architectural solutions.
www.visitmexico.com
50 LARGE PROJECTS IN SWITZERLAND TO IMPROVE MEETINGS INFRASTRUCTUREAt least 50 large projects are now underway
for the construction, renovation and extension
of conference facilities and accommodation
in Switzerland. Between 2008 and 2014,
more than 30 projects for the refurbishment
or extension of existing conference
facilities and business hotels will be
completed in Switzerland. During the same
period, 21 new hotels, meeting facilities and
exhibition spaces are due to open for business.
www.myswitzerland.com
ARNALDO NARDONE ELECTED AS NEW ICCA PRESIDENT
During
the ICCA
General
Assembly,
that took
place in
conjunction
with the
49th ICCA Congress in Hydera-
bad, India, Arnaldo Nardone was
elected as the new ICCA President
for a 2 year term. For the fi rst
time in 8 years, two candidates
ran for the ICCA Presidency.
The presidential elections were
the highlight of ICCA General
Assembly, after an impressive
election campaign by presiden-
tial candidates Arnaldo Nardone
(Radisson Montevideo Victoria
Plaza Hotel) and
Jurriaen Sleijster of MCI
(Incon Group).
www.iccaworld.com
MCI APPOINTS EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER FOR THE ASSOCIATION MARKETMCI Brussels Offi ce has appointed
Anna Hedrzak, as External
Relations Manager, in charge of
developing Association Manage-
ment and Consulting (AM&C)
services. Anna has over 12 years
of professional experience in the
areas of sales, marketing and
management. Prior to joining MCI,
she worked as a Head of Member-
ship, Sales and Marketing Unit at
the European
Wind Energy
Association
(EWEA), one of
the largest
European trade
associations.
HQ> H E A D Q U A R T E R S N E W S
Cancun, Mexico Switzerland
Arnaldo Nardone
An
na
Hed
rzak
www.mci-group.com
HEADQUARTERS 9
HQ> H E A D Q U A R T E R S N E W S
FRANCESCA MANZANI ELECTED FIRST ITALIAN REPRESENTATIVE AT ICCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Francesca Manzani,
Marketing & Sales
Manager of Newtours,
has been elected in
the ICCA Board
of Directors, the
International Congress
& Convention
Association which counts more than
950 members all over the world. Italy, one of
the founding fathers of ICCA, had never had a
representative in the Board before. Francesca
has a wide experience in different business
sectors, has been actively working in the
meetings industry since 1995 and has been
involved in ICCA since 2004.
www.newtours.it
UIA’S CENTENARY CELEBRATIONSLast November, the Union of International
Associations celebrated its Centenary at full
blast in Brussels. Business sessions included
an association panel with Gerlinde M. Jahn,
of the International Union of Immunological
Societies and Panos Tzivanidis, of SWIFT,
who explained the challenges their associa-
tions have faced in the past years and how
they organize events. Sustainability was
extensively discussed during a roundtable
facilitated by Marc Bontemps (Ecolife), Anna
Hedrzak (MCI) and Thomas Reiser (Interel).
With more than 100 participants altogether,
networking sessions proved to be quite
successful at the Gala Dinner and during
the wonderful closing cocktail in Brussels
Town Hall.
www.uia.org
BERLIN WELCOMES BUILDING OF NEW CONVENTION HALL‘The decision provides the planning certainty
we need for the Berlin convention business’,
says Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin.
‘After the reconstruction of the congress
and exhibition hall to be followed by the
refurbishment of the ICC, the German capital
will almost double its capacities. In this way
we will be able to continue to play in the top
fi ve league of international convention cities.’
The Berlin Convention Offi ce of visitBerlin,
in charge of the acquisition of meetings and
conventions, is now again able to offer customers
throughout the world planning certainty.
www.gcb.de
HANEDA AIRPORT IN JAPAN OPENS UP TO LONG HAUL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS The Japanese capital opened a new interna-
tional gateway, Tokyo International Airport,
conveniently located in the city limits. Known
as Haneda Airport, it became a domestic-
oriented service airport after Narita Airport’s
opening in 1978. This new opening is the
expansion of Haneda’s capacity and function
to long-haul international fl ights during
low-traffi c hours in early morning and late
night. The airport is located within Tokyo, and
it only takes 19 minutes by train to get on the
Yamanote Line, Tokyo’s main loop.
seejapan.co.uk
2011 MEETINGS INDUSTRY FAIRS WORLDWIDE: MAKE YOUR CHOICE!
AIME // 15 & 16 February 2011, Melbourne //www.aime.com.au
GIBTM // 28-30 March 2011, Abu Dhabi //www.gibtm.com
IMEX // 24-26 May 2011, Frankfurt //www.imex-frankfurt.com
AIBTM // 21-23 June 2011, Baltimore //www.aibtm.com
IT&CMA // 4-6 October 2011, Bangkok //www.itcma.com.sg
IMEX America // 11-13 October 2011, Las Vegas //www.imexamerica.com
ITB Asia // 19-21 October 2011, Singapore //sme-itb-asia.com
EIBTM // 29 November-1 December //www.eibtm.com
» VISIT WWW.HEADQUARTERSMAGAZINE.COMFOR MORE NEWS
HOLLAND LAUNCHES GREEN MEETINGS CAMPAIGN
Francesca Manzani
During EIBTM 2010, the Netherlands Board of Tour-
ism & Conventions (NBTC) launched their newest
sustainable network. This new digital platform at
www.holland.com is intended to inform, assist and
inspire international meeting planners about the
possibilities Holland has to offer as a destination for
green meetings.
To celebrate this festive occasion, the Netherlands
Board of Tourism & Conventions invited the press to
come to the south entrance of the Fira on Wednes-
day the 1st of December at 9:30 AM to see a typically
Dutch arrival. They practiced what they preach: all
60 Dutchies present at the Holland Meeting Point
arrived at the Fira on their orange bikes.
GREEN MEETING INDUSTRY COUNCIL: THE DUTCH CHAPTERAfter arriving at the Fira, Eric Bakermans (Market-
ing Manager for Meetings & Conventions at the
NBTC) and Babs Nijdam (President of GMIC-NL) held
a press presentation, which gave an inside scoop
on this campaign and the launch of GMIC-NL, one
of Europe’s fi rst chapters of the Green Meetings
Industry Council.
But the ‘Our sustainable network’ campaign was
not the sole subject covered during this event. The
Netherlands also informed the international meeting
planners about everything they need to know for their
next sustainable meeting in Holland at the Holland
Meeting Point (J310).
The campaign is web based and can be viewed
at www.holland.com/greenmeetings
HEADQUARTERS 10
The debate raged on year after year, punctu-
ated by rising levels of panic every time an
economic recession or travel challenges
captured everyone’s attention. In the end,
it seemed, the personal element won out
and the conclusion was that for the vast
majority of people, nothing could replicate
the benefi ts of ‘face-to-face’ interactions.
But throughout this period, two things were
quietly happening - and together, they may
be shifting the odds in a new direction.
First, the technology was getting better. Tiny,
fuzzy images with startling lag times gave
way to crisper, larger ones with real time
interaction, leading to a much greater sense or
reality. Costs became more manageable with
web-based options replacing the more costly
dedicated links and specialized equipment that
characterized earlier versions. And the fact is,
this trend will only continue. Most observers
feel that communications technology is poised
on the brink of quantum leaps forward.
Secondly, concerns around sustainability
intensifi ed - and in particular, the carbon
impacts of the long distance travel required
of delegates to actually attend their meet-
ings. This issue has gone to the point of
creating calls by many governments, NGO’s
and international organizations for new
limits on business travel. And while industry
suppliers have made huge efforts to reduce
the impacts of the meetings themselves,
there’s not much they or anyone else can do
on the travel side.
In practice, it is the combination of several
factors that poses the greatest risk. The syn-
ergy amongst corporations and governments
eager to achieve cost savings and the ability
of the same groups to reference environmen-
tal responsibility as the reasoning behind
their decisions is irresistible. At the same
time, there are many well-placed infl uencers
in the technology areas that would benefi t
from a move toward remote meetings who
will inevitably be only too happy to encour-
age a move in this direction.
What to do? I think we have to look
at three areas.
First, we need to actually document the
benefi ts we have been claiming for face-
to-face meetings rather than relying on old
adages which are getting tired in the face
of new technical advances. It won’t be easy,
but anything that is real - as we claim the
benefi ts of personal interactions to be - lends
itself to some form of measurement and it’s
just a matter of fi guring out how this can
best be done.
Secondly, we need to organize our counter
arguments about why collective meetings
are more effi cient - things like the alternative
they offer to many more individual meetings,
for example, or how the advances they pre-
cipitate in the end have much greater overall
value than any sustainability costs they
may incur. Again, we have taken all this for
granted for so long that little work has been
done to actually identify the positive points,
and this isn’t enough at a time when we will
need much more persuasive arguments.
Finally, we need to make sure that we are
doing our best to incorporate the new technol-
ogies into existing meeting formats to make
them even more effective than they would
otherwise be. The new technologies aren’t
going away - the challenge is to make them
work for us instead of seeing them as a threat.
FOR AS LONG AS MODERN MEETINGS HAVE EXISTED, THERE HAS BEEN A DEBATE AROUND WHETHER OR NOT FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS
WOULD BE ELIMINATED BY EVOLVING COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY. ON THE ONE HAND, CRITICS POINTED TO THE COST SAVINGS AND
TRAVEL INCONVENIENCE THAT COULD BE ACHIEVED BY HAVING PARTICIPANTS ON EITHER END OF A PHONE OR A VIDEO LINK; ON THE
OTHER WERE THOSE WHO SAID SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT COULD NEVER REPLICATE THE BENEFITS OF ACTUAL PERSONAL INTERACTION.
TEXT EDGAR HIRT, PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONGRESS CENTRES (AIPC) AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CCH, CONGRESS CENTER HAMBURG
MEETINGS TECHNOLOGYAn Opportunity and a Challenge
HQ> A I P C M E M B E R S S P E A K
AIPC CONTACT DETAILS
or www.aipc.org
We need to make sure that we are doing our best to incorporate the new technologies into existing meeting formats to make them even more effective than they would otherwise be
Edgar Hirt
EMIF, THE MEETING POINT THE 10TH EDITION OF EMIF, THE EUROPEAN
MEETINGS INDUSTRY FAIR, WILL TAKE
PLACE IN BRUSSELS, ON 15-16 MARCH AT
THE TOUR & TAXIS EXHIBITION CENTRE,
DURING THE BRUSSELS MEETINGS WEEK.
EMIF is the European fair in Europe’s capital,
aimed at corporate buyers and national &
international association executives. And where
better to meet than in Brussels which recently
topped the Union of International Associations’
league of congress cities in Europe, coming
second in the world after Singapore?
EMIF is more than just an exhibition; it’s a
meeting point and networking platform for the
whole industry across Belgium and Europe.
The EMIF programme includes a range of VIP
events as well as well-established seminars
for international associations.
EMIF’s latest initiative to bring together the
Presidents of different industry associations
in order to fi nd possible synergies also refl ects
this ‘meeting point’ spirit and the potential for
closer future co-operation in this fragmented
industry. For the very fi rst time, ESAE, the
European Society of Association Executives,
will also hold its Annual Congress right during
the fair. Its main theme - ‘Maximizing your
association performance: The tools to shaping
your organisation’s future’ - is sure to attract
top association planners and will serve as the
base for EMIF’s 2011 association programme.
Last but not least, the 2011 budget has been
increased to welcome high-quality hosted
buyers, thanks to several fruitful collaborations
with domestic & international organisations.
New software is to be implemented to allow
buyers to book set appointments with EMIF
exhibitors.
Now is the ideal time to participate in
a fair that may be the only truly European
one around. Just take our word for it.
HQ> E M I F
Want more information? [email protected] online! www.emif.com
INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS FOR YOUR MEETINGS
& EVENTSEuropean Meetings Industry Fair
15 & 16 MARCH 2011
TOUR & TAXIS BRUSSELS
Official Partner
At the very heart of Europe, EMIF is an ideal source of inspiration and
information for Corporate Buyers & Association
Executives responsible for congresses, conferences, incentives, exhibitions &
events ...
www.emif.com
HEADQUARTERS 12
Could you briefl y present SPIE?
SPIE is an international society advancing an
interdisciplinary approach to the science and
application of light. It annually organizes and spon-
sors approximately 25 major technical forums,
exhibitions, and education programmes in North
America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacifi c.
In 2009, the Society provided more than
$2 million in support of scholarships, grants, and
other education programmes around the world.
SPIE also publishes the SPIE Digital Library,
containing more than 296,000 research papers
from the Proceedings of SPIE and the Society’s 9
scholarly journals with around 18,000 new papers
added each year, and more than 120 eBooks from
the SPIE Press catalog. The SPIE Press publishes
print monographs, tutorial texts, Field Guides,
and reference books. SPIE also publishes a wide
variety of open access content.
SPIE IS THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR OPTICS AND
PHOTONICS FOUNDED IN 1955 TO ADVANCE LIGHT-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES. SERVING MORE THAN 180,000 CONSTITUENTS
FROM 168 COUNTRIES, THE SOCIETY ADVANCES EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARY INFORMATION
EXCHANGE, CONTINUING EDUCATION, PUBLICATIONS, PATENT
PRECEDENT, AND CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
KARIN BURGER, SPIE EUROPE MANAGER, EXPLAINS WHAT CHALLENGES THE
ASSOCIATION HAD TO OVERCOME OVER THE YEARS AND WHERE IT STANDS
REGARDING EVENTS. INTERVIEW RÉMI DÉVÉ
SPIE A talk with Karin Burger
HQ> A S S O C I A T I O N P O R T R A I T
SPIE Europe 2010, Plenary Session at SQUARE, Brussels
Karin Burger
HEADQUARTERS 13
Membership includes Fellows and Senior
Member programmes. The Society has
named more than 840 SPIE members as Fel-
lows since 1955, and implemented its Senior
Member programme in 2008. SPIE’s awards
programme serves to recognize outstanding
contributions from individuals throughout
the scientifi c community regardless of mem-
bership status.
