Meetingmax is hiring!

Meetingmax is currently hiring for a new member member of our team. See description and details below:

Accommodation Management Rock Star

Our progressive and growing tech company that provides solutions to the world of events is looking for a rock star.

You will fit in with us if:

(1)    You are a Core Values driven individual that seeks out like minded people

(2)    You believe in continual personal growth and development

(3)    You consider yourself full of ingenuity

(4)    You crave accountability and expect performance measurement

(5)    You don’t mind wearing a sombrero from time to time

Some details on the position:

-          Contract negotiation and hotel selection for events throughout North America

-          Room block management

-          Daily functioning in our awesome online housing system

-          Capacity to  provide Ridiculously Remarkable Support

-          Liaising with hotels and guests

-          Not a lot of travel. Mostly in the office

All about us:

We are accomplishing some cool and impactful things in the hospitality industry. We know who we are, why we exist and what we deliver to the world. We are not a major corporation and tend to do things a bit differently. We wear Four Seasons slippers in the office, have a monthly ‘Liquor-Cart Friday’, play everyone’s iPod in rotation & generally enjoy some ‘less than traditional’ traditions.

It’s not all fun and games though; we are serious about holding and keeping people accountable, measuring performance indicators and having monthly goal initiatives. We enjoy our monthly “Growing Minds Program” where everyone reads or listens to the same book and meets at the end of the month to discuss what was learned and how we can change.

We always have clear plans on what our year looks like ahead of time, have a vivid vision of our long term future and certainly don’t know it all but aim to figure it out along the way. Always a work in progress.

Final Thoughts:

We hire for Core Value and culture fit first. Experience with CRM, housing systems, hotel negotiations and hotel contracting are considered to be great assets. Industry experience is of huge benefit but realizing we aren’t in brain surgery, we assume you can pick up the specific skills if you are the right fit. We are interested in long term greatness. Let us know if you think you might fit and why (A CV might help too): careers@meetingmax.cc

March Book Review – Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson.

For the month of March, our team decided to choose a book that was a little different from the ones chosen previously. We chose to read Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson.

This book is an autobiography that goes into great detail of all aspects of Richard Branson’s life, showcasing his tremendous struggles in childhood and captivating us with his marvelous adventures.

Overall we really enjoyed this read. It was amazing to see how far someone can come from early childhood being at the bottom of the class in a boarding school, to building a globally recognized foundation. His ability to deal with people and his never ending push to achieve his goals is impressive. We found it noble that he never started a business to make money, he always had a greater goal for helping others achieve something.

We also found that throughout Richard Branson’s life, his actions echoed our 6 core company values. His book inspired us to continuously nurture all relationships, create success, and make it fun!

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 equals a book with little value one would not wish to read again, and 10 equals a fantastic book with the ability to grow an individual personally, professionally or both, we rated this book a 9.1.

Have you read it? Let us know what you thought. 

Virgin's latest launch: A glass bottomed plane

Building the Better Bedrock

We are pleased to announce this new session for the 2013 Meetingmax Unconvention...

Building the Better Bedrock
Led by Spero Batistatos, President & CEO of the South Shore
Convention & Visitors Authority

Building the Better Bedrock – How the correctly deployed housing plan is an integral part of any DMO's marketing strategy. Join Spero Batistatos, President and CEO of the South Shore CVA, as he discusses the elements of the properly executed housing approach. In this session Mr. Batistatos will cover

• How superior customer service can be achieved through guest’s contact details
• How housing data is used to provide accountability, transparency and when combined with Smith Travel Research (STR) the hotel/motel industry have better and more accurate information
• How “value-adds” can be achieved through targeted offers to demographic matches
• How the contact data can be used to gain valuable feedback from guests after they leave
• How using housing as a tool can lead into larger pieces of business with neighbouring DMO’s

This is the last week to register and reserve hotel rooms!

Secure your spot now

About Spero Batistatos:
Spero began his career in the hospitality industry more than 30 years ago at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana. In 1989, he was selected to lead what is now known as the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. During his first 12 years there, he was able to increase the organization's budget 10-fold and facilitate the construction of the Nation's Premiere Visitors Center.

Before returning to Lake County, he was the President and CEO of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority. There he led an aggressive marketing program to support Southern New Jersey's $8 billion dollar tourism industry.

He is a "Hoosier" at heart, holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics and Public Policy from Indiana University. He’s also completed DMAI's professional certification program, earning the distinguished designation of Fellow Certified Destination Management Executive (FCDME).

He is a graduate of the 2007 inaugural class of Northwest Indiana's FBI Citizens Academy. He was named one of the "Champions of Diversity" by Indiana Minority Business Magazine. Also, under his leadership, the South Shore CVA was honored as one of the "Top 10 Best Places to Work in Indiana" of small to medium size companies two years in a row by the Indiana Chamber.

In July of 2000, Governor Frank O'Bannon honored Spero with the "Sagamore of the Wabash," and in January 2008, he was chosen as one of the "Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing" by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), one of the highest recognitions in the tourism industry.

He’s served on the Board of Directors for the Travel Industry Association of America in addition to serving numerous local not-for-profit and community boards. He is currently the chairman of the Challenger Learning Center and the Indiana Parenting Institute. He is also a member of the NWI Forum, the Gary Parks Board and the Barden Foundation.

About the Unconvention:
For Organizations and Destinations that want to succeed at housing, this is a must-attend event.

