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SpeedRFP reaches 10,000 buyer members!

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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 of these members likely plan multiple meetings and events on an annual basis, they represent millions of hotel guests each year. This active [...]

by Kelly Foy on November 3, 2011

The Road to the EMA: Meet Margaret

Here at Elite Meetings our focus is on changing the event planning industry through innovative technologies that understand the market and how it works. The people behind Elite Meetings are passionate, friendly, and majorly quirky. This is where our beloved Event Planner, Margaret Holsinger comes in. With this series of blog posts, we will take you through the journey of bringing to life an Elite Meeting’s Alliance. You’ll gain [...]

by Alina Itkin on October 28, 2011

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 International today announced the sites of next year’s three Elite Meetings Alliances (EMA). CEO Kelly Foy said, “All three of our 2011 events set new records for attendance and performance because we continue [...]

by Bryce Johnson on October 11, 2011

See you at IMEX America!

The team is preparing to head to Las Vegas for the highly anticipated IMEX America, and we hope to see you there. If you plan to attend, drop by the Elite Meetings International booth (#1068) to get a sneak peak of EliteMeetings.com 4.0! In fact, you might even be able to provide a helping hand in developing some of its new features. After all, we built the site for you, [...]

by Kelly Foy on October 5, 2011

How to Assign and Respond to an RFP for Hoteliers

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We’ve recently updated how RFP recipients can manage their RFPs by adding the ability for lead coordinators to assign an RFP to other colleagues. How-to Assign an RFP for Hoteliers: To best incorporate SpeedRFP into your workflow, we’ve built “Assign RFP,” which allows a hotelier to assign an RFP they’ve received to a colleague, prompting them to respond. Here’s how to assign an RFP: View the incoming RFP by clicking [...]

by Martha Brooks on August 24, 2011

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The Power of Print? Don’t believe what you hear, its still in demand!

We recently announced that meeting planners will be able to pick up a copy of Elite Meetings magazine at major airport newsstands, and this week I received confirmation that our presence on airport newsstands is a huge success. In fact, we received a reorder today from Hudson News for Houston area airports, which indicates that Elite Meetings magazine is selling well. That was music to my ears! This news is [...]

by Kelly Foy on July 15, 2011

SpeedRFP…its Popping Up Everywhere!

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I started out my day today wondering just how many hotels are now capable of receiving SpeedRFPs, and was very pleasantly surprised when I learned planners can now use SpeedRFP to submit eRFPs to nearly 3,000 hotels worldwide. It seems that every day we see a handful of new hotels and resort adopting this time-saving technology, and we see exponential growth on the horizon. Our objective when creating SpeedRFP was [...]

by Kelly Foy on June 21, 2011

Spring Elite Meetings Alliance Sees Record Numbers

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With over 1193 one-on-one appointments being scheduled through FaceTime Appointment Scheduler, the Elite Meetings Alliance at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was our largest event to date. Cate DeLaRosa of Ameriprise Financial said, “The networking and one-on-ones were fantastic and of the 16 meeting I had, I will very likely book with five of them in the future.” Praise for the event came in from suppliers and buyers alike. Kris [...]

by Carol Lynch on May 18, 2011

Experienced Planners Share Tips

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A favorite of each Elite Meetings Alliance is the knowledge-sharing. The meeting planners attending are a wealth of experience. Here are a couple of the favorite tips I heard during the EMA: Carolyn Pund says Cisco encourages attendee loyalty at their big annual conference by creating an exclusive ideas/networking lounge that’s only available to those who actively contribute and have attended for 5 consecutive years–miss a year, start over! The [...]

by Bryce Johnson on May 5, 2011

Elite Meetings Alliance Kicks Off!

Kelly Foy, CEO of Elite Meetings International, welcomed 90+ meeting planners and 76 hotels to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for the Spring 2011 Elite Meetings Alliance. Setting out the event’s theme, “It’s about time!” , Kelly asserted “It’s about time our industry is recognized for its contributions to the recovering economy; it’s about time–and good to see–that the US government is promoting meeting and incentive travel…Saving time is what [...]

by Bryce Johnson on May 2, 2011

The Origins of FaceTime Appointment Scheduler

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Meeting professionals and show managers are on a nonstop quest to find efficiency and value for their events. Everyone knows that face-to-face meetings help develop relationships and initiate business partnerships. However, time and financial constraints make one-on-one meetings nearly impossible to organize and track without a savvy system. When we launched our Elite Meetings Alliance events in 2006, we quickly learned how time-consuming it was to keep track of our [...]

by Carol Lynch on April 27, 2011

SpeedRFP 1.0 is here! More Time-Saving Enhancements on the Horizon.