SPIE has had a European offi ce since 1985,
in various guises. Today’s SPIE Europe offi ce
was founded in August 2001 and is based in
Cardiff, Wales, UK.
What kind of challenges has the association overcome in recent years?
As a scientifi c society, printing the publica-
tions from our events was always part of the
business model. One of the biggest challenges
that we have tackled and are continuously
tackling is the conversion from print volumes
to digital/online display. We have successfully
introduced our online library, the SPIE Digital
Library which now houses all publications
since 1990. We are also constantly working on
keeping our events and the promotion thereof
up to date using the latest technological
advances and online media.
Also an ongoing challenge are the rising
event costs as opposed to the inability to
raise attendee prices to the same scale as
cost for services and venues have risen.
Another challenge - which in a way is of
course a nice problem to have - is that events
grow and sometimes outgrow venues where
established work patterns have been running
for many years. Moving events to new venues
and trying to work out price structures com-
mensurate with the budget of the event is
always a major job.
What kind of events do you organize?
We organize scientifi c events, specializing on
optics and photonics research. Photonics is
the science of light, and the results and tools
obtained from the research and later applica-
tion reach the broadest audience possible
- the entire world population. Be it in the CD
player which operates a laser to play music
which is stored in optical storage, or in the
endoscope which carries a camera invented
by the fi eld, be it solar cells which have been
produced using optical ‘ingredients’, or body
scanning techniques improving the safety
checks at an airport, all of these techniques
and products would not be available without
the photonics - the science that teaches you
what light can achieve.
The events can consist of conferences
only, or a combination of conference with
exhibition, or (mostly in the US), confer-
ence, exhibition, and short courses. We run
a two-legged model - volunteers construct
the conference, i.e. the technical content, and
SPIE staff runs the logistics such as where to
place meetings, collect abstracts and prepare
the programme in cooperation with the
chairs, collect manuscripts for publication
and run the meeting onsite. SPIE headquar-
ters has a staff of 140, the European offi ce
has a staff of 5, and HQ provides backup in
issues such as design, marketing, and promo-
tion, as well as, at the end, publication of the
proceedings/digital library.
What is the association’s decision process concerning the organization of a conference?
We have a set fi eld, i.e. photonics, in which
we organize events. In each fi eld there will be
hot topics, and they dictate the topics of our
conferences. Once the topics have been deter-
mined with specialists in the fi eld who take on
the symposium chairmanship, SPIE takes the
fi nal decision on the location. For SPIE Photon-
ics Europe, we chose Brussels, as the meeting
that was to be placed there has strong links
with research promoted by the European
Union, and SQUARE was the only venue that
fulfi lled our room requirements in Brussels.
There are several criteria, and events should
fulfi ll at least two, better more. The ideal
situation has us placing a meeting in an
area that is technically relevant, such as
our Astronomy event which tends to be
held in areas that have aerospace-related
research laboratories and companies locally.
Another criteria is obviously the space
that is required. We tend to use a number
of conference rooms in the 50-120 theatre
range, and those can be hard to come by
especially in Europe; those venues that do
offer these medium-sized rooms often have
them distributed throughout the building so
that networking is made more diffi cult for
the attendees. There is no point in going to
a larger format as the room will look empty,
thus suggesting that presentations may not
be relevant.
> A S S O C I A T I O N P O R T R A I T
A SELECTION OF SPIE’S UPCOMING EVENTS+ 22-27 January 2011: SPIE Photonics West,
San Francisco, USA+ 12-17 February 2011: SPIE Medical Imaging
Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), USA+ 28-31 March 2011: SPIE Eco-Photonics,
Strasbourg, France+ 18-20 April 2011: SPIE Microtechnologies,
Prague, Czech Republic+ 22-26 May 2011: European Conferences
on Biomedical Optics, Munich, Germany+ 24-26 May 2011: ISPDI 2011, Beijing, China
An ongoing challenge are the rising event costs as opposed to the inability to raise attendee prices to the same scale as cost for services and venues have risen
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Some events have an accompanying exhibi-
tion of up to 100 companies. Ideally, that
should be placed in the middle of the confer-
ence room area to give exhibitors maximum
exposure to attendees. Maybe the biggest
criterion the venue selection is infl uenced
by is cost. In this day and age, venues must
absolutely be prepared to negotiate - we’re
a nonprofi t association and the budget is
certainly not endless!
Also, with the recession hitting over the last
two years, we have come away from venues
that could be considered holiday locations
as we fi nd that attendees don’t get fund-
ing from their universities/companies. The
venues itself vary from universities (some-
times) to conference centres (mostly) and
hotels (rarely).
Do you work with a PCO or a DMC? Why?
No, we don’t tend to work with a PCO or
a DMC, other than for the hotel reservation
process, as we have inhouse departments
to deal with the meeting logistics and promo-
tion. In the European offi ce, there is only one
exception when that could be the case, and
that is when we know we will only go to a
country very rarely and that country offers
an option to run a congress through
a local agency who will then deal with the
VAT return to the authorities.
We will use an agency that can run the hotel
reservation process for our attendees, as
we do not get involved in that, other than
asking for the blocks to be on hold up to
a specifi ed date.
How would you summarize new trends in the association congress world? I have just attended an event on renewable
energy scenarios, and when you talk to that
group, it becomes very clear that a lot more
needs to be done to make events carbon
zero. I think associations should probably put
some more pressure on venues to provide
better recycling facilities, video conferencing
at reasonable rates and other options that
will enable events to have less impact on
the environment. Some venues are already
working on that, but it needs to become
much more broadly applied. I can’t see that
in the future there will be only events on the
internet, the human contact factor and the
networking from that is too important.
Overall, the internet offers threats and
opportunities and rather than condemming
it, associations should be aware to use its full
potential in social media to promote their
meetings as well as e.g. allowing attendees
to fi nd their own hotel rooms - most of the
offers out there will be better than what is on
offer through the offi cial process.
Specifi cally for Europe, the VAT question is
becoming intolerable. There are varying regu-
lations on VAT across Europe, each country
pretty much deals with that as they like, and
we have experienced that one country quite
happily retains the VAT they owe us for 5
or more years, unless we provide a bank guar-
antee for the same period. Further that same
country holds in escrow a deposit of several
thousands of dollars that we had to put down
before we went there in order to be able to
run the meeting. I won’t say which country it
is, but I think I can safely say that we won’t go
back there. The amount of labour that goes
into corresponding with the authorities there
is costly, and every time you ask a question
you get a different answer, which causes you
to double check and instigate more labour.
The situation overall is outrageous.
In the current economic downturn and uncer-
tain funding for congress attendees, we fi nd
that attendees are waiting later and later
to commit to attending and to making their
hotel reservations. In the US this can be quite
disturbing where we have to guarantee hotel
rooms for attendees in the city and we have
cut-off dates for negotiated hotel rates that
will revert to rack rates at that time. When
attendees don’t book until last minute there
is the constant worry of not making your
hotel block guarantee.
Another trend is attendees’ increasing use
of internet booking (web specials) for hotel
rooms instead of booking in association
blocked hotel rooms. The association has to
guarantee the hotel rooms they block and
if attendees don’t choose to book there,
then the association is on the line for those
liabilities.
We think more and more that attendees
are seeking customization of everything.
When it comes to congresses they want
more freedom to choose the ‘package’ of
services they want. More and more attendees
want and need demonstrated value for the
time out of the offi ce and money spent. We
certainly work to deliver that value but the
value proposition is getting harder to identify
for each individual attendee and deliver it in
a cost-effective way.
spie.org
> A S S O C I A T I O N P O R T R A I T
Overall, the internet offers threats and opportunities and rather than condemming it, associations should be aware to use its full potential in social media to promote their meetings
SPIE Europe 2010, at the Comic Strip Museum, Brussels
SPIE Europe 2010 at SQUARE Brussels Meeting Centre - Exhibition
HEADQUARTERS 15
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HEADQUARTERS 17
Increased infl uence is one of the most impor-
tant challenges faced by associations which,
after all, are large, qualifi ed communities.
For them to be as performing as they possi-
bly can, they have to fulfi ll two criteria. First,
they have to shift to digital and long-term
solutions for dissemination of knowledge and
access to relevant information anytime, any-
where. Second, they have to offer attractive
services to members and nourish the com-
munity to help it grow. Both concepts rely
heavily on tools and the role of the internet
is no longer a question: the challenge is how
to manage it.
BUILDING TRUST IN AN ONLINE COMMUNITYThe traditional methods of networking and
connecting with colleagues are being compli-
mented by effi cient virtual methods. Online
communities offer up-to-date information,
connecting with diverse groups of people
despite geographical distances, and the
opportunity for members to contribute to
the learning of the whole.
While it is relatively easy to control a physical
environment, fears often arise when sharing
of digital information: who will see that infor-
mation? Can someone use the information
without prior consent? The need to build a
circle of trust and focus on quality manage-
ment of online communities is prevalent.
Tools have to be well designed and controls
must be put in place to protect information
and individuals.
PROVIDE RELEVANT CONTENT AND QUALITY SERVICESIn a discussion with one of Colloquium’s
clients it became clear that the online
strategy of the association needed to be
revamped. The chairman wanted to further
develop the online tools and create a
stronger virtual community. The members
were not active with the current tools, mostly
due to a lack of attractiveness and usability
of the members’ portal. But the association
showed great interest in terms of knowledge
sharing and collaboration. The solution
was to develop a tool allowing this medical
community to share clinical cases with
colleagues within a secure application which
limited access to certifi ed members; an
open-minded approach that brought great
interest from the membership and made the
online community more attractive.
‘As is the case for a congress, the value for an
association is the content. The added value is
what you do with it. Tomorrow, a congress of
3,000 participants will turn into 3,000
different congresses’, says Nicola Rossetti,
Business Services Director. ‘With complex
multi-datafl ow-entries, web-services and
other technical innovations coming up every
day, it is sometimes diffi cult to fi lter through
all the information and build a simple, effi cient
system with a relevant application. The KISS*
approach has never been so indispensable.’
The event industry is facing a shift from
traditional physical meetings to increased
technology and dissemination of information.
These trends won’t stop here, the innovation
cycle is faster than ever and our challenge is
to stay up to date with new technologies and
how they can be of benefi t to our clients.
*KISS stands for “Keep It Simple and Straightforward’
COLLOQUIUM, THE MAJOR PLAYER IN
THE ORGANISATION OF CONGRESSES,
CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA IN FRANCE
AND ABROAD, DESCRIBES HOW NEW
TECHNOLOGY PERMITS TO GATHER
COMMUNITIES IN A MORE IMPACTFUL WAY.
HQ> C O L L O Q U I U M
USING TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION
CONTACTS
Sophie Roux, Communication Manager
Philippe Brégaint, Sales Director:
More info on Colloquium
www.colloquium-group.com
As is the case for a congress, the value for an association is the content. The added value is what you do with it
Nicola Rossetti, Colloquium Business Services Director
HEADQUARTERS 18
MEMBERSHIP, THE ETERNAL PROBLEM OF ASSOCIATIONSASSOCIATIONS CAN ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL WHEN THEY TRULY REPRESENT THEIR
COMMUNITY. I REPRESENT A GLOBAL TRADE ASSOCIATION, AND I WAS VERY FORTUNATE
TO INHERIT A STRONG MEMBERSHIP WHEN I ARRIVED. HOWEVER, CONSOLIDATION AND
RESTRUCTURING TOOK THEIR TOLL. THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN TO ENSURE THAT
THE NEW PLAYERS IN THE MARKET WOULD SUPPORT THE ASSOCIATION.
TEXT LUC MAENE, PRESIDENT OF ESAE AND DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL FERTILIZER ASSOCIATION (IFA)
One reason I got involved in the association
world was the conviction that the time when
trade associations were considered to be
clubs had passed. Instead, provision of goods
and services for the benefi t of the members
had become all-important. Indeed, why would
a company join a trade association if there
were no added value?
Consolidation in the industry has made it
necessary to be innovative and recruit in
areas where membership is limited. If today
we are well represented in countries such as
Russia and China, it is because we have cus-
tomized our services, including the language
portals on our website. It all comes down to
value for money. But even beyond the trade
sector, an association will only be successful
if it provides quality service to its members.
We are currently experiencing an infor-
mation and communications explosion
that is challenging the raison d’être
of associations.
However, with
every challenge
come opportu-
nities. Those
associations
that see these opportunities will
be rewarded.
Membership will always be a critical
factor in associations. Nevertheless, I am
convinced that adding value to the com-
munity a association represents is the key
to success.
www.esae.org
Consolidation in the industry has made it necessary to be innovative and recruit in areas where membership is limited. If today we are well represented in countries such as Russia and China, it is because we have customized our services
Luc Maene
HEADQUARTERS 19
Luc ene
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FROM THE GROUND UPOVER THE YEARS, JUST ABOUT EVERY MEMBERSHIP MARKETING PROGRAM HAS BEEN INFLUENCED
BY TRADITION, INTERNAL POLITICS, OR DATABASE LIMITATIONS. SO IT WAS INTERESTING
WHEN I MET THE OTHER DAY WITH A TALENTED MARKETER WHO JOINED A GROUP THAT
PRESENTED HIM WITH A CLEAN SLATE FOR MEMBERSHIP MARKETING. SINCE ALMOST
NOTHING WAS IN PLACE, HE HAD TO BUILD THE MEMBERSHIP MARKETING
PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP. IT GOT ME TO THINKING, WHAT IF I WAS
IN THE SAME PLACE? WHAT IF MY ONLY MANDATE WAS TO GROW
MEMBERSHIP BASED ON SOUND MARKETING PRINCIPLES?
