Elite Meetings Blog — News and writings from the Elite Meetings community members.

The official blog of Elite Meetings International

Creating Better Meeting Experiences

Jim Ruszala, Director of Marketing, Maritz Travel Company Three Simple Steps to Create Better Meeting Experiences Designing for a more engaging experience for your meetings can significantly improve performance from both a business and attendee… [read more...]

Creating Better Meeting Experiences

Creating Better Meeting Experiences

What is SpeedRFP?

If you are interested in generating more complete and qualified group leads from your hotel's website, then you really need to check out this SpeedRFP PowerPoint.… [read more...]

What is SpeedRFP?

What is SpeedRFP?

EliteMeetings.com 4.0…Coming soon!

I'm honestly chomping at the bit to release EliteMeetings.com version 4.0, but the team convinced me that we should wait to launch the new site until its fine tuned and ready for prime time. While I agree we should not launch until all of the new enhancements… [read more...]

EliteMeetings.com 4.0…Coming soon!

EliteMeetings.com 4.0...Coming soon!

SpeedRFP reaches 10,000 buyer members!

I'm very proud to share that the SpeedRFP buyer community reached member # 10,000 today. It is important to point out that to be qualified as a member, they must have submitted at least 1 RFP using the system. If you take in to consideration that each… [read more...]

SpeedRFP reaches 10,000 buyer members!

SpeedRFP reaches 10,000 buyer members!

Curing the Tech that Ails you

This article was written by Midori Connolly, Pulse Staging & Events Have you been diagnosed with the TechSick bug? This viral condition is akin to a hangover. The means of catching the bug is unfortunately far too easy and widespread. Wooed by… [read more...]

Curing the Tech that Ails you

Curing the Tech that Ails you

Tech Tenets Every Meeting Professional Should Know

This article was written by Carole Woodward, FedEx Services, VP of Information Technology The warp speed advancements of tech devices and digital services have allowed for extraordinary innovation in the meeting and event planning space over the last… [read more...]

Tech Tenets Every Meeting Professional Should Know

Tech Tenets Every Meeting Professional Should Know

Hot New Hotels Slated for 2012 Elite Meetings Alliances

Selected hotels seize opportunity to showcase the very best and latest in event offerings. | Highly regarded invitation-only EMA continues to set the standard for one-on-one buyer-seller format. Santa Barbara, CA – October 2011 – Elite Meetings… [read more...]

Recipe for Success

This article was written by Chris Gaia, Vice President of Marketing, Maritz Recipe for SuccessHow a Culinary Component Can Spice Up Group Events With the rise in popularity of cooking shows like The Next Food Network Star, Chopped, and Hell’s… [read more...]

Recipe for Success

Recipe for Success

Save the Date: HSMAI’s MEET West

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Don’t miss this year’s HSMAI MEET West show, which takes place May 30-31, 2012, at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel (in Anaheim, CA). You’ll join an estimated 1,200 fellow meeting planners, along with 250 exhibitors who will promote their hotels, resorts, inns, convention and visitors bureaus, tech suppliers, and food and equipment providers. If you can’t attend in person, you can still benefit from HSMAI’s MEET On, which will air select [...]

by Susan Campbell on May 7, 2012

Karen Cahill Named EMI’s COO

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Read all about it here or scroll down and read below. We are so happy and honored that Karen has come to Elite. She brings a wealth of knowledge and an attitude that can’t be beat. WELCOME TO THE TEAM KAREN! Elite Meetings International (EMI) Appoints Karen Cahill Chief Operating Officer The appointment of Cahill is part of Elite’s plans for significant growth this year. Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) April [...]

by Alina Itkin on April 23, 2012

Tuesday, 4/24 Daily Digest

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Hello Elite Meetings Alliance-ers! We hope you had a productive and inspiring day yesterday. If you missed any of the speaker sessions, you can find them online. Did you know that the speakers were broadcasted live to viewers at home? Pretty neat little feature if I do say so myself. Big thank you to SonicFoundry for making that possible. I won’t go too deep in the speaker sessions [...]