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We have some great news for all of our SpeedRFP integration chain and independent hotel partners, as well as our 4,200+ (and growing) meeting planner members. Starting today, you’ll see some fantastic enhancements to the SpeedRFP system as we have released version 1.0. Here is a peak at the new features released today, and other great features coming in May. April Enhancements External Response System – This new feature allows [...]

by Kelly Foy on April 26, 2011

SpeedRFP turns one today!

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Today marks a big day in Elite Meetings’ history – SpeedRFP is a year old! A little over a year ago, the concept of SpeedRFP was just an idea that was put into the planning and engineering stages on the back-end of the company. In fact, when it first started, it was a top-secret project referred to only by codename (I’m not kidding). The logo and concept were first unveiled [...]

by Amanda Smith on April 1, 2011

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Inaugural Gold Elite Meetings Alliance

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As a first time staff member at the Elite Meetings Alliance (EMA), I wasn’t sure what to expect from what Elite refers to as the “Ultimate Meeting Planner Event.” The weekend was off to a great start with temperatures in the 70’s accompanied by clear, blue, sunny skies. The EMA Team couldn’t have been happier The EMA took place at Paradise Point Resort & Spa, located in the beautiful Mission [...]

by Amy Weitz on February 9, 2011

The Elite Meetings Alliance from a Planner’s Perspective: Al Geismar, Enterprise Holdings

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Al Geismar, Director, Corporate Meetings & Travel for Enterprise Holdings, talks about why he attends the Elite Meetings Alliance: With the creation of the Elite Meetings Alliance, Kelly and his talented crew have successfully created a fast-track strategy to help meeting planners and hoteliers accomplish their missions. The mantra of most meeting planners is “add value” and “make a difference” in the eyes of their stakeholders. Most hoteliers are dedicated [...]

by Al Geismar on December 10, 2010

Kelly Morris of Burton Group/Gartner explains the value of the Elite Meetings Alliance

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Kelly Morris, Director, Digital Marketing/Events of Burton Group/Gartner, explains why she considers the Elite Meetings Alliance the “Ultimate Meeting Planner Event.” Stunning luxury properties, knowledgeable hoteliers, great networking opportunities with seasoned professionals and that’s just the tip of iceberg. On the surface, Elite Meetings Alliance (EMA) looks like other planner/hotelier “speed-dating” events but from the moment you register to the moment you are transferred back to the local airport, you [...]

by Kelly Morris on December 9, 2010

Joanne Umbarger of American Shipping & Logistics Group talks about how the Elite Meetings Alliance inspired her

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Joanne Umbarger, Administrative Assistant with American Shipping & Logistics Group talks about how the EMA has inspired her in her everyday life. Among the most valuable aspects of attending the EMAs are the strategic networking opportunities. Unlike your average conference or trade show, the Elite Team creates themed events that allow planners to get to know hoteliers in comfortable and fun settings. The EMAs have opened me up to a [...]

by Joanne Umbarger on December 8, 2010

Allyson Taylor of Starz Entertainment shares her EMA experiences

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Hear about why Allyson Taylor – Director, Corporate Events and Talent Relations for Starz Entertainment – attends the Elite Meetings Alliance: I have attended the Elite Meetings Alliance four times, and when I am unable to attend, I always ensure someone from my team is there. As most event management professionals, we spend a great deal of time traveling. The EMA set-up allows us to conduct 18 site visits in [...]

by Allyson Taylor on December 8, 2010

Hear about the EMA from Madelyn Foxworthy of ATIS

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Madelyn Foxworthy – Manager, Meetings & Events for ATIS – shares her thoughts on the Elite Meetings Alliance: Each time I come away from the Elite Meetings Alliance, I feel like I’ve grown both personally and professionally. The idea sharing between peers is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The contacts I’ve made over the past several years have been invaluable. Not only have I made some great business contacts, but [...]

by Madelyn Foxworthy on December 7, 2010

JoAnn Harper from Jackson National Life talks about the EMA

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JoAnn Harper, Meeting Planning Coordinator for Jackson National Life, explains why she keeps coming back to the Elite Meetings Alliance: Where do I begin? My attendance at EMA began pleasantly at the Hammock Resort in Florida. Each program is a home run from start to finish!! The EMA staff is so professional and personable! To date, I have attended at least six EMA programs and each one keeps me excited [...]

by Joann Harper on December 7, 2010

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