Event Promotion

Now more than ever is a time to save, and the Hilton family of hotels wants to help. Event planners who book and stay at any participating Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels or Waldorf Astoria Collection property between February 16, 2009 and March 31, 2010, can receive extra incentives.

Incentive options are:

• Complimentary room ratio of 1 per 35 per paid group room nights
• 25 percent allowable attrition
• Double Hilton HHonors Base points for the attendees
• Complimentary staff meals for up to four staff members
• 2 percent rebate on room revenue
• 500 Hilton HHonors bonus points per paid group room night

Book 50 to 99 group room nights to receive one incentive of your choice; book 100 to 149 to receive two incentives; or book 150 or more to receive three incentives.

To take advantage of this meeting promotion, mention "Book Now and Save" when you call Hilton Direct USA at 1-877-476-2426 or contact your local Hilton hotel or Sales Worldwide representative. To find a Hilton in your area with enough space for your next event, visit the Cvent Supplier Network.

A boutique Miami hotel on a budget? Look no further than downtown Miami's EPIC Hotel. One of the most recent addition to Kimpton Hotels collection, EPIC lives up to its name, offering a level of style and service of unmatched proportions.

Located right on the waterfront, the hotel offers striking views of the Miami skyline from its 411 guest rooms and suites. Vaulted ceilings, glass walls and shimmering pools surround guests as they enjoy some of the hotel's world-class indulgences, such as the hosted evening wine hour in the lobby, a Kimpton Hotels signature offering.

For Miami meetings and events, EPIC has over 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space spread among its meeting rooms, pool deck and EPIC lawn. Events of 300 to 400 guests can enjoy spacious facilities and services that include comprehensive multimedia and audio-visual support, an on-site 24-hour business center, and catering from the hotel's award-winning Area 31 restaurant.

Best of all, EPIC Hotel is offering some great Miami meeting promotions for fall. The Fall Group Sale includes group rates from $139, 10 percent off master account folio charges, and creative meeting concept consultation, all valid from September 3, 2009, through December 25, 2009.

Or, take advantage of its "Power Hour" meetings package. Good for meetings booked and consumed by December 31, 2009, Miami meeting planners can enjoy one hour early check-in, one-hour late check-out, daily hosted wine hour, a Friday happy hour with specialty pricing, a one-hour massage for the meeting planner, and one guest room upgrade for a VIP. Plus, planners can choose from a two-hour cocktail recepection for the price of a one-hour reception, a two-hour boat cruise, or 10 percent off published banquet menu prices.

To learn more about these Miami promotions for your next event, call 1-866-760-3742. And make sure to view more information about EPIC Hotel on the Cvent Supplier Network!

Hotel Palomar Chicago, a Kimpton Hotel, is set to open in 2010 in the stylish River North neighborhood of Chicago. This luxury Chicago hotel correlates well with this effervescent neighborhood by celebrating the arts with chic complexity. Complete with 261 rooms and suites, an indoor heated pool, a sundeck and 5,800 square feet of meeting space, the Hotel Palomar is sure to open its doors to many interested guests.

The chic Chicago accommodations were styled with a contemporary urban design and art infused surroundings. Each room has floor-to-ceiling windows, an iHome docking station, L'Occitane bath amenities, a variety of pillow styles and plush terry cloth spa robes. Kimpton Hotels strives to meet a high level of customer satisfaction delivered with true luxury hospitality services and style. At the Hotel Palomar, the brand's attention to personalized room services and amenities combine to enhance a guests experience unlike any other brand.

Meetings and events at the Palomar can range from intimate Chicago meetings of 160 people to larger affairs of 300 guests. The hotel's distinctive catering services are provided by the adjacent restaurant, which features a wide variety of contemporary American cuisine.

Groups are invited to take advantage of Hotel Palomar's Grand Opening Special. This Chicago meeting promotion includes group room block rates of $99, weekends and weekdays through 2010, amenities from their "pick your perks" menu, and 10 percent off a master account.

View more information about Hotel Palomar Chicago on the Cvent Supplier Network

Back in July we blogged about big changes coming to downtown Indianapolis, including the construction of a new JW Marriott hotel that will be the brand's largest property in the world. Set to open in 2011, event planners can now get a first look at the 1,005-room property at the JW Indy website.