WHAT WOULD MY MEMBERSHIP MARKETING PROGRAM
LOOK LIKE? TEXT TONY ROSSELL
Here is my take on the programs that I would
put in place to get membership moving.
1. BUILD AWARENESS - My fi rst action
would be to harness the web. Aware-
ness is the fi rst step to any purchase.
And the leading source for information for
most people has become the Web. So mem-
bership development begins with using search
engine optimization, search engine advertis-
ing, ad networks, and social media to help
people who are seeking solutions provided
by an association to fi nd me. Tracking traffi c
sources and the effectiveness of keywords will
help me identify the people and the value that
my prospects are looking to fi nd.
Anyone coming to my web site would be
encouraged to register for a free associa-
tion newsletter. This allows me to add the
prospect to my database.
2. RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS -
The fastest growing membership
associations still rely on test-driven
membership acquisition campaigns as the
workhorse for gaining new members. Inef-
fective membership recruitment is the single
biggest marketing reason for declining or
stagnant memberships. So my second step
would be to establish regular mail and email
promotions to both house and outside lists,
And because these promotions will typically
be the largest outreaches that the associa-
tion will do, they statistically lend themselves
to head-to-head market tests. Testing will tell
me the best lists, offers, messages, and pack-
ages to use going forward.
3. ENGAGE NEW MEMBERS - Once a
new member joins my association,
he or she becomes the most likely
member not to renew. Almost all associations
show fi rst year members as the lowest renew-
ing cohort. The fi rst year is therefore referred
to as the conversion year for new members.
So once I get a fl ow on new members coming
to the association, I would establish a conver-
sion program. This type of effort is a multiple
step orientation that helps the member to
become engaged in the association. A sound
The fastest growing membership associations still rely on test-driven membership acquisition campaigns as the workhorse for gaining new members
HEADQUARTERS 20
conversion program certainly orients the
member to the products, services, and
opportunities provided by an association.
It also should generate a second interac-
tion with the member. This might be as
simple as having the members complete a
survey, but it optimally leads to a second
purchase by the member of a product
or attendance at a meeting. For exam-
ple, sending new members some kind of
voucher for their fi rst purchase can help
them engage the organization as both a
member and a customer.
A member who makes a second purchase
from an association before it is time for
the fi rst renewal is much more likely to
renew than the non-buying member.
4. UPGRADE MEMBERS - Ideally,
association membership should
not be a static product. Just as
car companies have introductory models,
family models, and luxury models to fi t
the changing needs and desires of buyers,
an association is wise to offer members
different service packages. So I would put
in place an upgrade (or up-sell) program to
move members from one membership tier
or product package to the next higher one.
It might be as simple as moving student
members to a professional membership,
adding additional periodicals to the mem-
bership package, or including newly pub-
lished books as a part of the membership.
5. RENEW MEMBERS - The days
of the three-part mailed renewal
series has come to an end.
Instead, effective renewal systems are
now built on multi-media contacts using a
combination of mail, email, phone, and fax
integrated with a Web renewal tool.
One of the reasons that I would put an
integrated program in place is because
survey research reveals the startling
reality of why most members fail to renew
- they simply forgot! It’s not because
members have become more forgetful. It is
because the competition for their attention
has increased. The use of multiple media
and higher frequency of contact helps to
break through the clutter that prevents the
renewal message from getting through.
6. REINSTATE MEMBERS - The
most likely member to come back
to an association is the one who
most recently left. So a reinstatement or
‘win back’ program is also a key practice
that I would put in place. Win back lends
itself to an integrated media approach.
Since there is an established business
relationship with the former member
that hopefully includes an email opt in,
mail, phone, and email are all acceptable
channels to use in communicating with a
former member. The messages to lapsed
members will highlight the outstanding
content that the member has missed in
the last few issues of the magazine and
upcoming networking opportunities that
he or she might want to take advantage of
with a renewed membership.
The win back program provides an impor-
tant secondary benefi t. A portion of mem-
bers will leave an association each year,
but a well run win back program serves
as a report card on the effectiveness of
the renewal system. A successful pro-
gram highlights a leaky renewal system.
An unsuccessful win back program
announces that your renewal program has
captured all the members who still had a
desire to stay with the association.
As you can see, my focus for all the
steps that I would put in place is prima-
rily results driven. My goal in building a
membership program from the ground
up would be to initiate a relationship and
work to retain it. Clearly there are product,
services and value issues with every
association that need to be addressed.
These are important, but beyond the scope
of what I am trying to address here.
However, I fi nd that in many cases asso-
ciations provide great value. They enjoy
a loyal and continuing membership.
Marketing is the missing ingredient to
membership success.
GROWING REVENUE THROUGH MEMBERSHIP PACKAGING LET’S LOOK AT AN INNOVATIVE AND
SUCCESSFUL TECHNIQUE THAT
ASSOCIATIONS CAN EMPLOY IN ORDER
TO GENERATE MORE REVENUE FROM
MEMBERS. THE TECHNIQUE IS RIGHT OUT
OF THE MARKETING 101 TEXTBOOK;
IT IS CALLED PRODUCT LINE EXTENSION.
TEXT TONY ROSSELL
Product line extension is defi ned by The
Marketing Dictionary as ‘adding depth to
an existing product line by introducing new
products in the same product category;
product line extensions give customers
greater choice and help to protect the fi rm
from a fl anking attack by a competitor’.
Associations are using this concept and
delivering added value, growing revenue,
and improving member retention by extend-
ing their membership product through
a tiered membership structure.
The ideal tiered membership allows members
to choose the value proposition that best
satisfi es their particular needs, professional
designation, or budget. For example, an
association might add a membership
category that includes books as part of the
membership. As soon as the association
publishes a new book it is sent out to these
higher dues paying ‘book members’.
HEADQUARTERS 21
P
When groups add this product to
membership, they tend to fi nd that the
books supplied to members become the
best selling books for the association
because the member books have seeded the
infl uencers in the fi eld who recommend the
book to others. Another example of a
bundled membership would be to automati-
cally include optional items like periodicals,
newsletters, or professional development
into a premier membership category.
Tiered membership, however, is NOT
à la carte membership. I believe that this
is not a good direction for associations.
A completely customized membership would
increase servicing costs and perhaps lower
overall product sales.
There are always members who want to
buy the Cadillac of your association’s
membership offerings. This approach of
bundled membership packages that allow
the member to select the membership tier
that best satisfi es his or her needs has been
executed effectively by the Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Develop-
ment (ASCD).
As presented on their website, their mem-
bership structure offers:
+ Express Membership - $29:
online only services
+ Basic Membership - $49: online services
plus subscriptions to the monthly
periodical and newsletter
+ Comprehensive Membership - $89:
basic benefi ts plus 5 association books
shipped as they are published
+ Premium Membership - $219: all of the
above plus an additional newsletter, four
additional books and a $100 professional
development voucher
+ Institutional Membership - $899:
a package that includes one Premium
membership and 10 Basic memberships
Another association that has looked
at adopting this model is the Water Envi-
ronment Federation (WEF). Jack Benson,
Deputy Executive Director of WEF, says:
‘As I look at different ways of extending our
membership product line, I am coming to
the conclusion that in a changing and
evolving marketplace, giving members a
choice of what will best serve their needs
makes sense. Providing members with a
variety of options and packages for them to
choose between allows our members to have
a level of customization to meet their
specifi c career and informa-
tion needs.’
In addition to generating a higher level of
revenue for an association, a tiered
structure pays some additional dividends;
tiered membership increases the perceived
value of membership and typically improves
member retention because members get the
specifi c products that they desire.
And the costs of offering a tiered member-
ship are often low. The benefi ts that
make up the bundles can be drawn from
existing programs and services, so the cost
to service the higher tiers is limited to the
incremental cost of shipping the items.
Furthermore, the association saves market-
ing dollars because the products do not
need to be separately sold to members.
Tony Rossell serves as the senior vice president of Marketing General, Inc., in Alexandria, Virginia. A frequent writer and speaker on marketing topics, he is a contributing author to two books, Membership Marketing (ASAE 2000) and Membership Essentials (ASAE 2008).
HEADQUARTERS 22
YOUR MEMBERSHIP SITE
HOW TO LAUNCH A MEMBERSHIP SITE
ATTRITIONThere is one key metric that you have to
watch carefully after launch - your attrition
rate. Attrition refers to the number of people
who drop out of your program, and obviously
the higher your attrition, the greater the
impact on your cashfl ow and profi tability.
Online membership sites can suffer from
high attrition, especially if you didn’t clearly
match the offer (or what your members
perceived as the offer) to what they
received. Other causes for a high attri-
tion are a poor match between price and
perceived value, over delivering content
causing information paralysis or not deliv-
ering enough, providing an inferior product
or service to what is available elsewhere, or
completely misaligning your offer with the
market you targeted.
From experience with my membership site
the biggest cause of attrition has been
too much content and/or too much work
involved. Of the people who leave the
program, the most common explanation is
that they cannot keep up with the workload,
usually accompanying a comment about how
great the content is. Whether they are just
being nice is up for debate, but clearly there
is a need to fi nd a balance where you over
deliver on member expectations without
providing so much that they can’t keep up.
In my case I feel that my members enjoy
one or two new pieces of content per week
but any more and they feel overwhelmed,
so I usually provide at the very least one
e-lesson, and provide a case study video or
audio download as well. Obviously not every
member is going to feel the same, but you
have to attempt to
satisfy the majority and accept that you
can’t please all of the people, all of the time.
With information overload a prevalent
problem online, you need to keep things
concise and to the point. Remember that
less can be more if what you provide is spot
on the money when it comes to meeting the
needs of your members.
There is one period, right at the beginning
when you fi rst open the doors to your site,
that you need to focus on over delivering
YOUR MEMBERSHIP SITE IS CHUGGING ALONG WITH THE FIRST GROUP OF MEMBERS, SO YOUR
ATTENTION MOVES FROM A FOCUS ON MARKETING DURING THE LAUNCH PHASES TO SERVING THE
EXISTING MEMBERS. WHILE YOU WON’T CEASE MARKETING ALTOGETHER, IT’S NOT LIKELY THAT YOU
WILL EVER PUSH AND WORK AS HARD AS YOU DID DURING THE PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH PHASES.
TEXT YARO STARAK
HEADQUARTERS 23
value. There has to be plenty of goodies
when a person fi rst joins, preferably even
a couple of unexpected bonuses, but at the
very least, you must deliver what you prom-
ised. After that you can drop the fl ow of new
content to something that takes 1-4 hours
a week to digest and another few hours to
execute (at bare minimum). That’s assuming
your membership site is based on education
through information.
REDUCING ATTRITIONYou will get a feel for what might be the cause
of attrition with your membership. Based on
your assumptions and feedback from people,
you can decide the best way to combat it and
test different responses until you settle on an
acceptable attrition rate (what is acceptable
is up to you, but obviously your profi t margin
plays a big part in that decision).
A common cause for attrition is a need to
fi lter members. Sometimes due to the nature
of the product or service you offer and the
way you market it, you attract a large quan-
tity of people who are not quite the right
target market, so you can never truly satisfy
them no matter what you change. However, if
you also hit a lot of members who absolutely
love what you provide, it becomes a matter
of slowly fi ltering until you isolate only the
perfect members for what you offer and
accept that a large chunk of people will quit
your program.
Once you know who your perfect members
are you can focus future marketing efforts
there, potentially being ever more fi nancially
sustainable despite having fewer members.
You work with a smaller group who benefi ts
greatly from membership with you. This is the
ideal situation to work towards, but it can take
some testing and feedback to fi nd the right fi t
between what you offer and how you position
yourself, to attract the perfect members.
THE TRIAL PERIOD MENTALITYA common problem - one I personally experi-
ence with my membership site - is the ‘trial
period’. Many members join your program
with the attitude of ‘I’ll try this for X amount
of time, and then leave’.
To combat the trial period attitude, provide
so much value every month that they decide
to stay, or strategically incentivise certain
periods of the membership cycle. Key periods
are just before the fi rst renewal point and the
third renewal. Providing a special bonus for
people who stay in the program past certain
points and explaining that you only get the
bonus if you stay, is one way to reduce the
impact of the ‘trial period’ mentality.
CONTENT IS NOT THE PROBLEMDon’t assume your high attrition rate is
because of content or product. In some cases
it’s not what you provide that is the problem,
it’s what members expect and what you stated
as your offer that is the real cause of attrition.
If the issue you address is even slightly mis-
aligned with the real problem your members
come to you to investigate, you will experi-
ence attrition. Sometimes you can reduce
attrition simply by changing how you explain
what you offer and not change a single
thing about the content or product that is
delivered. Aligning the conversation going on
in the head of your member with what your
membership site offers is critical.
Simply increasing the price you charge could
be the answer, or perhaps decreasing it will
work. Perhaps taking some content out or
adding new resources that combat certain
sticking points will do the trick. Maybe you
need to change how you deliver the content,
from digital to hard copy, or perhaps offer
both options at different pricing points. Or
maybe you need to target a completely dif-
ferent target market.
The answer is simple. You need to test and
change your offer - and all aspects of your
offer - until you fi nd out what maximizes
your return and satisfi es your membership.
The process of doing this however is not
something that can happen quickly and isn’t
always obvious. You might need to call in
third party expertize to help determine why
your membership site is not working how
you want it to.
