DMAI Selects 30 Under 30 Participants and Ambassadors!

Yesterday, Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) announced this years 30 under 30 participants and ambassadors.  

Developed to identify and foster the talent of DMO professionals, aged 30 and under, the participants of this program will receive increased access to top-level networking and professional development, not to mention complimentary registration and hotel accommodations for DMAI’s Annual Convention this July! (If you are attending stop by booth 225 to visit Meetingmax) 

Meetingmax wishes a huge congratulations to all of the selected participants; what an accomplishment! We would like to give special acknowledgement to the following Meetingmax clients (highlighted in blue):

• Marisa Liles, Destination Sales Executive, Bryan-College Station CVB
• Andrea Mensink, Business Development Manager, Tacoma Regional CVB
• Eva Aivaliotis, Brand Manager, San Antonio CVB
• Liron BenDor, Vice President of Marketing, Overland Park CVB
• Colleen Bormann, Marketing and Promotions Manager, Visit South Bend/Mishawaka
• Amber Brown, Convention Sales Coordinator, Greater Palm Springs CVB
• Lauren Campbell, Tourism Marketing Assistant, Lexington CVB
• Megan Casey, Senior Event Planner, Visit Orlando
• Leah Cast, Public Relations Manager, Galveston Island CVB
• Cody Chomiak, Director, Marketing, Tourism Winnipeg
• Ashley Comar, Marketing Communications Manager, Seattle Southside
• Jenna Dill, Marketing & Sales Manager, Athens County CVB
• Sean Dixon, Interactive Media Manager, Springfield, MO CVB
• Joan Frank, Sales & Servicing Manager, Quad Cities CVB
• Alison Hendrickson, Assistant Marketing Director, Murray CVB
• Bryan Lavin, Director of National Accounts, Providence Warwick CVB
• Jill Lira, Marketing Assistant, Visit Topeka Inc.
• Nate Long, Industry Relations Manager, VISIT FLORIDA
• Stephanie Madden, National Account Executive, Visit Saint Paul
• Katie Marvin, Advertising Manger, Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater
• Kelly McCandless, Communications Manager, Billings Chamber of Commerce
• Jacqueline Morales, Director of Tourism, Somerset County Business Partnership
• Krisilee Murphy, Director of Marketing, Elgin Area CVB
• Kirby Nelson, Stakeholder Relations & Communications Manager, Visit Estes Park - The DMO
• Christopher Nicholas, Visitor & Information Services Supervisor, Roanoke Valley CVB 
• Laura Schaumburg, Marketing Assistant, Paducah CVB
• Alex Souders, Web Marketing Manager, Visit Fort Wayne
• Dorothy Thames, Social Marketing Representative, Visit Florida
• Allyson Thommen, Marketing Coordinator, Monterey County CVB
• Brooke Whaylen, Sales Director Meetings & Events, Minneapolis Northwest CVB

For information on the selected ambassadors, and to view the application videos of the participants, please check out the DMAI blog.

How Mobile Technology Is Changing The Travel World

Do you ever leave home without your cell phone? If you answered yes please tell me your secret! For those of you like me, that consider your phone an extension of yourself, check out this infographic from My Destination on how mobile technology is changing the travel world:


A few points that stood out for me:

• By 2014 mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage
• By 2016 mobile commerce is expected to grow by 55%
• 5% of apps at the Apple App store are travel apps

Book Review: Superfreakonomics by Stephen Dubner & Steven Levitt

Our book of the month for May was SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner. This witty, though-provoking novel applies economic reasoning to a wide range of real-world questions such as:

• How is a street prostitute like a department store Santa?
• Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance?
• What do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo have in common?

This month our book was selected by Mr. Speros Batistatos, President and CEO of the South Shore CVA. Speros selected this book because he found it intelligent, insightful and thought it tied in well with Meetingmax’s core values. 

Some key take a ways that Meetingmax staff got out of book are:

• People are neither inherently good nor bad, they are lead in different directions based on incentive
• There is opportunity to be found in every situation
• Timing is key
• Think outside the box every time
• When you have a bold idea have the courage to follow it through, ignore criticism

Meetingmax scored this book 8.2/10 on a scale 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 highly recommend SuperFreakonomics; it’s an engaging novel which will enable you to open your mind to more critical thinking in everyday life situations. 

CVBs from Coast to Coast Capitalize on Meetingmax’s Online Reservation System

Since the start of the year, a number of Convention & Visitor Bureaus have partnered with Meetingmax to streamline the management of group hotel bookings.

Meetingmax is proud to welcome Wicomico County, TemeculaValley, St Charles, Plano, and Calhoun County Convention & Visitors Bureaus to our client list.

These CVBs have selected Meetingmax as their online housing provider for many reasons, including:

(1)   The cost effectiveness of the system - Meetingmax offers competitive pricing as well as a variety of revenue generating features.

(2)   The system’s functionality - our system provides complex functionality but was built to be simple and straightforward to use.

(3)   The upcoming system integration with simpleview CRM - in the near future key data and information will stream from one system to the other.

(4)   To make their destination more competitive - the destinations that provides additional services such as online housing are simply more competitive in the marketplace. A bureau that stays on top of emerging technology has a fundamental advantage over those that don’t.

(5)   To track the economic impact of events - by employing Meetingmax, bureaus can track and report on key metrics such as total room nights booked, total guests in the city and total room spend per event.

These bureaus are already working with many associations such as the Middle Atlantic Wrestling Association, the United States SpecialtySports Association, Elite Showcase and the Baseball Players Association, assisting them to streamline housing for their large events.

About Meetingmax:

Meetingmax Systems provides the travel industry with the most flexible online housing reservation system. Initially developed to meet the needs of Meetingmax’s meeting and event planning arm, the system provides convention and visitor bureaus, event planners, and organizations 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.