At 34 stories, the new Indianapolis hotel will be connected via skybridge to the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center and will be just minutes from the newly constructed $1 billion Indianapolis International Airport. The hotel will also offer 104,000 square feet of its own meeting, banquet and exhibit space, including 23,000 square feet of breakout space and the 40,500-square-foot Grand Ballroom, the largest ballroom in the Midwest.

Expecting to change the face of Indianapolis, the convention hotel will join the four other Marriott hotels of the Marriott Place Indianapolis complex, which will offer a total of 145,000 square feet of meeting space.

Outside of the boardroom, overnight meeting guests will enjoy 37-inch high-definition LG plasma-screen televisions, well-lit, spacious work stations and high-speed Internet access in its amenity-laden rooms. The hotel will also have three different dining options: High Velocity, a high-tech sports bar; Tuscan Bistro, for fine Italian dining; and a gourmet, European-style coffee bar.

Planners interested in booking the JW Marriott Indy can take advantage of its special Indianapolis meeting promotion. Submit and RFP and receive a special pre-opening offer. Or, submit an RFP for 500 or more rooms for 2011 or 2012 and receive a complimentary site visit.

Visit the hotel website to learn more about the offer, and check out the JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown on the Cvent Supplier Network today!

As if hosting the 1939 world premiere reception for the film Gone With the Wind was not impressive enough, The Georgian Terrace Hotel hopes to be the site for your next grand event or business meeting. A night's stay at the Georgian Terrace is not just a good night's rest, but a night of history. The Atlanta hotel is listed as a National Historic landmark, but it's anything but antique. In fact, it recently underwent over $10 million in renovations to keep up with its national competitors.

Live nearby? Guests from neighboring states and Georgia residents can take advantage of this Atlanta hotel deal and enjoy a 15 percent room discount for a romantic weekend in the heart of the city. You'll trade the stale bagels at your usual continental breakfast for a freshly baked pastry from Cafe Mims. For more than a bite, guests can try the Georgian mountain trout at the in-house eatery Livingston Restaurant and Bar.

Anyone can find an Atlanta hotel with meeting space, but this venue has much more than simply a "space" for your meeting. The 16,000-square-foot conference center includes six conference rooms, three luxurious ballrooms seating 350 people, with state-of-the-art equipment available. Halogen-lighting, ergonomic seating and on-site concierge services are just the tip of the iceberg for Georgian Terrace meeting packages.

Planners can also take advantage of the hotel's Atlanta meeting promotions, such as the "Go Green" package, which includes reusable water bottles, recycled paper products and optional post-function food donation. Write your event agendas or wedding vows on the recycled paper with eco-friendly pens.

So when debating over venues for your next Atlanta event, why chose the rest when you can give your attendees the best? Find more information about booking The Georgian Terrace Hotel on the Cvent Supplier Network today!

Are you using social media to promote your association's cause? Or maybe a charity fundraiser you're hosting? What just about a corporate event? If so, I just came across a great idea for free event promotion on Twitter.

It's called a Twibbon. Basically, it's a service that overlays a small icon onto Twitter profile images of your supporters. For example, supporters of breast cancer research can sign up to suppor the cause by having a small pink ribbon placed in the corner of Twitter profile pictures.

Non-profit event planners can easily create Twibbons for either your cause or your specifc event. All you have to do is create a Twibbon image with design software such as Paint.NET or Pixlr (both free), upload it, and add a brief description. Check out the full instructions for creating a Twibbon here.

Twibbons aren't just for non-profits and charitable causes, though. I've seen them for sport teams, celebrities, TV shows and more. Meeting planners in all markets could use them to promote their upcoming events. Just consider a few of the event-related twibbons I found in use for events of all sizes and types:







What's really cool about Twibbons is that once you create one for your meeting, it's logged in the Twibbon database. People can search for your Twibbon and find information about your cause or event, who is supporting it and more.

If you're looking to promote your event or meeting on Twitter, Twibbons are a great option. They're easy, free and fun!

Is your next event in San Francisco? You're in luck! Meeting planners can take advantage of a number of San Francisco promotions for their groups. Check out our recap of San Francisco meeting promotions:

• Pleasanton Marriott Offers Unbeatable Group Rates Promotion

• Hyatt Announces Limited Time Offer for Third Party Planners

• Starwood Offers Up to 50 Percent Off Room Rates

Tell us your San Francisco promotions! And remember, you can search for San Francisco hotel discounts on the Cvent Supplier Network as well. Just select your metro area and narrow down your results based on promotional offers!