IN THE END THE MARKET WILL DECIDEThe market itself plays a part too. Some
markets just can’t support a large member-
ship site or are not right for the membership
site model. Don’t feel bad if your membership
site doesn’t take off, instead, get busy testing
alternative models to deliver what you offer.
Perhaps a home-study program at a one
time fee will work better, or you could break
up the content into multiple products and
sell them individually. You don’t know what
will work best until you test, but at least by
launching a membership site you begin the
process of assessing what the market wants
and how best to satisfy that desire, plus you
produce content. Once you have content or a
product you can promote, the rest all comes
down to marketing.
One of the best ways to beat attrition is to
set up marketing mechanisms that bring in
new members faster than you lose them.
Obviously you want to work on both aspects,
fi nd out why people leave and bring on new
members - you want to fi x a leaking ship
before you fi ll it up with more people - but
at least from a mental perspective you feel
okay when you see as many new people join-
ing your program as you do leaving.
HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS FOR YOU In my experience joint ventures are the best
performing marketing method. If you can
Online membership sites can suffer from high attrition, especially if you didn’t clearly match the offer (or what your members perceived as the offer) to what they received
HEADQUARTERS 24
fi nd new partners or do new promotions with
existing partners, I believe this is the quickest
way to grow a membership base.
Pay per click advertising is something that
is always available and is by far the easiest
way to generate traffi c quickly. Whether that
traffi c converts into members is a matter of
optimizing your PPC ads, but this is defi nitely
one method that every membership site
owner should consider. Consider also target-
ing a completely different market. Remember
what you provide can be presented to a
different group of people by adjusting how
you present your offer, without changing the
product at all.
If you have not already, you could take your
marketing offl ine - try magazines, trade pub-
lications, newspapers, radio, television or any
form of publicity you can generate offl ine.
How about an article on marketing strategy
or banner advertising campaign, purchasing
paid reviews from blogs, or search engine
optimization, traffi c exchanges, building
content sites/blogs, promoting to ezine
newsletters or you could purchase
co-registration leads.
As I said, the options are endless, but of
course like everyone, you have a limited pool
of resources and your capabilities will dictate
the marketing techniques that are right for
your situation. If your budget is limited, joint
ventures, publicity, SEO and content produc-
tion are methods that can be implemented
with little or no fi nancial cost - it just takes
time and effort.
At some point, hopefully sooner rather than
later, you will be content with your attrition
and your ongoing marketing, and can turn
your attention towards providing value for
your members. If your membership site is
automated or the content already complete
then you can sit back and relax or move on
to your next project.
FINDING OUT ABOUT YOUR MEMBERS
It is simple and cost effective to conduct your own market research almost without your
members realising it. A member survey once a year should be at the top of your agenda in
getting to know your member base. It’s relatively easy to administer and should be able to
communicate with them on a regular basis.
The key to any survey is to understand what it is you are trying to fi nd out. It may be about
a specifi c area where you or they are having problems, it may be a general survey about
their membership, a new member survey after 3 months or perhaps an exit survey. Surveys
only work if they are conducted regularly and the members receive feedback - on both the
results and the next steps i.e. what you plan to do. You may also want to consider incentivis-
ing your surveys which always improves response rates.
As well as a more formal survey, there should be plenty of opportunity to talk to members
and get a general idea of how they regard the association. Your staff and board members
can be very useful here. Beware of people feeding back what they want you to hear. This is
often not deliberate but if it is a subject they themselves feel strongly about they may not
really be an independent observer.
Once you have gathered and analysed the information you have about your members then
you can begin sorting them into distinct groups. These may be governed by several factors
but however you choose to categorise them you will have a clear profi le of your key
member segments. Profi ling your members in this way means that you will now be able
to talk to them much more effectively.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
YO
UR
MEM
BERSH
IP
SIT
E
One of the best ways to beat attrition is to set up marketing mechanisms that bring in new members faster than you lose them
HEADQUARTERS 26
YOUR MEMBERS: KEEPING THEM, FINDING MOREIT IS EVIDENT THAT AN ASSOCIATION NEEDS TO KEEP ITS MEMBERS AND ALSO TO FIND
NEW CANDIDATES: BOTH ASPECTS REQUIRE EFFORT. THINK ABOUT THE VALUE OF YOUR
ASSOCIATION TO THE CURRENT MEMBERS, MAINTAIN THE ADVANTAGES OF MEMBERSHIP,
SO THAT YOU CAN DELIVER ALL YOU OFFERED, AND MORE.
TEXT JUDY WICKENS, VOLUNTEER AT THE UIA, RETIRED SECRETARY GENERAL OF T.I.C. (TANB.ORG)
For new activities, apply two tests: one is
whether the activity fi ts with the basic goal
of the association, the other is to consider
how the members will view the new proposal.
RETENTIONRetaining the members already on your list
should be your fi rst preoccupation: they
joined through interest in your association’s
objectives, you know who and where they
are. Members have a right to expect the
services offered when they joined, with sta-
bility and continuity, and natural extension of
your current programme, still pursuing your
stated mission.
With time, the means of working towards
those goals changes; a wide range of ideas for
new products or services can be generated
by brainstorming, networking, reading. The
association leader must judge the usefulness
and impact of each new proposal, accepting
only those which fi t with the objectives.
How can an association tell whether it is on
the right lines, as far as its members are
concerned? A classic method is to conduct
a survey. Careful design is essential, not
only imagining the potential replies, but also
whether the association will realistically be
capable of providing services if the members
favour them. A short list of alternatives is
more likely to produce a response and a
choice among projects, whereas leaving
a blank space open to all suggestions is
unwise, since members whose ideas are not
implemented will be disappointed. It should
be sent out at a period of the year when
your staff have time and opportunity to
analyse the results and to make practical and
detailed preparations for projects selected.
Be sure to tell your members about the
results and how you are responding: if they
feel that they spent time on their response
but you ignored it, they will be much less
likely to reply in future.
On a day-to-day basis, information on the
views of members should be collected by
diligent association staff listening to them
and reading their messages, not just during
a survey but on every possible occasion. Col-
lating information rather than fi ling notes as
soon as they have been dealt with will mean
that you notice trends as they emerge, when
the same topic arises repeatedly, either as a
HEADQUARTERS 27
positive inquiry or request or negatively as a
complaint.
It is also signifi cant when a product is not
mentioned for a while: are members no
longer interested? Perhaps you are putting
effort into an outdated item which should be
withdrawn, but before stopping, you should
warn members, so that they can indicate
whether they really do not care for this
particular feature or whether they are taking
its supply for granted. For both traditional
and new events, review thoughtfully to try to
understand why one event was fully booked
before the deadline, another had to be moved
to larger premises, while a third made a
loss because numbers were lower than you
expected: take note, learn from experience.
After all efforts to satisfy your members,
there will always be some who leave. If mem-
bers resign, and especially if they simply fail
to renew their membership, attempt to fi nd
out the reasons why. When a company has
sold its interests in the relevant industry, or a
professional has retired from an active career,
such members cannot be retained. Wish them
well for the future and part on good terms.
But members who left because they were
unhappy with your association will probably
tell others, which is not good for your reputa-
tion, hence it is worth your while to know why
they reached their decision and counter it. If
you cannot persuade these members to stay,
at least you can prevent others leaving on
similar grounds.
RECRUITMENTIn addition to keeping current members, an
association needs new ones, and should make
a specifi c effort to welcome new people.
Finding new members depends in some
respects on the nature of the membership.
The approach to individuals for a professional
society is different from a trade association
serving industry, for example.
For personal memberships, doctors or law-
yers, say, there is a natural turnover as the
older members retire, so you need to address
their younger replacements. You can encour-
age their older colleagues to bring them
along as ‘guests’ at a special low fee, and you
can extend an invitation addressed personally
to each newly qualifi ed professional, scanning
published results of appropriate colleges or
institutes.
For a trade association, member companies
can be encouraged to bring in their clients
or suppliers as new members, but cannot
be expected to bring their competitors, not
wishing their rivals to benefi t from network-
ing, statistics and industry news as they do.
But you can fi nd these potential members
through trade journals or registers, and
inform them of the advantages of your
association.
Employ opportunism, too. If guests from
non-member companies attend your events,
you can hand out a neatly presented package,
including application form, inviting them
to join, so that they can act immediately.
Equally, if you have assisted a non-member
with information or guidance, take the chance
to offer a membership application while
the inquirer is feeling that yours is a useful
organisation.
Nevertheless new members should be admit-
ted in accordance with the association’s
statutes and regulations; it is not a good
idea to short circuit the proper procedure,
for instance, to admit members randomly
throughout the year if the rule is that new
members must be elected formally by the
annual assembly. Instead, accept the applica-
tion on the basis that service will be provided
as though the applicant were already a
member until offi cial approval can be given,
effectively giving a free gift but one which
will engage the applicant until the right
moment comes.
Simply increasing numbers is not necessarily
an advantage: a membership roll which your
staff and resources can serve well is prefer-
able to having a number too large to manage.
If it appears that all suitably qualifi ed candi-
dates are already your members, modifying
the mission just to add numbers will not
be a success in the long run. Putting your
energy into improving your offer of services
or products is a better way to improving your
association.
When your events are listed in the UIA
Calendar, and your association is included
in the UIA Yearbook, interested new
members can fi nd you.
www.uia.org
In addition to keeping current members, an association needs new ones, and should make a specifi c effort to welcome new people. Finding new members depends in some respects on the nature of the membership. The approach to individuals for a professional society is different from a trade association serving industry
HEADQUARTERS 28
Set between the province of Alberta and the
Pacifi c Ocean, British Columbia in Canada is
a land renowned for its remarkable diversity
and mild climate, giving rise to an end-
less array of places to see and things to do
across the province. Mountains to marvel at
and climb; history to discover; art to adore;
endless beaches and cosmopolitan cities to
explore… you name it, they have it! And as
the home of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games, it is also a
great place to hold a meeting. From fi ve-star
resorts to rustic backcountry cabins, laid
back relaxation to white knuckle adventure,
the possibilities are endless.
British Columbia is Canada’s ‘outdoor play-
ground’ - offering year-round outdoor adven-
ture such as river rafting on the mighty Fraser,
world class skiing at Whistler Resort, kayaking
around the Gulf Island, whale watching in
Victoria, dude ranch vacations in the Cariboo
or wine tours around Kelowna in the Thompson
Okanagan. Also, as a congress destination, it
has a great deal to recommend it.
Green roof of Vancouver Convention Centre
Conferences between Pacifi c and Atlantic
CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA Land of diversity
HQ> C A N A D A
Canada offers a great alternative as a meeting destination. Bordering both the Pacifi c
and Atlantic Oceans, we are easily accessible from both the east and west coasts with
convenient direct fl ights from many European Cities to Canada’s gateway cities. The vast
country has a cosmopolitan and diverse culture with more than 43 ethnic groups
and both French and English are the two offi cial languages. The Canadian Tourism
Commission will also offer complimentary site inspection programmes and support with
airfares for qualifi ed decision makers to come and visit. Please visit our new website
www.meetings.canada.travel for further information to help plan your next conference,
meeting or incentive in Canada. We look forward to seeing you in Canada soon.
Best wishes!
Susan Frei,
Director, International Meetings & Incentives Canadian Tourism Commission
WELCOME TO CANADA. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THE
FOLLOWING SELECTION OF ARTICLES, AND THAT THEY GIVE YOU
SOME INSPIRATION FOR YOUR NEXT CONFERENCE OR INCENTIVE IN CANADA.
HEADQUARTERS 28
Atlantic Ocean
Hudson Bay
Arctic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Yukon
Northwest territories Nunavut
British columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Québec
Newfoundland and labrador
New brunswick
Prince edward island
Nova scotia
Whitehorse
Yellowknife
Victoria
Edmonton
Regina
Winnipeg
Iqaluit
Toronto
Québec City
Halifax
Charlottetown
Fredericton
St. John’s
VancouverCalgary Saskatoon
Montréal
Océan Atlantique
Baie d’ Hudson
Océan Arctique
Océan Pacifique
Territoires du nord-ouest
Colombie-britannique Terre-neuve-et-labrador
Nouveau-brunswick
Île-du-prince-édouard
Nouvelle-écosse
Québec
Ottawa
HEADQUARTERS 29
Whistler Conference Centre
IN VANCOUVERVancouver is a dynamic, multicultural city
set in a spectacular natural environment. It
consistently rates as one of the top 10 meeting
and convention destinations year after year -
voted most popular city in North America for
international meetings by ICCA three years in a
row! Selected as one of the most livable cities in
the world, Vancouver was the proud host of the
2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games.
An icon on the downtown waterfront and
defi nitely the city’s main asset when it comes
to meetings, the Vancouver Convention Centre
is renowned worldwide for service excellence,
technical capabilities and distinctive West
Coast Cuisine. Comprised of two uniquely
designed buildings - Vancouver Convention
Centre East and West - the Centre is centrally
located, surrounded by ocean and mountains,
and perfectly balanced by a vibrant, urban
downtown inhabited by world-class restau-
rants, hotels and shopping. The facility covers
111,500 m2 or four city blocks, with the West
building built 60% on land and 40% over
water. With one of the largest living green
roofs in the world, which features more than
400,000 indigenous plants and four beehives,
Vancouver Convention Centre has defi nitely
taken a big step towards the future.
Whether it’s a large citywide event or a small
conference, fi nding the right convention hotel is
an all-important task, and in Vancouver it’s easy!
From fi ve-star hotels to university residences,
there are more than 24,000 rooms available
in Greater Vancouver including 15,000 rooms
within walking distance of the downtown conven-
tion facilities. And with hundreds of thousands
of square metres of meeting space you’re sure
to fi nd something to suit your needs.
