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A Meeting Planner's Market
August 24, 2007
These Web sites help you select the right supplier for your needs
By Mariana Lemann
Seal of Approval
www.elitemeetings.net
With a database of hundreds of resorts and hotels, this new site offers tools to assist users in property searches by features such as meeting space, number of guest rooms by type, transfer time to and from nearby airports, and food and beverage offerings. The site promises that properties featured on searches have been approved by its advisory board, comprised of professionals in the corporate planning and hospitality industries. With the "Speed RFP" option, planners can request simple dates as well as detailed proposals, and the "Click to Talk" button, available at each property profile, allows planners to connect to the hotel's sales department. Another relevant piece of information the site displays is the value dates that hotels need to fill throughout the year.
Match Game
www.hotelplanner.com
Before a face-to-face or even an over-the-phone negotiation with select hotels, planners can post hotel booking requirements here that will be matched by hotels willing to fulfill them. Affiliated hotels in the destination are notified and place bids on a secure page. After the bids are reviewed, planners can contact sales managers directly or have the system notify those managers of their interest in booking rooms and services. Although most of the 400 requests processed daily by the four-year-old site are for hotels in the U.S., the site also can be used for bids from international properties. Users can also search for price quotes on car rentals, airline tickets, cruises, and other entertainment options.
Meeting Bazaar
www.buyerzone.com
This site's purpose is not solely providing tools for meeting planners; it is a marketplace for buyers and sellers of business products and services. Through a bid-based process, BuyerZone connects buyers to a network of suppliers across more than 125 product and service categories, with more than 8,000 participating suppliers. The site launched in 1992 and claims to have "facilitated more than $5 billion in purchasing transactions since 2004." In the case of meetings and events, planners can request quotes online, with pointers to narrow down the matching process according to the type of event, number of guests, type of venue, number of overnight accommodations required, catering needs, and services such as advertising, guest speakers, music and entertainment, guest transportation, and audiovisual.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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