When it comes to managing electronic Requests for Proposals (RFP), Cvent tries to make the process just as easy for event suppliers as we do for planners. After all, the simpler the system works on both sides, the faster and more successful you will be in booking what you need.

Cvent clients on the supplier side can update listings on the Cvent Supplier Network with a number of features. You can provide venue or service descriptions, add image galleries, upload documents, and event list meeting promotions, all of which make it easier for planners to determine if you're the best supplier for their event.

It doesn't take long to update supplier profiles. Remember last week when we blogged about how planners can save time on RFP creation by copying meeting requirements? Suppliers have a similar advantage when creating profiles for each of their meeting rooms. If you have several meeting rooms with the same square footage, room dimensions, ceiling height, etc., you can easily just create a room once, then copy it as many times necessary. Name each room appropriately, update the pictures, and you're done!



Tips like this save suppliers time, making it easier for them to create fuller, more detailed profiles for planners to compare on the Supplier Network.

Everyone knows Chicago is famous for the "blues." That's why House of Blues is an ideal spot for private events!

House of Blues was created and designed to celebrate the glory of one of America's supreme and enduring musical traditions. Guests will enjoy this multi-dimensional brand that combines a themed restaurant, a company store and a live music venue that celebrates the city that inspired the blues, every night!

Chicago events held at House of Blues will enjoy exclusive use of the eclectic Mississippi Delta-inspired restaurant and that serves up some delicious Southern food served with a side of down home blues music! The House of Blues special event facilities in Chicago range from accommodating groups as small as 15 guests to as large as 1,800 people. These versatile spaces are decorated with architectural artifacts, original folk art, inviting sofas and numerous bars.

Lucky for Chicago meeting planners, the House of Blues sales staff just released a new promotion. If you book an event by October 18, you will receive a 30 percent special events discount off of your food and beverage package of choice. Another perk is that if you take advantage of this Chicago meeting promotion, the food and beverage minimum will be waived.

Give your guests the opportunity to experience a true taste of the genre of music that is known as a Chicago legacy. For more information on the House of Blues in Chicago, visit the Cvent Supplier Network.

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry is home of some of the most famous exhibits in the country including the Henry Crown Space Center, the U-505 Submarine, Navy: Technology at Sea, and the Genetics and Baby Chick Hatchery. This premier destination offers exceptional Chicago event spaces around its exhibits that are sure to be a dramatic backdrop for any event.

This popular Chicago attraction can host groups of 30 to 5,000 people among eight distinct event areas. Whether you dine under a submarine or on the beautiful outdoor terrace overlooking the front entrance, you are guaranteed a unique experience for all of your guests.

The museum's amenities serve as a perk to event and meeting coordinators. Access to coat check, event security, guides & exhibit staff, underground direct-access parking and valet, audio-visual equipment, china, linens, floral and simple decor are among the extras. This full-service Chicago venue is run by a team of experienced event staff who can help you coordinate every step of the way.

There well-known Chicago catering partner, Sodexo USA, works with the event planning team to create a menu that will suit you and your guests taste buds. The company has been known to create unique dining themes while maintaining high standards of quality service within a workable budget.

This holiday season, the Museum of Science and Industry is offering a "stimulus package" meeting promotion. If you host an event before President's Day, you will receive 10 percent off of the facility rental plus a $500 credit towards your food and beverage. Whether you are enjoying a reception inside a 727 jet plane or mingling in the Smart Home garden, this venue is sure to capture your guests' attention!

View more information about the Museum of Science and Industry on the Cvent Supplier Network

Put yourself in the shoes of an event invitee. You've just heard about an event—an industry tradeshow, association seminar, user conference, etc.—that you really want to attend. You go to the event website to register, only to be met with a simple message: "This event is closed."

How frustrating! It's bad enough that the event is closed, but a message like these really closes the door completely to your potential attendees. What if someone wants to know if you'll be having a similar event next year (because they'd attend)? What if someone wants to be included in your event marketing so they'll be ahead of the game for similar events in the upcoming months? A simple "This event is closed" message doesn't give them any where to turn.