IN VICTORIAThere are many great reasons to choose
Victoria as a host city. Mild climate, spectacu-
lar setting, friendliness and culture are among
them. Once voted #1 City in the Americas by
the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler, Victoria is
located on Vancouver Island, just 30 kilome-
tres from Vancouver’s mainland.
As the capital city of British Columbia,
Victoria has a rich cultural and architectural
heritage, with a distinctly British twist - from
brew pubs to carriage rides, famous castles
and heritage buildings.
The Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) offers
6,780 m2 of functional meeting space with
16 meeting rooms, a large exhibit hall, and a
400-seat lecture theatre. An open plaza and
magnifi cent entry foyer create a bright, wel-
coming environment indoors and outdoors.
This mix of multi-purpose function space is
ideally suited for groups from 400 to 1,500.
The VCC recently acquired an additional
2,325 m2 of function space. The Crystal
Garden, a historic icon of the city adjacent to
the existing facility, is also available for hire
and is simple a gem!
Last but not least, incredible eco-adventures
are literally steps from the Centre, where
you can hop on a salmon fi shing charter,
head out for a whale watching trip or kayak
around our beautiful coastline. The environ-
ment is breathtaking, from a simple walk by
the sea to great hiking in the many parks and
forests around.
IN WHISTLERWorld-renowned as one of North America’s
top golf, mountain biking and skiing resort
destinations, Whistler is nestled amongst
the spectacular Coast Mountains of British
Columbia. Located a scenic two-hour drive
north of Vancouver up the spectacular Sea
to Sky Highway, Whistler has long estab-
lished itself as a leading destination for con-
ferences and events. New meeting locations
and tourism opportunities further add to
the appeal of this destination which was the
Host Mountain Resort for the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games.
Whistler offers approximately 14,000 m2 of
conference space in a variety of venues. The
renovated Whistler Conference Centre offers a
central meeting location with 3,700 m2 of usable
space. A total of 3,200 hotel rooms, and more
than 5,000 other tourist accommodation units
including condos, B&Bs and chalets are available
- allowing Whistler to accommodate in excess of
24,000 overnight visitors.
In addition to the Whistler Conference Centre,
the resort boasts an impressive range of meet-
ing space among several branded hotels includ-
ing Four Seasons, Fairmont, Westin, Hilton,
Delta and the Pan Pacifi c. It’s worth noting that
Whistler is keen to be green: it boasts some
exciting new meeting locations, built with sus-
tainable practices to suit their alpine setting.
Victoria Conference CentreVancouver Stanley Park
VANCOUVER, THE FACTS
HARD FACTS
Number of international fl ights per week 224Number of airlines that service the destination 50 Total number of rooms in the greater city area 36,000
MEETING/VENUE FACILITIES
Venue Name Largest Largest Plenary Exhibition (fl at/tiered) Space (sq.m.)
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre 8,000 8,473
2009 Expansion 15,000 20,905
BC Place Stadium 13,508/60,000 22,947
General Motors Place Stadium 2,106/ 20,000 8,452
University of British Columbia 3,200 1,635
> C A N A D A
or
d
HEADQUARTERS 30
Alberta lies between British Columbia and
Saskatchewan. Its capital city, Edmonton,
is the most northerly major city in Canada,
and serves as a gateway and hub for
resource development in northern Canada.
Approximately 300 kilometers south of the
capital is Calgary, Alberta’s largest city and
a major distribution and transportation hub.
As such, Alberta has one of the strongest
economies in Canada, making it very
interesting for economy and industry
related conferences and events.
It has been a few years since Alberta pro-
moted itself as a meetings destination and
as the CTC decided to be more visible and
active on the European market, I was kindly
invited on a press trip to discover the jewels
of Alberta. And guess what? Whether you’re
looking to host a meeting in a charming
alpine castle or a conference at an all-star
urban convention centre, Alberta’s facilities
will reward you far beyond the walls of a
boardroom.
CONGRESSING IN THE CITYAlberta is a land of contrasts. In the whole
week I stayed there, I was taken to places
with countless possibilities, both city and
more ‘nature’ wise. My meetings adventures
fi rst took me to Calgary, where delegates will
defi nitely enjoy its cosmopolitan atmosphere,
easy accessibility and safe environment. For
quite a big city, it doesn’t bear the hassles of
big-city problems. And, with the spectacular
Canadian Rockies only an hour’s drive from
the city’s centre, it’s also easy to offer pre-
and post-meeting outdoor adventures!
For large events, the following venues are
just ideal. Situated right downtown, Telus
Convention Centre accommodates up to
4,000 delegates. Connected by a network
of enclosed pathways to three four-star
hotels - the Calgary Marriott, the Fairmont
Palliser and the Hyatt Regency Calgary - the
capacity goes up to 17,000 m2 of space, in
addition to 1,100 guest rooms! I also have
to mention the Calgary Stampede, which
bills itself as the ‘Greatest Outdoor Show
on Earth’. This large festival, exhibition and
rodeo lasts for 10 days every summer from
early to mid-July and might be an ideal time
to hold a meeting!
Edmonton, rightly nicknamed the ‘festival
city’, is a gateway destination fi lled with
contrasts. The province’s largest venue of its
kind, the Shaw Conference Centre, accom-
modates up to 7,000 people. And you should
see the views there are from its fl oor-to-ceil-
ing windows! Northlands Park is also worth
mentioning, as they are expanding their
conference facilities as we speak. Located on
the outskirts of the city, it welcomes as many
as 17,000 delegates!
The Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton
was another highlight of my trip. Currently
undergoing a major expansion program, the
striking new 8,000-m2 facility is scheduled
to open January 31, 2010. Designed by
renowned architect Randall Stout, this signa-
ture building will become both a downtown
landmark and a great meeting venue.
CONGRESSING IN NATURE But it’s the driving between Calgary and
Edmonton that took my breath away. Stretch-
ing over 400 kilometers, along the jagged
SUSTAINABLE ALBERTA
Although oil is the #1 resource in Alberta
the province, and the meetings industry,
have shown a commitment towards sus-
tainability. This includes:
+ Leadership in Environmental and
Energy Design certifi cations of
several buildings in Calgary
+ a zero-waste programme in the Telus
Convention Centre in Calgary. They
got the 2005 Go Green BOMA Environ-
ment Award in recognition of responsi-
ble environmental practices in Building
Operations
+ the Homeless Connect programme,
which, in the Shaw Conference Centre
in Edmonton, brings together over
25 agencies helping the community’s
poorest
+ the Fairmont Green Partnership
programme exceeds meeting planner
expectations about operational
sustainability
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Art Gallery of Alberta
© C
alg
ary
Tel
us
Conven
tion
Cen
tre
© R
an
dall S
tou
t A
rch
itec
ts I
nc.
MEETING IN ALBERTA Land of contrasts
> C A N A D A
HEADQUARTERS 31
> C A N A D A
crest of the Rockies, Banff is Canada’s oldest
national park, while Jasper is the largest - and
I drove through a good part of both of them!
Together they embrace a patchwork of vast
summits and unbelievably blue-green lakes
and the good news is you can hold any kind
of meetings - of course not as large as in the
cities - in this stunning, truly inspirational
landscape!
In this area, two Fairmont Hotels defi nitely
stand out. The Fairmont Banff Springs is a
world-renowned symbol of Canadian hospi-
tality. Looking almost like a gigantic Bavarian
castle in the Black Forest, the hotel offers
768 guestrooms and suites. As for meetings,
it boasts more than 7,000 m2 of meeting
and banquet space. Nestled on the shores
of postcard perfect Lake Louise - with the
bluest water ever! - the Fairmont Chateau
Lake Louise was designed by Canadian
Pacifi c Railway’s chief architect Walter
Painter. The meeting space available meas-
ures 3,500 m2 and there are even guides
on-site if you want to take your delegates for
a hike to see white goats and grizzli bears!
I’m sure the association planner will also
like Banff Centre, an educational institution
whose mission is to inspire creativity and
which provides meeting and accommodation
facilities with over 400 guest rooms and 60
meetings spaces, lecture theatres, and audi-
toriums to accommodate groups from 5 to
1,000 people. Here the impact of the inspir-
ing mountain location, the creative atmos-
phere, and the strong, friendly support from
the staff will make any event one-of-a-kind.
To conclude, I will stress the fact that
everything is big in Alberta: the hotels, the
roads, the cars, everything! It lends a kind of
serenity to the overall atmosphere. I mention
that because I feel it’s very important for a
meeting to be held in the most ideal environ-
ment possible. You can forget the occasional
‘crowded’ feeling you can get in a city, here
you can take a deep breath, thinking the sky
is the limit!
Northlands Park
WINNIPEG (MANITOBA) Celebrating art, culture… and meetings
Imagine a city where arts and culture are
celebrated on every corner, a city whose
multiculturalism shines bright, a city
with award-winning culinary creations
from some of the best chefs in Canada
and home to some of the country’s most
celebrated fashion and jewellery design-
ers. That’s Winnipeg, Manitoba - and it’s
also a great place to meet.
As one of the 2010 Culture Capitals of
Canada, Winnipeg is a city where people
truly can experience a wide array of
world-class arts and culture on every
corner every night of the week, from
ballet to theatre to symphony and opera.
Meanwhile, several galleries and museum
offer stunning and provocative local and
international exhibits.
Winnipeg will also be home to the much
anticipated Canadian Museum for Human
Rights. Opening in 2012, and located at
The Forks, the site where Aboriginal tribes
have gathered for thousands of years, it
will be a beacon for Canadians and for
people around the world to explore human
rights and to promote dialogue, under-
standing, and respect.
WHERE TO MEETAs for meetings, Winnipeg Convention
Centre, along with its many other ameni-
ties, is the place to be: it offers over 15,000
m2 of meeting space, for up to 7,200
people! This ‘Go Green’ certifi ed facility
combines state-of-the-art meetings tech-
nology with a wide array of distinct meeting
rooms to offer meeting planners unparal-
leled service and fl exibility. Two conference
hotels also deserve some pointing out:
Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre
for groups of up to 1,950 and Fort Garry
Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre, which
can accommodate up to 1,000 delegates.
The city’s fi rst class, state-of-the-art
multipurpose sports and entertainment
facility, MTS Centre is located in the heart
of downtown and, as a three-concourse
facility, it provides confi gurations for
international conventions, trade shows and
large-scale sports and entertainment spec-
tacles but is also an ideal location for more
intimate social and business gatherings.
Winnipeg’s universities and colleges also
offer the perfect setting for a variety of
sized meetings and conferences. From
western Canada’s oldest university, the
University of Manitoba, to the hip and
urban location of University of Winnipeg,
to the park-like setting of the Canadian
Mennonite University, you’re likely to fi nd
the perfect university venue that will suit
your needs best.
HEADQUARTERS 32
And if you want something your del-
egates will remember for years to come,
you can try the many off-site venues that
Winnipeg boasts. From Fort Gibraltar, a
replica of a historic trading fort, to the
rooftop of the Winnipeg Art Gallery to the
Royal Canadian Mint, some of the city’s
facilities are as unique as your needs.
Many of the venues are a testament to
the history of the settlement of Win-
nipeg and all are a refl ection of prairie
hospitality.
As for accommodation, what Winnipeg
has to offer is great, with over 6,200 hotel
rooms citywide, 2,600 located downtown.
Establishments throughout the city deliver
superior meeting service, whether grand
or intimate, one event or many. You’ll rest
assured knowing that you’re receiving the
best of Winnipeg’s hospitality when you tap
into our strong sales and marketing part-
nerships, whether through Team Winnipeg
or Winnipeg Options West.
WHEN FESTIVAL MEETS NATUREWinnipeg’s festivals are a true refl ection
of the diversity, heritage and character
of the community who have nurtured and
encouraged the city’s creative environ-
ment. With over 140 festival-days a year,
every season is a reason to get out and
celebrate. Among the many others of
course let’s mention the internation-
ally celebrated Doors Open, the highly
regarded Jazz Winnipeg Festival and some
of Canada’s oldest, most respected and
longest-running festivals, the Winnipeg
Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre
Festival and Folklorama.
Getting up close and personal with nature
is also possible in Winnipeg and that’s just
great for pre- or post-conference tours.
Naturally beautiful and just outside Winni-
peg, Oak Hammock Marsh and FortWhyte
Alive offer breathtaking scenic views
of untouched Prairie landscape. For an
experience of a lifetime and if you’re will-
ing to fl y out, you can visit Churchill for an
unforgettable polar bear or beluga whale
excursion. From thousands of fresh water
lakes to sandy beaches to lush urban parks
to over 30 golf courses located within city
limits, the great outdoors simply abounds
in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is a city where people truly can
experience a wide array of world-class
arts and culture on every corner. The
world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet,
Le Cercle Molière - the longest running
theatre company in North America, Win-
nipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba
Theatre Centre - Canada’s oldest regional
theatre, and Prairie Theatre Exchange
are some of the many arts organizations
in the city.
> C A N A D A
Winnipeg’s festivals are a true refl ection of the diversity, heritage and character of the community who have nurtured and encouraged the city’s creative environment
TOP REASONS TO CHOOSE WINNIPEG AS A MEETINGS DESTINATION
+ Winnipeg is the diversity capital of Canada.
Its architecture, people, cuisine, languages
spoken, festivals, special events, cultural of-
ferings and facilities are some of the most
unique and interesting in the country.
+ Winnipeg is one of the most affordable
cities in Canada. Accommodation choices
range from modern web-enabled high-tech
marvels to cozy bed and breakfast homes
to familiar modern regional and interna-
tional brands.
+ Winnipeg is at the geographic centre of
the continent. And once in Winnipeg, you
are only 15 minutes from anywhere you
want to be.
+ Unique venues such as Fort Gibraltar - a
full sized wooden replica of a frontier fort,
or a stunning historical jewel - the 1911
newly refurbished CIBC Bank building. Use
a museum gallery as a reception facility
or let one of our two ultra modern casinos
host your group.