by Alina Itkin on April 23, 2012

Renovations, Outreach, and More Wi-Fi, Please…

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Newsy Bits from the Industry… A $50 Million Reveal: Meeting planners spoke and the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center listened—to the tune of $50 million. Meeting planners will now discover additional venues, like the Coquina Lawn (pictured), where groups can dine under the stars, sip brandy by three fire pits, or watch movies in a park-like setting. Also new: two comfy meeting planner offices just steps from the ballrooms, [...]

by Susan Campbell on April 23, 2012

Monday 4/23 – Daily Digest

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Welcome to the Elite Meeting’s Alliance everyone! My name is Alina and if we have yet to meet, stop by the hospitably desk to say hello. I’ll be taking you through recaps of the days ahead through the Daily Digest posts which can be found on your QuickMobile app and also on the EliteMeetings.com blog page. I hope you have as much fun reading these as I do writing them. [...]

by Alina Itkin on April 22, 2012

The 39th European Hotel Managers Association presents the “Hotel Manager of the Year” award

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The annual General Meeting of the EHMA (European Hotel Managers Association) was held in Vienna, from March 29-April 1, 2012. It concluded with the presentation of the “Hotel Manager of the Year” award to the Italian member Mr. Mario Ferraro, General Manager of the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice. Mr. Ferraro has been in that position for the past 4 years and is now heading to Dubai to open the [...]

by Alda Egurrola-Wienke on April 16, 2012

REVEL Books Major Music Performances

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The last Elite Meetings Alliance (EMA) of 2012 will be held in August at the brand new REVEL in Atlantic City. If you’re dying to get a peek before the EMA and you’re a fan of Maroon 5, The Black Keys, Beyonce, Sugar Ray, Seal & Macy Gray, they are all performing at REVEL before we converge on this great new meeting hotel! You can buy tickets for all of [...]

by Alina Itkin on April 12, 2012

A Reno Lobby, a London Penthouse, and One Very Educated Trade Show

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Newsy Bits from the Industry… Welcome to Kiev: For Fairmont’s first foray into eastern Europe, they elected to build in Kiev, in the heart of the Ukrainian capital’s historic Podil district. The Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv (above) opened in late March as a 258-room classically designed beauty, complete with a Fairmont Gold floor for top-tier hospitality. The opening comes at an exciting time in Kiev, in anticipation of such high-profile [...]

by Susan Campbell on April 11, 2012

The Road to the EMA: Theme Night Announced

When you think of Dallas, what do you imagine? Would it be something along the lines of cattle ranches, BBQ, and tall buildings? If that’s the case then the Elite Meetings Alliance is going to change your mind (maybe not about the BBQ). Dallas has been in the stages of a major physical and emotional transformation – its very Texas image is about to be reinvented. With the new Trinity [...]

by Alina Itkin on April 10, 2012

An Organizational Time-Saver

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Staying organized is a survival skill for meeting professionals. Here’s how Dirk at Sports Destination Network Inc. keeps himself on task and on time… “I like IndividualSoftware.com’s product called AnyTime Deluxe. It’s a user-friendly organizational calendar software that assists me in my day-to-day work checklist.”

by Susan Campbell on April 10, 2012

The Marriage of Maritz and Experient

Two key players in the meetings world, Maritz Travel and Experient, joined forces yesterday in looks like a win-win-win scenario for the industry, clients, and company employees. Maritz president David Peckinpaugh described the acquisition as “a reaffirmation of the strength of our industry.” Given the troubled waters of the 2008 and 2009 when the corporate incentive business—a core Maritz competency—took a beating, the move into the Experient territory of associations, [...]

by Susan Campbell on April 4, 2012

Omni Dallas Reports No Damage from Area Tornadoes

Omni Dallas Hotel reported to Elite Meetings that they were not affected by today’s tornadoes that hit Dallas/Fort Worth area today. We just got off the phone with Omni and they were happy to report that all operations were functional and there was no impact on major business activity. Harold Queisser, Director of Sales and Marketing for Omni Dallas, informed us that there is an emergency alert in effect until [...]

