Meetingmax at the simpleview Summit 2012

Jeff Duncan and Dave Clark from Meetingmax had the opportunity to attend the simpleview Summit that took place from May 6-8 in Tucson, Arizona this week. 

The 3 day event had approximately 300 guests in attendance, and was packed full of insightful training and planning sessions for Destination Management Organizations (DMO) at every level. The sessions gave everyone the opportunity to learn about emerging technologies and industry best practices as well as a chance to share experiences with other DMO's.

A few highlights that Jeff and Dave enjoyed from the Summit was the ability they had to discuss in person the future of housing integration with CRM to discover unique capabilities that would be helpful to users of both systems.

Michael Barber, Direct of Digital Strategy at COHN Marketing, kicked off the closing keynote presentation with an engaging session on how to mobilize your firm for a "Smart Phone World." Barber highlighted the importance of SoLoMo- staying Social, Local, and Mobile! You can view his presentation here.


“Overall, the simpleview Summit was a clear and resounding success this year with record attendance and excellent education. I really enjoyed having so many of the industry’s best minds all under one roof”. – Jeff Duncan, President of Meetingmax

Below: Cara Frank- Director of Marketing & Communications at simpleview, lights up the event!

 To Learn more about simpleview and your chance to catch the next Summit visit their website here.

Book Review: Exceeding Customer Expectations By Kirk Kazanjian

Meetingmax’s April book of the month was Exceeding Customer Expectations by Kirk Kazanjian.

Since staying close to our core values at Meetingmax is such an important aspect of our company’s culture, this book was chosen to delve deeper into how to improve our customer service and grow two of our similar core values: Exceed Expectations and Nurture All Relationships.

This book recommends steps and strategies for companies to “wow “their customers and maintain a loyal and dedicated workforce in any business or industry. This was demonstrated through example by Enterprise, the nations #1 car rental company. The Meetingmax staff also enjoyed learning more about the importance of cultivating a fun environment in the workplace, where teamwork can thrive- this fits with another of our core values “Make it Fun.”

The following are a few highlights the Meetingmax staff got from the book:

• It is important for companies to remain customer driven, especially in the travel industry.  A positive experience for the customer can go a long way.
• Taking a genuine interest in your customers and taking care of them first will help develop strong, long-term loyalty.
• Strong partnerships and the ability to empower employees are invaluable to a company.

Overall Meetingmax gave this book a rating of 6.85/10 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.

Exceeding Customer Expectations was a very touching book, and through audio is was convenient to listen to, however, we would recommend buying the book in a hard copy to get more from the book and be able to look back and reference different key points.

If you are interested in buying this audio book you can do so here.

If you are interested in buying a hard copy of this book you can do so here.

Meetingmax Featured In The Western Hotelier

The Western Hotelier Magazine featured Meetingmax and their release with Tourism Red Deer in their latest issue! Take a look at the article below: 
You can download the issue here.

National Association of Sports Commissions 20th Anniversary

The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) is turning 20 this year! David Clark, Director of Business Development at Meetingmax attended the NASC annual Symposium in Hartford, Connecticut to celebrate.

Today is the final day of the symposium which took place from April 16-19th this year, giving guests the opportunity to learn more about bidding and hosting sports events successfully. This occasion also gave everyone a chance to network, make connections and meet the competition!

David found the event both informative and entertaining. One session that stood out was “working with third party housing organizations”; the overall feeling of the conversation was that many destinations are getting away from using 3rd parties and turning their focus on empowering the destination to act as it’s own housing organization. Big thanks to Peter Harvey from Buffalo Sports Commission who discussed in detail why it makes more sense for destinations to become their own housing organization than to utilize a third party.

To kick off the symposium the Welcome Reception was hosted at the newly constructed Connecticut Science Centre. Guests were kept entertained throughout the evening with interesting games and competitions. Congrats to Dave who came out with the highest-flying plane in the Paper Helicopter build, and won a prize at the next day’s luncheon. Meetingmax staff have many hidden talents!

If you get the chance to attend the NASC Annual Symposium in 2013 you don’t want to miss it! Here are some pictures of the Welcome Reception at the Connecticut Science Centre.

If you are interested in more information on the benefits of becoming your own housing organization visit our Meetingmax Facebook Page!

New Additions to Meetingmax

The spring of 2012 brings two new exciting additions to the Meetingmax office in Yaletown. Joanna Kovats and Asia Davies are warmly greeted with a welcome package upon arrival, and as they slip on their new Four Seasons slippers they instantly feel like part of the family.

Joanna

Asia

Joanna Kovats is from London, England and was brought on as the new Client Services Coordinator at Meetingmax. Joanna is a trained dancer and singer, working for many years as a musical theatre performer. Along with a fresh outlook and an elegant accent, Joanna brings a fun, positive attitude and passion for event management to the company. Joanna lives by the quote: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible”. –Dalai Lama

Asia Davies is interning as the new Marketing Communications Coordinator at Meetingmax.  She is current enrolled in the Marketing Communications program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and is only a few months away from graduation. Asia loves to travel, continuously learn and meet new people. She brings positive energy and enthusiasm to every project she takes part in, and has over 6 years of customer service experience. Asia believes that everyone should take the occasional risk and try to step out of their comfort zone at least once a day.

Joanna and Asia are jumping right into the Meetingmax Culture, joining the team in daily huddles, lunch breaks in the lounge and runs around the sea wall. Please join us in welcoming them to the Meetingmax team!