+ Winnipeg is a destination with four distinct
seasons. This brings a variety of options to
your group.
+ Winnipeg is home to a world-class arts
community. Ballet, theatre, visual arts,
opera, contemporary dance, jazz, pop,
blues, symphonic music : you name them,
they have them!
+ Unique culinary experiences: Winnipeg
chefs blend infl uences from around the
world, then add in local specialties.
+ A creative and approachable Team Winni-
peg is standing by to assist your group with
all the details and the perfect itinerary that
will make certain that your group’s objec-
tives are met in a relaxed and stimulating
environment.
+ Winnipeg has an outstanding reputation
as a location for national and international
conventions. The city has played host to
the Robert Burns World Federation Limited,
the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers
and theInvestors Group Apex Summit to
name just a few.
Winnipeg Convention Centre Canadian Museum for Human Rights
HEADQUARTERS 33
> C A N A D A
Culturally diverse, Ontario is Canada’s most
populated province, largest economy and
has pretty much everything, from small
towns and resorts on the edge of wilder-
ness to upscale cosmopolitan centres. Over
250,000 freshwater lakes guarantee that
any meeting can and probably will enjoy a
blue setting. Ontario’s shield of arms boasts
three golden maple leaves on a green
background, just like the province’s meeting
industry boasts three golden meeting desti-
nations: Toronto, Niagara and Ottawa.
TORONTO, THE CITY THAT MEANS ‘MEETING PLACE’ Ever-evolving and ever-surprising, Toronto,
which derives from the Huron First Nations
word for ‘meeting place’, is one of the most
cosmopolitan cities in the world, a place
where international ideas intersect, original
thought is celebrated and magic happens as
a result. Here you’ll fi nd unparalleled service,
easy access, an excellent convention infra-
structure with fi rst-class and conveniently
located conference facilities, exemplary
accommodations, stunning architecture and
meeting places, over 7,000 restaurants, arts
and attractions unlike anywhere else in the
world… And that’s just the beginning!
Tourism Toronto’s award-winning meeting
services continue to be #1 in Canada. No
request is too big or too small. And with an
established track record of hosting extraordi-
nary meetings, conventions and events,
Toronto will exceed your expectations in
ways you may never have imagined. The city
is easily accessible being the Canadian gate-
way for international travel with 76 airlines
offering international fl ights to and from
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
The convention facilities there are expanding
at a remarkable rate. To ensure the city main-
tains its place as a key destination for major
congresses, four convention facilities in the
Toronto area - the Metro Toronto Conven-
tion Centre, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto
Congress Centre and International Centre
have all completed signifi cant renovations
and growth. Most recently, the Direct Energy
Centre unveiled a $47-million expansion, the
Allstream Centre - a conference facility with
15,000 m2 of ballroom and meeting space.
The trend toward high-end residence hotels
is more evident than ever in the city, with
players like Trump International, Ritz Carlton,
Four Seasons and Shangri-La, all build-
ing fi ve-star properties in Toronto, further
enhancing what is already widely recognized
to be one of North America’s best overall
hotel scenes. Close to 1,000 lavish hotel
rooms and suites are slated for completion
between 2010 and 2013, adding to Toronto’s
current 38,941 hotel room total.
NIAGARA - ONE WONDER AFTER ANOTHER!Beyond Toronto’s limits are breathtaking
attractions. The new Niagara Falls is a true
Canadian wonder for meetings, conferences
and events for groups of 10 to 7,000 at every
price point while highlighting the best views of
the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
Soon to open in April 2011 is the 26,000 m2
Niagara Convention and Civic Centre that
includes a 7,500 m2 free-span exhibition hall;
a distinctive 1,600 m2 ballroom; 2,500 m2 of
There’s no place like
ONTARIO
Toronto
Niagara Falls
HEADQUARTERS 34
Innovative, creative and culture-driven,
Québec is an irresistible mix combining
traditional charm and sophisticated
vibes. The province has also been a
crossroads for trade, business and
fi nance over the centuries and is
recognised worldwide for its cutting-
edge research and development.
Québec is defi nitely special. Not only
because of the predominantly French-
speaking population or its status as
the largest Canadian province, but also
because its two main cities have estab-
lished a solid reputation as congress
destinations.
QUÉBEC CITYEuropean charm, history, culture, and
adventure await you in this four-century-
old but ever-so-exciting city! In Québec
City you have the freedom to do and try
practically everything. The city is home
to a world-class tourism infrastructure
providing a full range of visitor amenities
and comforts.
Conventions, conferences, seminars,
workshops on every scale are a natural
for Québec City, with its 17,250 room
lodging capacity. Whether you’re look-
QUÉBEC A unique combination of old and new
fl exible meeting and breakout space; an inti-
mate 1,000 seat theatre; fi eld to table menu
design. The convention centre is located just
500 meters from the Horseshoe Falls, and
allows delegates to enjoy the local attrac-
tions after the business day is complete.
Complimenting this progressive space are
5,000 upscale hotel rooms minutes from the
convention centre. Internationally recognized
brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton,
Embassy Suites combined with the Fallsview
Casino Resort as well as smaller boutique
properties offer guests stunning views of the
Falls. The Hilton Hotel and Suites Niagara
Falls/Fallsview welcomes delegates to their
newly constructed 500 two room suites,
which 53 stories allows boasting rights as the
tallest hotel in Canada and 10th highest in
North America.
The Niagara Region’s offering of offsite
venues is extensive. Enjoy local cuisine under
the stars or within a barrel cellar at an award
winning winery; the thrill of the Niagara River
rapids on the Whirlpool Jet Boats; friendly
competition at any of our championship golf
courses; games of chance or a show at an
area casino; one of the many lush gardens
along the Niagara Parkway. Local theatre
includes a vast array from the works of Ber-
nard Shaw at the Shaw Festival Theatre to
the Las Vegas-style magician, Greg Frewin.
ONE-OF-A-KIND OTTAWANestled on the banks of several majestic rivers,
Ottawa is one of the most beautiful G8 capitals
in the world. Opening in April 2011, the all-new
Ottawa Convention Centre will be in the heart
of this city, boasting 18,000 m2. A sweeping
windowed façade will afford panoramic views
of Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal (UNESCO
World Heritage Site), Confederation Square,
and the National Arts Centre. Delegates will
step outside and be just moments away from
recreational paths and the ByWard Market
shopping and restaurant district - not to men-
tion 6,000 downtown hotel rooms. And the
facility will be directly linked to the 180-store
Rideau Centre, the 495-room Westin Ottawa,
and ample indoor parking.
Ottawa’s many museums provide ample
opportunity for special events. The National
Gallery of Canada is an architectural mas-
terpiece and home to the country’s national
collection of art, as well as a spectacular
Great Hall (450 pax) with a fabulous view of
Parliament Hill. It also offers an Auditorium,
seminar rooms, a lecture hall, and distinctive
reception areas. The Canadian War Museum’s
impressive LeBreton Gallery can host up to
600 people banquet style, plus the Museum’s
Barney Danson Theatre offers a unique
venue for presentations, dinners and recep-
tions. Strathmere is a beautiful 200-acre
estate with several outdoor meeting spaces,
offering a creative, stimulating and relaxed
environment for learning, while Mother
Nature offers the chirping birds, blue skies,
and warm summer breezes.
Ontario’s shield of armsboasts three golden maple leaves on a green background, just like the province’s meeting industry boasts three golden meeting destinations: Toronto, Niagara and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa Parliament
> C A N A D A
HEADQUARTERS 35
ing for a luxury hotel, a boutique hotel with
its own special character, or a resort hotel
right near downtown, Québec City combines
North American comfort and effi ciency with
European charm.
Meeting rooms in the major hotels have con-
vention facilities that can easily host several
hundred participants in comfortable and
welcoming surroundings. And for major events,
the Québec City Convention Center and Expo-
Cité Exhibition Center are just what you need.
Québec City is a thriving business centre
well served by an international airport, rail
links, and an effi cient highway network. Train
and plane connections are very convenient,
with dozens of daily fl ights to and from Jean
Lesage International Airport just 16 km from
downtown.
Québec City is proud of its 400-year his-
tory. The only walled city north of Mexico, it
proudly displays a history where French and
British infl uences mingle and interweave.
From the fortifi cations encircling the Old
City to the Citadel standing guard over the
St. Lawrence, the Martello towers, and the
Parliament Building where Québec’s political
life plays out, the city is home to a myriad of
treasures that will delight history buffs.
Included on UNESCO’s list of world heritage
sites, the historic fortifi ed section of the
city evokes the charm of the old coun-
try with its narrow, winding streets and
profusion of shops, museums, and other
attractions.
MONTRÉALMontréal ranked fi rst in North America for
international meetings in 2009, according
to the International Congress and Conven-
tion Association (ICCA), a testament to the
city’s expertise and service, and ability to
accommodate any group size. The Palais
des Congrès (Convention Centre) offers
the latest in technology and services in the
revitalised Quartier international, between
downtown and the Old Port. Other facilities
are within walking distance of hotels that
include American and international chains,
as well as recent boutique-style buildings. Of
the 26,500 room total, 15,000 are downtown
and 4,000 connect directly with the Conven-
tion Centre via the Underground Pedestrian
Network walkways.
No matter where you turn, it seems that this
city’s raison d’être is to celebrate life. The term
‘block party’ takes on a new meaning here, as
thousands converge on traffi c-free streets to
enjoy the colourful summer line-up of perform-
ances. Formula 1 fans get their fi ll of speed
and high-performance engines in June; jazz
lovers keep time to the music of their favourite
artists at the 11-day Jazz Fest, and comedy
buffs can indulge in a full month of gut-busting
good times with the Just for Laugh’s hilarious
line-up. This city is where art meets festival fun
- 24/7. Films, beer, food and sports are also on
the star-studded events calendar.
Montréal has a cosmopolitan reputation
other cities yearn for. Undeniably, its 360
years of history are at the root; the city has
been in turn a French settlement and a British
stronghold. Today, the confl uence of cultures
from around the globe continues to leave its
mark on Montréal’s multifaceted and spirited
character. For a meeting with the city’s past,
stroll the cobblestone streets of Old Montréal
and admire its architecture; the area is now
home to boutique hotels and award-winning
addresses that bring luxury to new heights.
Its galleries, churches, squares and quiet
spaces make it only one of many fascinating
neighbourhoods worth exploring on foot.
Old Québec
Québec City Convention Centre
©sc
cq > C A N A D A
6 GOOD REASONSFOR CHOOSING QUÉBEC1. Accommodation and fi rst-rate facilities.
Québec City and Montréal have a hotel
and service network that enjoy an enviable
reputation worldwide.
2. Authentic charm. European appeal
combined with North American lifestyle.
3. Easy to get to. Easily accessible by
highway, train and air.
4. Nature on your doorstep. A host of
outdoor activities are minutes away.
5. Arts and entertainment. The cultural
agendas of the cities are action-packed.
6. Dining at its fi nest. The region is often
called the gourmet capital of North America!
HEADQUARTERS 36
The Atlantic Ocean defi nes Canada’s east-
ernmost provinces. Thus, participants of
any conference, meeting or other event in
these two provinces will surely be inspired
by the spray of the sea, the fresh air and
the cry of the free seabirds. If that won’t do
it, the excellent facilities certainly will.
Nova Scotia is a province located on
Canada’s southeastern coast. Its capital,
Halifax, is the major economic centre of
Atlantic Canada. The province of Newfound-
land and Labrador actually comprises two
parts: mainland Labrador and the island of
Newfoundland.
NOVA SCOTIANova Scotia has long been a centre for artistic
and cultural excellence. Halifax has emerged
as the leading cultural centre in the Atlantic
region, as well as a multicultural municipality,
ready to welcome international delegates.
The heart of Halifax has more than 3,500
hotel rooms. Almost 1/3 of these are con-
veniently connected by an enclosed pedway
system to our premier meeting facility, the
World Trade & Convention Centre. Halifax has
the feel of a small town and the amenities of a
big city, so getting around is easy and hassle-
free. Whether serving 10 people or 1,000
people, the service, and food and beverage
offerings are fi rst class. Being centrally located
in downtown Halifax also gives delegates a
chance to step outside during a break and
enjoy the city’s delights. And we don’t even
mention Halifax Metro Centre, the wonderful
10,000-seat entertainment/sporting facility!
Halifax is home to many performance venues,
namely the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, the
Neptune Theatre, and The Music Room. Major
cultural attractions include the Symphony
Nova Scotia, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
and Neptune Theatre. Unique venues include
the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site,
where delegates can participate in the ‘Sol-
dier for a Day’ incentive programme alongside
kilted 78th Highlanders. Take a cruise around
the Halifax Harbour aboard a fully-catered Tall
Ship or have a cocktail reception at The Mari-
time Museum of the Atlantic, located on the
Halifax waterfront, where guests can mingle
amongst traditional Nova Scotian wooden ves-
sels. Nightly live music, renowned restaurants
and special events ensure that delegates are
entertained after hours.
A wide variety of festivals celebrate the local
music, history, culture, arts, food and wine of
the region. The Atlantic Film Festival, The Royal
Nova Scotia International Tattoo, The Multi-
cultural Festival, periodic Tall Ship events, the
Nova Scotia Fall Wine Festival and Shakespeare
by the Sea are just a few of the highlights of a
packed events calendar year-round.
From glorious green springs to the vibrant
colours of fall and the warmest winters
in Canada, Halifax and Nova Scotia offer
numerous things to do, see and experience
year-round. Whether it is a round of golf,
the one-of-a-kind scenery at Peggy’s Cove
Lighthouse (one of the most photographed
and well known lighthouses in the world),
wine tasting in Grand Pré or a coastal drive
to Lunenburg, you’re never far away from the
ocean in Nova Scotia.