by Elite Meetings International on April 3, 2012

Saving Precious Event Time

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This valuable tip came to us from Laura at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. Thanks so much, Laura! “Prepare an abbreviated agenda, on card stock, sized to fit in an attendee’s name-tag holder. Issue these with their name tags and they will be more likely to always have an agenda with them. Additionally, if you have breakout sessions, add a sticker on the back of each name tag with their [...]

by Susan Campbell on April 2, 2012

A Decade of IMEX Frankfurt

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IMEX Frankfurt, May 22-24, 2012 This year marks the tenth anniversary for IMEX Frankfurt. Over the past decade, the show has honed its reputation as the place to do business. In terms of sheer numbers, the 2012 show will likely have about 14,000 senior decision makers and some 3,500 exhibitors, suppliers, and product experts from more than 150 countries. Thanks to the show’s preset appointments and social events, first-timers at [...]

by Susan Campbell on April 2, 2012

The Road to the EMA: Keynote Speaker Announced for Dallas

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The Road to the EMA – Dallas Planning is well under way for the April Elite Meetings Alliance (EMA) at the Omni Dallas Hotel. As we’re strapping our boots and fastening our stirrups, we wanted to give you a glimpse into the wild world of EMA creation. Margaret Holsinger, our EMA event manager – and all around planning guru – has been busy booking speakers for the event. Speakers for [...]

by Alina Itkin on March 21, 2012

Strategic Meetings Management 101

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A few simple steps can help you save on the bottom line. —By Betsy Bondurant, CMM, CTE We’ve heard the term strategic meetings management (SMM) for many years now, but what exactly is it? Simply put, SMM brings order and control to an organization’s meeting and event expenditures—what the industry calls spend. Knowing who is planning meetings throughout the company and what is being spent can lead to a significant [...]

by Betsy Bondurant on March 20, 2012

HSMAI’s MEET Mid-America…See you there!

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One of the many reasons we partner each year with HSMAI for the newly minted MEET shows is because we, like you, get a lot out of them. This year’s MEET Mid-America show will be held April 3-4, 2012, at Chicago’s Navy Pier. What are we most looking forward to? In particular, the educational component looks especially strong. They’re offering something for every learning style—from in-depth case studies to quick-burst [...]

by Susan Campbell on March 20, 2012

A Big Apple Debut, Big Incentive, and One Very Big Wheel

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Newsy Bits from the World of Hospitality… Move over, London Eye: It’s official: the foundation has been set for Las Vegas’s new observation wheel, which promises to be the largest in the western hemisphere. The new addition to the Vegas skyline, SkyVue, will open to non-acrophobes on July 4, 2013. The “revolutionary” project boasts 32, 24-person, climate-controlled gondolas (after all, it gets cold 500 feet above The Strip); 200,000 square [...]

by Susan Campbell on March 19, 2012

Favorite International Time-Saver

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Joann from Gen Re shared this time-saving tip for events that involve international travel. Thank you, Joann! “When bringing a group to a passport-required destination, I try to get my hands on customs and immigration forms and then pre-populate the fields for my attendees with such things as hotel name, address, dates, etc. On occasions when we have passport data for attendees, I am even able to add their name [...]

by Susan Campbell on March 15, 2012

PHGMeetings.com integrates with SpeedRFP 2.0

Preferred Hotel Group has recently launched PHGmeetings.com, an online RFP system integrated through SpeedRFP 2.0. Read the entire press release below and check out the all new SpeedRFP 2.0 with new wedding, social and updated meeting forms. Preferred Hotel Group™ launches PHG Meetings Preferred Hotel Group™, a leading provider of sales and marketing support to independent hotels around the world, announced the launch of PHG Meetings (www.PHGMeetings.com). A comprehensive online [...]

by Alina Itkin on February 23, 2012

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