When you build an event with Cvent, it's easy to edit your "Event closed" message with more specific information. Include the planner's name and email as a contact, or provide specific instructions for those who would still like to register. You could even direct visitors to your events calendar so that they can sign up for future events. Don't close the door completely on interested guests!

Third-party planners have another reason to book a meeting at Hyatt. For events booked by September 30, 2010, and held by December 31, 2010, third party planners will now receive Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points equaling those earned by their clients who participate n the new Hyatt Gold Passport Planner Rewards program.

Thanks to this limited time offer, there's no need for third-party planners to split or share—you receive your own points redeemable for free nights with no blackout dates and upgrades at any Hyatt location worldwide, donations to established Hyatt Gold Passport charities, and more. Some examples of Hyatt Gold Passport awards are one free night at selected Hyatt Hotels (5,000 points required) and one free night in Regency/Grand Club (7,000 points required).

Contact your Hyatt Worldwide Sales Representative for more information using the reference code 3DPTY. Or, visit hyattreply.com/thirdparty.

And don't forget, you can use the Cvent Supplier Network to find Hyatt Hotels & Resorts properties across the globe and take advantage of its exclusive meeting promotions.

We recently talked to a Cvent client who used used Cvent's invitation reminder and invitation forwarding tools (both during the online registration process and on the event summary page) to "boost attendance in a down economy." She was thrilled: she upped her event attendance by 60 registrants from last year’s count. She was so impressed with Cvent’s ability to allow her registrants to "market her event for her."

Allowing invitees to forward their event invitations to friends, adding these friends to targeted lists for the event, and then following up with invitation reminders resulted in a huge increase in her attendance. All this event marketing at no extra cost!

Read more about how Cvent can help with your event email marketing.

You know that the majority of associations are using social networks. Many of them are also using or interested in using social networks solely to promote their events, according to a recent survey by Omnipress. Why? The following are some of the top reasons cited by associations currently using social media for their events:

• To create pre-event interest/enthusiasm
• To facilitate interaction among conference participants
• To increase attendance
• To capture summaries, opinions, reviews and other feedback from attendees
• To allow members who cannot attend stay connected to the conference

Even associations who are not currently using a social networking site can appreciate their value. Respondents noted that they can be valuable for:

• Connecting attendees with each other through common profile interests
• Facilitating online interaction between attendees and speakers for questions and answers before/during/after the event
• Providing attendees with "daily news" email updates on conference happenings

Overall, it's this idea of connection and communication that social media networks foster that appeals to associations when it comes to their events. After all, as one survey respondent said, "Over 50 percent of our conference attendees have indicated that their primary reason for attendance at national meetings is networking." What better way to encourage this this than with social media?

Read the full survey analysis on Social Networks for Conferences.

Want to host an event worthy of the stars, but don't exactly have a celebrity's budget? The Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport hotel can help. For a limited time, Los Angeles meeting planners can take advantage of a special group rate starting at $99.

And that's not all. The special group offering also includes a five percent rebate to your master bill, complimentary meeting room rental, complimentary upgrade for VIP guests, complimentary coffee break, and triple Marriott Rewarding Event points. This great Los Angeles meeting promotion is good for meetings with 25 or more peak room nights booked by December 31, 2009, to be used by December 31, 2010.

With the amenities of a resort, resources of a convention center, and convenience of being less than a mile from the Burbank Airport, the Marriott Burbank Airport hotel is an ideal Los Angeles event venue. Among its 46,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the hotel features a stand-alone convention center and a grand ballroom for over 1,300 Los Angeles banquet guests.

Outside of the boardroom, the Los Angeles hotel has 395 rooms and 93 suites, as well as an on-site restaurant, fitness center and high-speed Internet access. It's also ideally located near top LA attractions such as Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland and Universal Studios Theme Park & Citywalk.

View more information about the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport hotel on the Cvent Supplier Network. For more information about this LA hotel deal, call 1-818-840-6487.

The Singapore Tourism Board is expanding its "BE in Singapore" campaign to meeting and incentive planners. Started in March, the campaign will now run until February 2010, offering groups booking a minimum of 150 visitor room nights significant financial incentives for marketing, bidding, hosting fees and support for distinguished speakers.

