Recognising that meeting and events contribute as much as 40 percent to a hotel’s total revenue, Marriott International has focused considerable energies in finding ways to help smooth the decision making journey for meeting planners. Its first salvo is the launch of a new website, Meetings Imagined, to assist event planners in creatively organising and implementing meetings and corporate events.
Meetings Imagined is modeled on the photo-gathering site Pinterest. Similar to Pinterest, it is a site where users can gather inspirational images to spark creativity and set out the objective of their meeting.
Meetings Imagined allows meeting planners to design their meetings to meet specific needs. Marriott has identified that the purpose for meetings are to: celebrate, decide, educate, ideate, network, produce and promote ideas. The website includes elements that make up the structure of a meeting from the setup, to the food and drink options, technology and supplies, and experiences.
Meetings Imagined also provides expert tips on everything from networking activities and maximising social media exposure, to creating the optimal meeting environment and meeting trends.
In addition to the website, event planners can collaborate on event creation with Marriott International’s Meetings Imagined specialists.
The research upon which Meetings Imagined is founded, comprises analysis of the over 40,000 meetings hosted at Marriott’s hotels yearly as well as in-depth discussions with Marriott’s next generation customers. The most important findings were around how our next generations of customers work collaboratively, how they use technology, and how these factors affect meetings’ dynamics said Ms. Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific at Marriott International.
“While others may focus on just meeting logistics, Marriott is reimagining the experience,” explains Ms. Fang Roe, “The Meetings Imagined website makes sure that regardless of the meeting, the user experience is extraordinary, and the objective achieved.”
Anyone who is planning a meeting or event may use the website. The Inspiration Gallery has photos that present Marriott’s creative ideas, while the Expert Tips & Trends section includes information on all aspects of meetings, including food, ambiance, social icebreakers and room layout, and offers options for any budget. Event planners can also find Marriott’s best experiences from around the world.
The Meetings Imagined website works as a platform to portray Marriott’s pipeline of innovations within the MICE space and solicit forward-thinking ideas from meeting planners and delegates.
Marriott International has also launched a Meeting Services App that includes a texting platform and chat function enabling MICE organisers to connect with Marriott’s event team before and during the event. This allows Marriott to respond immediately to any issues or requests, and to inform the planner of how the request is being handled.
As of this year, the Meeting Services App is available in 20 languages and available Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, Renaissance, The Ritz-Carlton, Autograph Collection and Courtyard by Marriott across the region. The app will be available to meeting planners who use Marriott’s facilities through the following brand names:
– Marriott Hotels: Red Coat Direct
– JW Marriott: JW Event Concierge
– Renaissance: R.E.N. Meetings Expert
– The Ritz-Carlton: ((chime))
– Autograph Collection: Meeting Services App
– Courtyard by Marriott: Courtyard Connect
