PCMA and HILTON HHONORS™ PARTNER TO SUPPORT MEETING PROFESSIONALS

PCMA and HILTON HHONORS™ PARTNER TO SUPPORT MEETING PROFESSIONALS
Hilton HHonors members can now redeem HHonors points for PCMA membership

Chicago, IL, October 2012 – The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Hilton HHonors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s 10 distinct hotel brands, has announced a new value-add option for meetings industry professionals to engage in PCMA membership. Hilton HHonors members will now have the option to redeem their HHonors Points for PCMA Professional or Supplier Memberships.

The process is simple and seamless; HHonorsmembers can visit the Global Shopping Mall at hhonors.com/shopping to take advantage of this opportunity.

Commenting on the agreement Ben Goedegebuure, International Board Director of PCMA and Director of Sales for the SECC, commented: “This agreement underlines the partnership nature of PCMA and how, as an association, we can bring wide reaching member benefits for senior meetings and events professionals.”

According to Deborah Sexton, PCMA President and CEO, “This partnership is designed to help foster professional development and peer-to-peer business networking amongst those in the meetings, conventions and business events industry. Through the Hilton HHonors program PCMA members will be able to renew their membership by using their HHonors points, while those who are not members, but interested in their professional development, can easily join PCMA by using their HHonorspoints.”

“Recognizing the challenges facing meeting professionals in the last few years, Hilton Worldwide is pleased to be able to support the world class educational platform and premier networking opportunities associated with a PCMA membership. This is a unique opportunity and is yet another way Hilton Worldwide is committed to a healthy and vibrant meetings community.” said Larry Luteran, Senior Vice President, Group Sales and Industry Relations, Hilton Worldwide.

For more information on this program, visit pcma.org/memberdiscounts
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For further information, contact:
Alistair Turner at Davies Tanner on +44 (0)1892 617 904 or +44(0)7801 710 238 or alistair.turner@daviestanner.co.uk

About PCMA
PCMA is the multi-channel professional resource and premier educator for leaders in the meetings, conventions, events and trade show industries. PCMA provides their 6,000+ members with a community of likeminded colleagues, innovative education and creative global solutions to enhance both their professional development and their organization’s face-to-face and virtual connections. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 17chapters throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico with members in more than 35 countries. For additional information, please visit the PCMA Web site at pcma.org.

About Hilton HHonors
Hilton HHonors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s 10 distinct hotel brands, offers its 30 million members more ways to earn and redeem points than any other guest-loyalty program, enabling them to create experiences worth sharing at more than 3,800 hotels in 91 countries. HHonors members can now redeem points for any room, anywhere, anytime, including the most luxurious suites, using any of four room rewards: Premium Room Rewards, Room Upgrade Rewards, Points & Money Rewards and StandardRoom Rewards. In addition, HHonors members can use points to purchase unique experience rewards, merchandise and vacation packages, make charitable contributions and more. HHonors is also the only guest-loyalty program to offer ‘No Blackout Dates’ and ‘Points & Miles’ for the same stay at its properties worldwide, including participating Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels& Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. Membership in HHonors is free, and travelers may enroll online by visiting http://www.HiltonHHonors.com or connect with Hilton HHonors at news.hiltonhhonors.com.

About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitalityc ompany, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels andresorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 93 years, HiltonWorldwide has offered business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,800 hotels and timeshare properties, with 630,000 rooms in 91 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. Visit http://www.hiltonworldwide.com for more information and connect with Hilton Worldwide at http://www.facebook.com/hiltonworldwide, http://www.twitter.com/hiltonworldwide, http://www.youtube.com/hiltonworldwide, http://www.flickr.com/hiltonworldwide and http://www.linkedin.com/company/hilton-worldwide.

PCMA JOINS BUSINESS VISITS & EVENTS PARTNERSHIP

PCMA JOINS BUSINESS VISITS & EVENTS PARTNERSHIP

29th October 2012, Chicago: The ProfessionalConvention Management Association (PCMA) has been approved to join the umbrella body for the UK events industry following last week’s partnership meeting in Glasgow.

The association will become the twentieth member of the Business Visits & Events Partnership, the body that represents the full spectrum of the UK events industry. PCMA has gained worldwide accolade for the quality of its educational and there has been a marked increase in interest from UK meeting and events professionals since the inaugural PCMA Global Corporate Summit was held in Scotland this summer.