With US pre-clearance, Halifax Stanfi eld
International Airport has direct air access to
9 primary US cities, with direct air access to
Frankfurt, London, Heathrow and Gatwick,
Reykjavik and France, Iceland and the Carib-
bean, and of course, across Canada. The
Halifax harbour is the second largest deepest
natural harbour in the world and welcomes
more than 250,000 passengers annually
from 20 cruise lines.
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADORWhere else in North America could you see
ten thousand year old icebergs cross paths
with migratory humpback whales? Newfound-
land and Labrador of course! The province’s
capital, St. John’s, has the look and feel of
a larger city, but with its colourful houses,
history and warm friendly people it leaves
delegates with a unique sense of place that
they can’t experience anywhere else. Associa-
NOVA SCOTIA & NEWFOUNDLANDNova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador
Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse WTCC Halifax
> C A N A D A
HEADQUARTERS 37
tions are attracted by the ever-growing Oil
and Gas industry and oil related confer-
ences and meetings follow. This lucrative
industry has improved the economy of the
region and thus also the infrastructure.
More hotels have been built and exist-
ing hotels are increasing in size and are
constantly making improvements to their
facilities to meet market demands.
St. John’s is a meeting planners delight.
Groups feel like they ‘own’ or ‘take over’
the city when they are there. With over
25,000 m2 of meeting space and over
1,000 hotel rooms in the downtown core,
groups of up to 2,000 can experience a
city that not only extends a welcome sign
in their store windows to groups, but they
know who you are and why you’re here.
It’s a growing city with the feel of small
town hospitality that invites you to relax
and experience all it has to offer.
There is no such thing as an accidental
tourist in Newfoundland. One would have
to choose to come here to experience all
the island has to offer. There is an increase
of about 15% in delegate attendance
for conferences that hold their event in
Newfoundland and Labrador in summer as
it gives delegates an opportunity to visit
a place they have never been before but
a place they have always heard about and
wanted to experience. Through conference
surveys, delegates attending a confer-
ence in St. John’s come early or stay late
to visit the rural areas and maximize the
opportunity to explore the region. Some
delegates bring families and make it a
family vacation. Why choose to attend a
meeting in St. John’s… why not? Attending
a meeting or conference here allows you
to taste, feel and experience a destination
that leaves you with a sense of longing for
more. This explains why we see so many
delegates returning to vacation with fami-
lies in future years.
The air access is also a bonus! Direct air
access from Europe through Heathrow
Airport via Air Canada. St. John’s is only
a 5 hour fl ight from the UK and the fl ight
schedule offers excellent connection
times from European gateways.
Nova Scotia is a province located on Canada’s southeastern coast. Its capital, Halifax, is the major economic centre of Atlantic Canada
NewfoundlandCabot Tower in St. John’s
Halifax
> C A N A D A
Did you know you can get to Canada in less than
4,5 hours? That it’s the second largest country
in the world? In every city you’re only steps
from good food, great views and a breath of
nature’s fresh air?
+ Toast Niagara Falls with ice wine, shuck
oysters in Prince Edward Island and take
a bite of Alberta beef
+ Party. There are festivals galore all year
round, including the largest jazz festival
in the world in Montréal, the Toronto
International Film Festival and the Edmonton
Fringe Festival
+ Witness a hat-trick Canadian style at
an ice hockey game.
+ See the world’s longest tides in Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, the Midnight Sun
in Nunavut, the Northern Lights in the
Northwest Territories and polar bears
and belugas in Manitoba
+ Meet the people, discover Acadian culture,
aboriginal history in, follow the Viking
Trailand walk through one of our cosmo-
politan cities – you’ll hear hello in too many
languages to count.
On the practical side, you get help fi nding top
notch meeting facilities for 50 or 5,000, world-
class accommodations, gourmet dining and
plenty to keep your delegates entertained.
The exchange rate is moving in the CAD’s favour
and there are great deals all over Canada.
CONTACT
In North America: Susan Frei,
Director International Meetings and Incentives
T. +1 703 825 1134
www.meetings.canada.travel
In Europe: Roger Bradley
Axis Travel Marketing Ltd
T. +44 208 686 2300
STEP INTO CANADABRING YOUR EVENTS TO LIFE!
HEADQUARTERS 38
We have to be honest here: we didn’t really know
where Yamagata was until we looked it up to
write this article. So far, we have learned only nice
things about it, facts that were confi rmed by the
organizers, as well as the delegates, of ICIS 2010.
And if you wonder where it exactly is, the map on
the left will surely help you. Yamagata Prefecture
is situated on the westernmost part of the Tohoku
region, and has, since long ago, been an important
marine transportation spot with developed routes
on the Sea of Japan. Located in the centre of
Yamagata Prefecture, Yamagata City is a former
castle town that has been strongly developing
since the middle of the 15th century.
The 9th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on
Computer and Information Science (ICIS 2010)
was held in the Tsukioka Hotel in Kaminoyama
City (about 20 minutes from Yamagata City), one
of the famous ‘onsen’ cities in Japan - Onsen
means “hot spring” in Japanese and provides
a wide variety of spas. The conference brought
together scientists, engineers, computer users,
and students to exchange and share their experi-
ences, new ideas, and research results regarding
all aspects (theory, applications and tools) of
computer and information science, and discuss
the practical challenges encountered and the solu-
tions adopted. The conference covered a broad set
of research topics and solicited papers, the best of
which won coveted awards.
TOP QUALITY SERVICEDr. Takayuki Ito, Associate Professor at the Nagoya
Institute of Technology, explains the reason lying
behind the choice of Yamagata:
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT JAPAN AND WHERE TO TAKE YOUR NEXT EVENT, THE BIG CITIES LIKE TOKYO, KYOTO OR YOKOHAMA COME
EASILY TO MIND. BUT JAPAN IS NOT ONLY ABOUT HUGE, DEFINITELY ATTRACTIVE METROPOLISES. THERE ARE SMALLER CITIES OUT
THERE WHERE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES CAN BE HELD WITH THE SAME KIND OF SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE - THEY ALSO DESERVE
OUR ATTENTION, ESPECIALLY IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES SINCE THE COST OF RUNNING AN ASSOCIATION EVENT IS MUCH LOWER
THERE THAN IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED MAJOR CITIES. THE 9TH IEEE/ACIS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER AND INFORMA-
TION SCIENCE (ICIS 2010) WAS HELD AUGUST 18-20, 2010, IN KAMINOYAMA (YAMAGATA). LET’S FIND OUT HOW SMOOTHLY IT WENT!
TEXT RÉMI DÉVÉ
JAPAN
Yamagata
Okama Volcanic Lake of Zao Mountains
ICIS 2010
WELCOME TO JAPAN!ICIS 2010 in Yamagata
HQ> J A P A N
Kajo Park
HEADQUARTERS 39
Zao Onsen Spa
Ginzan Hot Springs
Tsukioka Guest Room
YAMAGATA, THE HARD FACTS+ Conference facilities: Yamagata Big Wing
(up to 3,500 pax), Yamagata Terrsa (up to 800 pax)
+ Accommodation: Hotel Metropolitan (4-star), Yamagata Grand Hotel (3-star), Japanese Inn ‘Ryokan’: KOYO and Tsukioka Hotel in Kaminoyama City
+ Access: 2 hours 30 min by Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station
‘I thought a conference in an urban area
would not be interesting, and I wanted to
introduce Japanese culture to delegates
coming all the way to Japan. Therefore we
agreed on the hot-spring hotel for the confer-
ence venue.’ He was all the more delighted to
see that ‘there were more delegates wearing
yukata than we expected. Some of them
took part in the welcome reception in yukata
(a casual summer kimono usually made of
cotton). It was a very good thing.’
Besides delivering top-quality service and
showing excellent professionalism, the
local industry was praised for its sense of
dedication. Roger Lee, Director of Software
Engineering & Information Technology
Institute and Professor of Computer Science
at Central Michigan University, explains:
‘We normally have 20% of registered
delegates ending up being no-shows but this
time we had only 4%. I think it’s because this
conference was held in an onsen. I personally
was impressed by the people here: they were
very friendly and devoted.’ A fact that was
quickly confi rmed by Jonthon T. Reynold,
Professor of History, Northern Kentucky
University, USA: ‘The thing which really
impressed me was the people. Everyone is
incredibly welcoming. Besides, big cities are
like big cities everywhere - this time it was
very nice to get out of Tokyo and see the
variety of the environment that Japan offers.’
UNIQUE APPROACHIt seems that everybody left convinced that
Japan has a distinctive, unique approach
when it comes to hospitality: this will guar-
antee to meet the needs of any demanding
meeting planners.
If that is not enough, Yagamata offers a
wide array of choice in terms of pre- or
post-conference tours. Among other things,
it’s home to the snow monsters of Mt. Zao.
This unique natural phenomenon makes
trees so covered in snow and ice that they
look like surreal beasts from the past. We
can also mention other famous mountains
like Mt. Chokai, Mt. Nishiazuma and the
three sacred moutains of Yamagata that
hint towards a culture of profound spiritual-
ity. Other highlights include the many hot
spring villages lying all throughout the
region, making it a unique natural environ-
ment worth a detour.
Last but not least are the activities you can
enjoy in Yamagata City itself. In Ka-jo Castle
Park, you can just enjoy the wonderful cherry
blossoms, and there are moats and stone
walls recalling scenes of the days when the
castle was being built. Also found in the city
are the British Renaissance-style Bunsho-
kan Hall, and various other traditional
western-style brick buildings, including the
formidable Yamagata Educational Museum.
The area is also host to many seasonal
events, such as the Hanagasa-matsuri
Festival (Flower-Adorned Hat Festival) in the
summer, considered to be one of the four
greatest festivals held in the Tohoku region,
and the Nihon-ichi-no-Imoni-kai Festival
(Japan’s No1 Taro and Beef Stew Party Festi-
val) in the fall.
These of course are only highlights.
Yamagata is full of treasures and hidden
secrets that will make your journey as a
delegate an unforgettable one. Just take
our word for it!
> J A P A N
CONTACT
Yamagata Convention BureauYamagata Kokusai Koryu Plaza
Hirakubo 100, Yamagata 990-0076, Japan
F: +81(0)23 635 3030
Japan Convention BureauChad Shiver, Convention Manager
Japan Convention Bureau
Japan National Tourism Organization
12 Nicholas Lane, 5th Floor
London EC4N 7BN, United Kingdom
T: +44(0)20 7283 2130
F: +44 (0)20 7626 0224
Estoril adds responsibility to business events within your budget whilst minimizing environmental impact.
HEADQUARTERS 41
HQ
First the fi gures because they say it all. Over
the last three years the Estoril Congress
Center has reduced its energy consump-
tion by 30%, water consumption by 20%,
obtained a Waste Management System 100R
certifi cation, created an exclusive methodol-
ogy to organize so-called Green Events, and
has been certifi ed ‘Green Venue’ by Green
Globe International. Last but not least, its
now-famous Green Fund Program stimulates
the use of the ECC’s Green services and
tools: the ECC’s clients automatically have
access to a fund generated by a percentage
levied on the fee charged for the hired space
that may be used in order to contract the
aforementioned Green services.
Today the Centre even goes further with
the Sustainable Plus campaign. Specially
designed to fulfi ll the needs of associations
in terms of green meetings, it aims both to
instil a legacy of greater responsibility in
the organisation of association congresses
and to identify more effective risk sharing
and ROI formats. The programme is based
on three key pillars: Sustain People, Sustain
Profi t and Sustain Planet.
1. SUSTAIN PEOPLEBy promoting Estoril as an unique destina-
tion, not far from Lisbon and between the
mountains and the ocean, the ECC knows
the economic impact of any event held
there will benefi t the whole community.
They also organize CSR activities including
social and environmental volunteering and
educational workshops. These initiatives
can be slotted into the event programme or
customised. Physical and psychological well-
being management solutions are organised
during conferences as well.
2. SUSTAIN PROFITThe Estoril Congress Center believes
that synergies are essential: it’s prepared
to share a certain level of risk with associa-
tions, based on several unpredictability
factors. The number of participants at an
event can be changed up to a certain time
without penalty. There is a similar fl exibility
with dates. The ECC also facilitates negotia-
tions between the parties involved in
order to maximize ROI, and associations
can benefi t from the above mentioned
Green Fund.
3. SUSTAIN PLANETThe sustainability of the planet is one of the
main concerns voiced by the ECC. Certifi ed
as a Green Venue by Green Globe Interna-
tional, it also boasts a specially trained staff.
As a result, the environmental footprint is
substantially reduced. At the end of the day,
every event that incorporates the ECC green
principles will receive a certifi cate at the
end acknowledging its environmental
performance.
THE ESTORIL CONGRESS CENTER (ECC) IN PORTUGAL HAS GENERATED NOTORIETY AND
STRONG INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR ITS POSITIONING AS A LEADING GREEN
VENUE, THANKS TO AN INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE MARKETING STRATEGY AND
PROMOTION OF ITS EXCLUSIVE GREEN SERVICES OFFER. FOR THEM, BEING GREEN IS
NOT JUST A MARKETING TOOL, IT’S DEFINITELY A WAY OF LIFE.
