Meetings Beat: InterContinental Expands Meeting Rewards

InterContinental Hotels Group has expanded its meetings rewards program to more brands and introduced more reward options. Previously only available in Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, the Priority Club Meeting Rewards program now is available to events being held at all IHG brands, including Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo. It awards planners three points for every dollar spent booking at least 10 rooms within a group block. The points are applied to American Express prepaid cards ranging from $250 to $1,000, which can be used toward future meetings or rooms at any IHG property, airline frequent-flyer points or merchandise. Planners are bumped to Gold Elite status when one meeting is booked within a calendar year and Platinum Elite after booking two. After enrolling, planners can submit requests for proposals online. Enrollment is free. Meanwhile, IHG last month partnered to allow customers of online group travel and booking site Groople to book the more than 3,700 hotels under the IHG umbrella.

TRX Self-Booking Tool Adds Meeting Policy Feature
Travel technology firm TRX last month released an updated version of its ResX online booking tool that allows bookings under multiple travel policies, including those designed to govern corporate group and meeting travel. With ResX 7.0, travelers will answer a question at the beginning of booking to ensure their bookings are governed by the appropriate policy guidelines, said Shane Hammond, president of TRX's ResX Technologies division. Travelers also can register for meetings through the tool, he said.

Orbitz, Travelport Add Planning Link
Online travel management company Orbitz this month announced a partnership with meeting planning consultancy The Win Group. The company's Orbitz for Business and Travelport for Business booking tools added meeting-planning links that will direct clients' requirements to The Win Group. "Planning a meeting and coordinating every last detail requires a great deal of time and effort, so we're pleased to make the job easier for our corporate customers," said Dean Sivley, COO and general manager of Orbitz Worldwide's Corporate Travel Solutions Group. "We'll handle the travel arrangements and our partners at The Win Group can help our customers plan their offsite meetings or corporate events."

CIC Frees CMP Application, Handbook
The Convention Industry Council, the meetings industry's umbrella organization, last month announced that the Certified Meeting Professional certification application and associated handbook, previously only available through purchase, will be available as a free download on its Web site. In addition, certified meeting professionals will be able to revise profiles and monitor their status in the CMP database. The application and handbook are available on the CIC's Web site at www.conventionindustry.org.

StarCite, BCD Meetings & Incentives Appoint Executives
Meetings technology firm StarCite last month named Randy Christofferson, a senior executive at several venture capital firms, its new executive chairman and former American Express Business Travel veteran Pieter Rieder as senior vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Randy's extensive leadership experience transforming organizations and guiding corporate growth will be instrumental as we plot a course for StarCite's continued success," StarCite president and CEO Michael Boult said. Former StarCite managing director for EMEA Shaun Casey, meanwhile, joined BCD Meetings & Incentives, the meetings-management arm of BCD Travel, in the same position. Additionally, BCD M&I recently named Marc Ter Haar senior vice president of EMEA. Ter Haar previously held a senior position in parent company BCD Holdings, the firm said.

Dolce Debuts Resort Division
Conference center company Dolce International this month announced the launch of a new division, created to distinguish Dolce's resort properties from its conference facilities. The first three Dolce Resort Destinations properties are located in Austin, Texas; Park City, Utah; and Aspen, Colo.; with another in Bend, Ore., scheduled to open next year. "Our European properties are great resorts that also happen to be great places to hold meetings and conferences," Michael Quinn, Dolce Resort Destinations' regional director of sales and marketing, said in a statement. "In North America, our newly formed resort division shows our commitment to grow and operate inspired resort properties that rival our reputation for outstanding hotels and conference centers." Dolce's European resort properties are located in Belgium, France and Spain.