"Singapore understands the challenges that the meetings industry is going through, and we are showing our support and long-term commitment to a vital and dedicated group of visitors," said Kershing Goh, regional director, The Americas, Singapore Tourism Board (based in New York), in a statement. "The industry is a critical component of our destination’s tourism infrastructure, and this campaign provides substantial economic relief, while encouraging new meetings in Singapore."

The BEiS campaign also includes an overseas marketing initiative to help smaller events through a Special Assistance Scheme for Value Events (SAVE). Meeting planners looking to host an event in Singapore can also find additional deals with the STB's "2009 Reasons to Meet in Singapore Campaign," which offers accommodation and meeting promotions.

If Singapore meeting is in your future, make sure to explore the Singapore meeting planning profile on the Cvent Destination Guide. Explore hotels, unique venues, convention centers, attractions and more!

The Star Alliance has launched a global product for the meetings market: Meetings Plus gives meeting planners and event planners a group travel discount of 10 to 20 percent on international travel for qualified programs.

Companies, meeting planners and incentive agencies needing to organize gatherings with participants from different countries now have access to the entire Star Alliance network, by contracting their travel needs through just one Star Alliance member airline.

"With Meetings Plus we are offering an alliance product to a new market segment. We are certain that our Meetings Plus customers will value the experience and expertise which we can provide, largely based on knowledge gained by having offered an alliance conventions product for more than eight years," said Christopher Korenke, vice president commercial, Star Alliance.

Meetings Plus can be used for most meetings of 50 people or more, with attendees originating in at least three different countries. Interested meeting organizers can send an online request for proposal (RFP) for airfare needs via www.staralliance.com/meetingsplus. The organizer will then be contacted by the Star Alliance member carrier designated to handle the travel requirements for the requested event. Bookings will be made through the organizers' appointed travel agency. The Star Alliance member carriers are offering fare discounts ranging between 10 to 20 percent off the published fare in either Business or Economy Class.

Here is a link to Meetings Plus
https://meetingsplus.staralliance.com

I blog frequently about how meeting planners can use Twitter to promote their events. But I can understand that some event planners may still have some hesitations about getting started: Will I have time? What do I use it for? Is it really worthwhile?

Meetings & Conventions recently published a great article about two meeting planners who are using Twitter: Jessica Levin, manage of communications and member services for Moore Stevens North America, and Vanessa LaClair, a membership services and event coordinator for Independent Power Producers of New York in Albany. They share some thoughts on how they've found Twitter beneficial, the strategies they have for managing it and more.

If you're still unsure about signing up for a Twitter account, definitely check out the article to see how meeting planners are making Twitter work for them.

I recently blogged that over two-thirds of conference attendees are actively using Twitter during the event. Association planners are taking notice of their members' behavior, with a new study reporting that the majority of associations are using social media networks.

According to a survey by Omnipress, a Madison, Wisconsin-based producer of education meeting materials, of over 325 associations, 80 percent of respondents were using some sort of free or public social media network. Facebook was most popular, cited by 59 percent of respondents. LinkedIn was named by 46 percent, Twitter by 45 percent and YouTube by 25 percent.

Also interesting is that associations are not just using their existing social media networks to promote their events. About 19 percent of respondents said they have a conference-based social networking website solely dedicated to engaging conference participants before, during and after an event. About 27 percent are strongly considering creating such a site and 44 percent are interested in the idea.

Read the full survey analysis on Social Networks for Conferences.

Many of Cvent's new features make it easier for meeting and event planners to promote their events via social media. Letting your invitees share your event on their networking pages and including a link to your Twitter page are both great ways for planners to spread the word about their upcoming meeting, conference, etc.

Still, we know that no form of promotion has quite the same impact as word-of-mouth advertising. That's why Cvent has added another feature that makes it easy for your event invitees to let their friends and colleagues know about your event.

As you build your event website, you can opt to "Forward the event to others." This will place a "Send to a Colleague" link on your event website. By clicking this, event invitees can forward the invitation to others who may be interested, along with a short note.



If this option seems familiar, you may be thinking of Cvent's tell-a-friend functionality, which is another great way to allow person-to-person recommendations of your event. However, the new Forward option lets not just attendees tell their friends, but invitees as well. So even if one of your contacts has a scheduling conflict and cannot make it to your meeting, he or she can still pass it on to others who may be interested.

Note, however, that invitees must access your event website through a Cvent email. Those coming from a weblink will not be able to forward the event.