Meetings Beat - 2003-08-11
Northwestern Offers Consolidation Tech
Northwestern Incentive Services, a subsidiary of Northwestern Travel L.P. and a sister entity to Northwestern Travel Management, last month agreed to use online meetings management firm StarCite's meetings consolidation technology products and distribute them to its corporate clients, particularly large and midmarket companies in the Midwest. Minneapolis-based Northwestern Incentive Services has created a new subsidiary, Northwestern Meeting Solutions, to distribute the technology. Northwestern officials painted the move as necessary to enter the meetings consolidation market. "Without a technology solution, it was not possible to consolidate multiple meetings within a large company effectively and efficiently," said Northwestern Incentive Services president Claudia Wilson. Terms of the deal were not released. Northwestern Travel Management is the 15th largest corporate-owned agency based on U.S. booked airline tickets in 2002 (BTN, May 26).
New MPI Cash To Fund ROI Study
The Meeting Professionals International Foundation last week announced its 2003 campaign has raised $4 million during the past 12 months, exceeding its goal by nearly $1 million. The foundation immediately dedicated $1 million to initiatives that support the association's strategic plan, including a research project aimed at identifying solutions and perfecting a measurement system that documents that value of meetings. The study will update a previous return on investment study conducted by the association's Corporate Circle of Excellence, the foundation and Fusion Productions.
Hawaii VCB CEO Vericella Quits
After weeks of controversy spurred by a state audit that questioned its accounting practices and alleged mishandling of state funds, Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau president and CEO Tony Vericella resigned last month. "I believe that by stepping aside, HVCB will be better able to move forward with the essential task of marketing the state of Hawaii unimpeded by the issues surrounding the legislative auditors' report," Vericella said. "I am very proud of what HVCB has been able to accomplish during my tenure and believe the bureau's record of achievements during that term speaks for itself." Vericella resigned despite a unanimous vote of confidence of the bureau's board of directors. Les Enderton, executive director of the Oahu Visitors Bureau, also will serve as interim president of HVCB while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement. Enderton has led the Oahu CVB since 1997.
Former Andersen Center Relaunches
Caught in the 2002 immolation of defunct accounting giant Andersen was its training and conference facility, the St. Charles, Ill.-based Center for Professional Education. The center in late June relaunched itself, however, as a large public facility dedicated to corporate events, called the Q Center. The center, with more than 1,000 guest rooms and more than 110,000 square feet in meeting space, is one of the largest public conference centers in the country. "The Q Center name better represents the current and future direction of our conference center as a catalyst for attracting new and diverse meetings and training from across the country," said general manager Paul Minger. "It underscores the center's suitability to handle a wide range of meetings and signifies our ability to adapt to the changing needs of the marketplace." According to the Chicago Tribune, the center still has a long-term contract to handle meetings staged by consulting firm Accenture, created in 2000 when the former Arthur Andersen split into separate accounting and consulting firms.