Ben Goedegebuure, Sales Director of the SECC and International Board Member for the PCMA commented, “As an association we believe in working in partnerships so joining the BVEP was a natural step to align ourselves with the UK industry. Europe remains a key market and the success of ‘The Glasgow Summit’ only underlined the genuine appetite there is out there for the association.”

The BVEP held its October meeting in Glasgow at the SECC, hosted by both the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Menzies Hotels.

“PCMA has earned a solid reputation for the quality of their education and brings to the table differing international perspective to where the UK industry is right now,” commented Michael Hirst, Chair of the Business Visits & Events Partnership. “It was fitting to have confirmed the association’s membership in Glasgow, where they took their first step into the market.”

The news comes following the PCMA’s partnership agreement to supply education at International Confex next year.

PCMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION RESEARCH UNCOVERS WHAT MATTERS TO MILLENNIAL ATTENDEES

PCMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION RESEARCH UNCOVERS WHAT MATTERS TO MILLENNIAL ATTENDEES
Millennial Meeting Research Reveals Key Factors in
Attracting Young Audience Members

CHICAGO, Illinois, 27th June, 2012 — A new report commissioned by the PCMA Education Foundation delves into meetings, events and conventions from the perspective of the Millennial generation to identify key motivations and challenges in engaging this emerging audience.

‘What the Millennial Generation Prefers in Their Meetings, Conventions and Events’ is based on the findings of the largest survey conducted of its kind. More than 2,000 respondents ages 18 – 30 participated in the study, which was led by a team of hospitality and human sciences experts*.

The findings reveal that face-to-face communication remains the mosteffective method for reaching Millennials. However, the results indicate that planners must part ways with traditional meeting formats to truly engage this demographic.

“It is imperative to discontinue programs of straight lecture or basic PowerPoint presentations to satisfy an emerging generation of attendees,” the research team says. “If you motivate the Millennial with an inspiring and fun event, they will come.”

“We’re seeing a new delegate and a new buyer emerging within our industry and one that has always had access to ‘new’ technologies and the world of hybrid events – we need to listen to them,” comments Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales, SECC.

“What is clearly evident is that this generation believes in meetings, they want career progressing networking and career progression, they want education and entertainment, but they’re not specific on new innovations; only that it adds to the experience and does not become the experience. This is important for our industry and underlines that content will continue to be King for a while yet!”

The report examines how Millennials define “inspiring and fun” and why they choose to attend – or stay home – from meetings and events. By dividing this demographic into further subsets based on age (18 – 20, 21 – 24, and 25 – 30), the research team offers additional insights into internal differences between younger and older Millennials’ expectations, needs and thoughts on technology.

Selected Key Report Takeaways
86% of respondents indicated that career networking is one of the primary drivers for participating in meetings, events and conventions.
93% of respondents want education with entertainment.
86% of respondents want structured meetings and conferences.
More than 50% of respondents do NOT prefer LinkedIn, Twitter or blogs for communication.
Less than 50% of respondents like lectures.

SECC SHOWCASES PROJECT ABILITY AT IMEX 2012

SECC SHOWCASES PROJECT ABILITY AT IMEX 2012

IMEX: 21st May 2012- Frankfurt, Germany: The SECC has partnered with Glasgow based charity Project Ability at IMEX this year as the venue continues its focus on ‘Better Business’ for 2012. The Glasgow based charity, which works with adults with learning disabilities and mental health issues to encourage creativity and expression through art, has been commissioned by the SECC toprovide installations throughout the venue, underlining the venue’s relationship with the local community.

Further supporting VisitScotland’s ‘Year of Creative Scotland 2012’ campaign, the SECC will be showcasing some of the Project Ability imagery at IMEX as part of its commitment to the project and the important work the charity continues to do. The brief that was given to the artists at Project Ability was “What does the SECC mean to you?”

“We pride ourselves in doing business responsibly and better,” comments Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales at the SECC. “The focus on responsible business seems to have been lost in the economic downturn. We believe that supporting good business now, when times are a little harder, underlines our commitment to working responsibly across our operation.

“We continue to support a wide variety of charities such as ‘Trees for Life’, the ‘Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy’ charity and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice,” continues Goedegebuure. “Project Ability provide an amazing service for people with disabilities by using art as a medium to capture and encourage creativity, imagination, and emotion.

“As a venue that plays host to a vast array of creative activity – from conferences, meetings, exhibitions, through to concerts, plays and special events, we want to make sure our space reflects and represents the creativity abundant on our doorstep,” he concludes.