ESTORIL CONGRESS CENTERGreen as it gets
> E S T O R I L
CONTACT
Linda Ferro Association Market Sales
Estoril Congress Center
T. +351 214 643 669
www.estorilcc.com
www.estoril-portugal.com
TOP 10 REASONS FOR ASSOCIATIONS TO COME TO ESTORIL1. Strategic location with excellent air and
road connections - just 25 km from Lisbon2. Innovative Estoril Congress Center3. High-quality hotels at walking distance4. Exquisite Mediterranean gastronomy5. Top reputation for hosting successful events
and for tourism in general6. A welcoming and safe destination7. Professional and experienced local suppliers
at below average cost8. Local organizations and business qualifi ed
for hosting events9. Overall excellent value for money10. Wide range of attractions
ECC Cascais
HEADQUARTERS 42
ICCA IS EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT YET IN HEAVEN. ON EARTH,
ICCA IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATION IN THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY, AND IT HAS THE
STRONGEST GLOBAL LEGS. WHAT COULD BE THE REASON
FOR THIS? IN ASIA, ICCA IS HELD IN HIGH REGARD. BUT
HOW HIGH PRECISELY? AFTER AN ANNUAL CONGRESS IT’S
ALWAYS GOOD TO PUT A FEW CONSIDERATIONS IN THE
BALANCE. THIS YEAR, THE SCALE WAS LOCATED
IN HYDERABAD, INDIA’S TOP MEETINGS DESTINATION.
REPORT MARCEL A.M. VISSERS
ICCA IN INDIA
IN INDIA FOR THE FIRST TIMEEverybody said the same thing. It was a
good decision to hold the 49th ICCA
congress in India in 2010. It was the fi rst
time too. Whether everyone thought about
Hyderabad as a location wasn’t so obvi-
ous. India is a massive country with endless
economic potential, also in the meetings
industry. It’s closely following China, be it
with small steps.
Philip Logan, GM Development & Special
Projects of Accor and for this occasion Chair-
man of the Indian Host Committee, praised
the choice of Hyderabad as the ICCA con-
gress destination a long time ago. While he
was still GM of the Hyderabad International
Convention Centre, he said that there was
only one purpose-built convention centre in
the entire country and that it was located
in Hyderabad, and not in Delhi or in Mumbai
(Soon, Bangalore will have one too - it’s
an Accor Group project too.)
Philip also repeatedly stated that there
wasn’t a real convention bureau in India.
On the last day of the congress it was
announced that Visit Hyderabad would be
founded soon. The capital of the Indian state
of Andhra Pradesh played a big part in the
development of the Indian meetings industry,
that’s an obvious fact. I personally think
that too few delegates got to know the new
Hyderabad, the IT City, closely related to the
convention city.
Luckily there was the CAT Night at the histo-
rical ‘Taramati Baradani’ site and the Gala
Dinner with the Dress to Impress Awards at
the architectural marvel ‘The Qutub Shahi
Tombs’. Otherwise many delegates wouldn’t
even have known they were visiting India. It
would just have been a regular stay at just
another Novotel Hotel that could have been
anywhere, in heaven and on earth. That was
my fi rst remark: whoever gets the Indian spirit
never loses it again. I’m one of those people.
WISE CONGRESSMEN AND WOMENDuring an ICCA congress I have to constantly
gasp for breath. I often can’t keep up with
the pace of the conferences, coffee breaks
and informal talks, because there are so
many interesting people attending sharing
interesting views.
I’ll give you some examples. While enjoying
an excellent Indian wine in the hotel bar,
I had a talk with Anja Loetscher, the director
HQ> I C C A C O N G R E S S R E P O R T
Gala evening
HEADQUARTERS 43
of Geneva Convention Bureau. She said:
‘People working in the meetings industry are
farmers. They take their time to do things
right. They know nature needs time to let
something grow good and healthy. But, in our
industry, there are also hunters. They look
at things in the short term. Many hotels for
example, and some AMC’s, are hunters. They
all want their money tomorrow. In my conven-
tion bureau, we learn to be farmers. Because
our big customers - the associations - have
diffi culties coping with hunters. A hunter
makes an association nervous and suspicious,
which isn’t good for their credibility.’
I will keep this wisdom in mind for a long long
time, I promise, Anja.
A second loyal ICCA visitor I’m always
pleased to talk to is Pieter van der Hoeven
of PG International Consulting. According
to my humble opinion he shows exceptional
wit and common sense. During one of the
magnifi cent Indian lunches we had a talk
about presidents, CEO’s, association board
members and their importance. He said:
‘In the end “the board” is responsible for
everything that happens within an associa-
tion. Not the CEO, who won’t easily be put in
jail for dishonest practices. But what you do
see is that board members are often uncriti-
cal and think: let the CEO do his/her thing,
he/she’s not giving us too much work. There
are also professional associations being led
by the Secretary General. These are from
time to time people who don’t like transpar-
ency and who constantly put up fog curtains.
Some of them also show signs of perverted
exercise of power. In the long term, this is dis-
astrous for an association. But these things
exist, even in well-known associations in our
industry.’
On the same day, while the congress was
drawing to an end, I met three heavyweights
of the association world discussing the same
subject. There was even laughter to be heard.
Mrs Leigh Wintz, former Chairman of the
Board of PCMA and Executive Director of
Soroptimist, even told me she wrote a book
about the subject. Then I thought: this is
mandatory literature for all association board
members. It’s called ‘The Will to Govern Well’
and was published by ASAE the Center for
Association Leadership this past August. You
can contact her on [email protected]
A GREAT KEYNOTE SPEAKERBecause I enjoyed
the aftermath of the
Gala Dinner so much
- all those questions
I had to answer in
the hotel bar! - it was
impossible for me to
be on time for Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik’s speech,
the Copenhagen-Denmark lecture. But Sin, of
Meet Taiwan, told me everything: ‘Why does
ICCA put such a good keynote speaker on
the last day of the congress? He should have
done the opening speech.’ His enthusiasm
wasn’t tempered by this fact though. ‘Dr.
Devdutt taught me lots of things about his-
tory, religion and business philosophies.’ Sin,
I promise you I will look into the teachings of
this Chief Belief Offi cer more closely.
ICCA is known in the meetings world for its
premium gala dinners, which are probably the
best of the industry. Often, gala dinners are
boring, but not at ICCA. People are looking
forward to them. They lose sleep over it and
skip interesting conferences (shame on me) to
make time to buy an unusual party outfi t. I’m
talking of course about the Dress to Impress
Awards. Comments were unanimous: it was
the best gala dinner in ICCA history. During
the dinner in The Tombs, the delegates could
experience everything India has to offer: color,
taste, music and above all hospitality. Now on
to Leipzig, for Bach’s powdery white wig!
> I C C A C O N G R E S S R E P O R T
Marcel Vissers and Cécile Caiati-Koch, dressed at a Maharaja and a Maharani, welcomed the guests at ICCA Dress to Impress Gala Dinner.
Opening Ceremony
DRESS TO IMPRESS GALA DINNER
Lynda Cadieux, from Tourisme Montréal, got the Flair Award at the Dress to Impress Gala Dinner. She showed fl air through her choice of dress, jewellery and color - a unique combination that made her clearly stand out from the rest of the crowd. All the other award winners are mentioned in the story published on Marcel’s Meetings Blog (www.marcelsblog.typad.com)
Copenhagen Lecture Speaker Devdutt Pattanaik
ICCA is known in the meetings world for its premium gala dinners, which are probably the best of the industry
HEADQUARTERS 45
Due to the fi nancial crisis, the corporate
meeting sector took quite a blow in recent
years. This resulted in clients shopping
around more and comparing prices for
facilities and services, but also in a greater
number of one-day events to reduce the
number of overnight stays. The association
sector has been far less affected by all of
this. ICCA stats clearly show there are never
been that many meetings organized before,
many of them created as offshoots of estab-
lished larger association events to service
regional or precise subject-specifi c needs.
Things are moving in the association market
too though. Buyers are changing their behavior
regarding the type of venue they now book
for their events, considering the current
economic environment. According to ICCA
categories, ‘Meeting Facilities in Hotels’ has
taken over, since 2005, from ‘Conference &
Exhibition Centres’ as the most popular venue
type for the organization of an event. In 2008
usage of meeting facilities in hotels consoli-
dated its fi rst place with 41.5% of association
meetings being held there. HQ Magazine
asked staff members from hotel chains as
well as independent hotels how they respond
to these new market developments.
THE ADVANTAGES OF WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL HOTEL CHAINSInternational chains represent the largest
percentage of meeting hotels in our industry.
Their main advantage is their size, which
allows them to offer a wide range of destina-
tions and a high room capacity. Furthermore
you know what to expect from them or at
least have some idea about it, since they
are all well known. Most often, they have a
specifi c hotel brand oriented towards the
seasoned business traveler, which means
they specialize in providing extensive
opportunities for meetings and networking.
This is often augmented by loyalty
meeting programs, an international meeting
directory, standard meeting packages, and
several other procedures that make planning
an association event easier. A standardized
procedure has the added value of making it
more simple to handle requests in a short
time. It has also given rise to the ‘everywhere
the same’ idea, which isn’t bad for some
planners, but not ideal for everyone.
Have you fi gured out where to go, but not
yet where to stay? In that case it could be a
good idea to look at some regional or local
hotel groups. These hotels often incorporate
distinctly local features (gastronomy, style
and atmosphere) to make your business
ICCA STATISTICS PROVE THAT MORE ASSOCIATION MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES ARE
BEING HELD IN HOTELS THAN IN PURPOSE BUILT CONFERENCE CENTRES. BUT WHICH
HOTELS ARE SUITABLE FOR WHICH MEETINGS, AND HOW DO THEY SPECIFICALLY CATER
TO INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS? HQ INVESTIGATED THE MATTER.
TEXT JONATHAN RAMAEL (WITH IGOR HENDRICKX)
CONFERENCE HOTELSA valuable option for association planners
HQ> H O T E L S
the lobby of The Address, Dubai
HEADQUARTERS 46
event much more memorable. Furthermore
they don’t specialize between leisure or
business travelers, since they can’t afford to
exclude anyone. This is very good news when
organizing a multi-facetted association event
with time for some leisurely breaks. Why not
get a local touch when you’re there anyway?
THE CHARM OF INDEPENDENT HOTELSOf course there are the independent, single
hotels that aren’t part of any particular chain
or international network. Hotels belonging to
this group are often such established values
that they’ve become one of the touristic
must-sees themselves. They tend to have a
unique, natural personality. This is the most
varied group where you can be sure of the
most personal service and care.
They usually have one contact person for the
entire event and try to go back to the origin
of real hospitality. The meeting possibili-
ties of these hotels are often surprisingly
great, and fl exibility throughout the entire
operational process is more than typical for
this type of venue. Dealing with a little less
procedures gives you the space for a more
creative service. It should be said however,
that these independent hotels get fewer
and fewer in numbers, since the competitive
advantages of joining a hotel association are
simply too great to ignore.
COPING WITH THE NEEDS OF ASSOCIATIONSThe hotels we’ve contacted did notice a
growth in the booking of association meet-
ings in recent years - mainly due to a stable
production in the national associations busi-
ness according to them. They expect a far
bigger boost in the near future though, and
are now really familiar with what associa-
tions need to hold successful events.
Association events are indeed very differ-
ent from corporate meetings. They have a
specifi c set of requirements, namely large
meeting spaces, several breakout rooms and
the banqueting facilities to cater for large
groups. Needs can vary depending on the
origin, budget, industry type and a myriad
of important factors which will determine
the approach of the hotel. The facility and
the staff need to be very fl exible in their
approach to fulfi ll all of these needs. Another
difference between corporate and associa-
tion meetings is the budget: according to the
respondents of our informal survey, associa-
tions are much more budget-minded than
their corporate counterparts, as most
members pay for their own travelling
expenses!
Hotel chains are constantly striving to
improve their success to ensure that they
fulfi ll the needs of their clients. Based on
our fi ndings, they have several ways of doing
so when it comes to associations, but the
list is of course not exhaustive. A palette of
concepts is available, dealing with all facets
of the industry. One chain sends an observer
from the hotel (usually the director of sales)
to the association’s annual meeting, in order
to bring back best practices and communi-
cate them to the staff. Another hotel recently
developed a new sales structure with one
sales manager deployed to only target asso-
ciations - just like at a convention bureau or
a convention centre. Flexibility towards these
associations during the entire contracting
period is also very important, given the fact
that the content or layout of a conference
can change dramatically between the event
confi rmation and the day it occurs.
Although big purpose-built conference
centres are still constructed as important
landmark buildings for a city, economic
development in the past few years taught us
that conference hotels are swiftly becoming
a force to be reckoned with in the association
industry. Especially when it comes to smaller
national or regional conferences, these
venues, given their versatility, fl exibility and
their economic profi tability, are becoming
increasingly popular among association
planners, and rightly so.
> H O T E L S
International chains represent the largest percentage of meeting hotels in our industry. Their main advantage is their size, which allows them to offer a wide range of destinations and a high room capacity
HOTEL PEOPLE ARE HUNTERSBy Marcel A.M. Vissers
I have to get something off my mind. While
I’m reading all the positive things hotels
can offer conference organizers and the
amount of praise this is given, I’m also
receiving quite a lot of reactions from asso-
ciation executives who aren’t always happy
with sales people from hotels. In our indus-
try, we tend to make a distinction between
farmers and hunters. The associations are
the farmers: they want to make things grow
slowly but steadily. They aren’t focused on
making profi t. Suppliers, in particular the
hotels and AMC’s, are the hunters. They
want to make money, fast. Tomorrow if pos-
sible. Growth means profi t to them.
A congress director from a large associa-
tion based in Brussels told me that from the
moment the destination of their next
congress is made public, the agencies start
making deals with hotels about prices and
blocking rooms, clearly working against
principles that were agreed upon with the
local convention bureau. I would never
allow these things to happen and rather
camp in the city myself for three days
than go sleep in a hotel that didn’t play by
the rules. I’d even go as far as to cancel
the congress. And do you know what I’m
secretly thinking in that case? Our industry
is full of naughty boys!
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