Join us in Vancouver, BC April 10 - 12, 2013 to establish, increase or refine your housing services through tactical expert led learning. We don't believe in sitting in one ballroom all day, it's too boring! We promise to keep you engaged through a diverse offering of learning opportunities and networking events.

We make every effort to foster an environment of open discussion with your peers, those who face the same housing situations you deal with on a daily basis. This conference is the perfect mix of education, networking and fun.

$595 for first registration, $450 for each additional registration. This includes all learning sessions, networking events, transportation, food and beverage. Accommodation and flights not included. 

etouches and Meetingmax Announce Integration

Companies to offer integrated event registration and housing systems 

Norwalk, CT and Vancouver, BC; March 19, 2013 – Event software specialists etouches and Meetingmax announced today an integration of their systems. The two companies will offer professional conference organizers a system that leverages etouches’ expertise in attendee engagement and Meetingmax’s online housing reservation capabilities.

"Our partnership with Meetingmax reflects our commitment to providing our customers seamless access to essential, quality solutions," says Leonora Valvo, founder & CEO, etouches. "Meetingmax has developed a focused expertise which, in combination with etouches, is a powerful offering."

The integration will offer event attendees a unified online interface that will take them through the registration process and allow them to book space at one of the event’s participating hotels. This will eliminate the duplication of data entry and give organizers comprehensive data and reporting capabilities.

“etouches and Meetingmax have a lot in common. We are both young companies with intimate knowledge of what it takes to plan events,” says Jeff Duncan, COO Meetingmax Systems. “By working together we can enhance the way we do business and make our clients’ lives easier by offering them a complete package.”

Interestingly, the two companies started out as event management companies. Their founders weren’t satisfied with available event management software solutions so they developed their own, each focusing on different areas. With increasing interest in their software, both etouches and Meetingmax transformed from event planning companies to software companies.

The integration was first developed for a joint client, International Conference Services (ICS). ICS approached the two companies to inquire about integrating their systems to allow for seamless conference registration and housing management.

“With this integration, my team gets their dream system,” says Mathias Posch, President, International Conference Services Ltd. “The system will save a significant amount of staff time and will allow us to be much more strategic with our e-marketing. For example, we can now easily follow up with people who haven’t booked their rooms, without irritating those who have.”

The integrated system is available to meeting planners or conference organizers upon request by contacting either etouches or Meetingmax.

About etouches:

etouches is a global on-demand suite of integrated software applications that help organizations perform every function in the event planning lifecycle. etouches offers tools for: registration, budgeting, project management, scheduling, event microsite, seating, surveying, event marketing, booth purchasing, networking, and DIY mobile applications.

About Meetingmax:

Meetingmax Systems provides the travel industry with the most flexible online housing reservation system. Tailored to meet the needs of convention and visitors bureaus, event planners, and organizations, the system provides users with a simple, yet powerful, means to manage conference and event room bookings. The company is based in Vancouver, BC and can be found online at www.meetingmaxsystems.com.

Building the Better Relationship

We are pleased to announce our second keynote address for the 2013 Meetingmax Unconvention...

Building the Better Relationship
Led by Allie Mooney, coming all the way from Auckland, New Zealand!

Allison Mooney CSP
“Certified Speaking Professional”
“SPEAKER OF THE YEAR”
2009 for the unparalleled 3rd time
(National Speakers Association of NZ – Auckland)

Allie’s fun, fast-paced, mind-unzipping presentation will show you how to significantly increase your performance capabilities. Her valuable information enables you to improve the quality of your life, your business and transform any relationships.

“PRESSING THE RIGHT BUTTONS”

• What’s in it for you?
• Learn the 4 styles of influence
• Understand your own special capabilities and strengths
• See things through the eyes of others
• Relate better to all personality styles
• Quickly understand what makes people tick
• Be a predictor of people’s behaviour – see things through their eyes
• Speed read people to find out what they really want
• Treat others as they want to be treated
• Communicate in a way that makes people want to listen
• Know what makes people love coming to work
• Enjoy being happily incompatible with others
• Significantly increase your performance capability
• Sell according to how the buyers wants to be sold to 

REGISTER NOW

About Allie Mooney:

Prior to becoming a professional keynote speaker Allie had a career in the airline industry originally with Ansett New Zealand and then Qantas International as manager of their Business and First Class airport lounges. She became noticed for her outstanding customer service that was immortalized in an iconic TV commercial during the heydays of Ansett NZ.

Since changing careers over 20 years ago Allie has taken “Pressing the Right Buttons” internationally and has presented in Australia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Pacific Islands and of course her place of domicile New Zealand. She has also authored a best seller book “Pressing the Right Buttons which has sold over 15,000 copies to date and been published in South America.

She has spoken for organizations such as Fujitsu, Qantas, World Vision, L’Oreal, Air New Zealand, Harcourts, Luthansa and The Salvation Army. Join her at the Unconvention 2013 for a remarkable event.

About the Unconvention:
For Organizations and Destinations that want to succeed at housing, this is a must-attend event.

Join us in Vancouver, BC April 10 - 12, 2013 to establish, increase or refine your housing services through tactical expert led learning. We don't believe in sitting in one ballroom all day, it's too boring! We promise to keep you engaged through a diverse offering of learning opportunities and networking events.

We make every effort to foster an environment of open discussion with your peers, those who face the same housing situations you deal with on a daily basis. This conference is the perfect mix of education, networking and fun.

$595 for first registration, $450 for each additional registration. This includes all learning sessions, networking events, transportation, food and beverage. Accommodation and flights not included.