Those of us who represent hotels or convention centers should know that promoting attendance for a conference, convention or tradeshow-without getting to know those you're trying to lure, is like playing poker blindfolded: You can bet all you want, but you won't win anything. The same holds true for "pre-promoting" these events. Pre-promoting is more than just providing copies of your facility's brochure, or promoting the main attractions and sites to see in your host city. Pre-promoting is also about asking yourself the following questions: Who? Where? What? When? Why? - and How? READ MORE

As the holidays approach and another year comes to a close, it's only natural to reflect on what we have, or maybe more appropriately, what we have received. In the business arena, careers are enriched and rewarded in a variety of ways. For those of us in the hospitality industry, a person's successful career path is not enhanced and bolstered in a vacuum. Rather, it is a product of knowledge mixed with many varied and diverse relationships. For the Convention Services Manager (CSM), a convention bureau, hotel, convention center, or arena/special facility employee, one's career growth can be stunted without the receipt of a few "gifts." For those who have found ACOM (Association for Convention Operations Management), these gifts just keep on giving. Since its "The Season," consider the following gifts that organizations, like ACOM, provide 365 days a year: READ MORE

More time to think creatively. Less repetitive work to complete. The ability to establish better relationships with your customers and suppliers. Who in the meetings industry would not want to say they can achieve these on a regular basis? Thanks to the commitment of leaders from several different industry organizations united through the Convention Industry Council (CIC), the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) provides professionals working in the meetings industry with much-needed resources and standards. But after the integration of APEX into our daily work lives, how useful is it? When is it referred to most and what parts still need work? READ MORE

You know the routine. You've got a meeting to plan, along with a specified timeframe and budget to make everything come together. You're always on time and on budget, but...could you save even more time and money? Of course you can. Just as consumers are urged by financial-savvy experts to forego that morning cup of coffee at the convenience store to save a few hundred dollars by year's end, experts involved with corporate meeting planning believe there are a variety of cost-savings efforts that can not only keep you on budget, but below budget. Here's a closer look at what you can do to help save on your next corporate meeting. READ MORE

Before Spanish Ships landed in America, cacao beans were already being used as currency to trade for other products in the area that today is known as Mexico. Mayans and Aztecs also used cacao beans to make a special beverage that only the most important governors were allowed to drink. The Mayans called this cold energizing beverage Xocoatl, which is the origin of the name chocolate. For me, as a Mexican citizen, it is an honor to write an article about pairing chocolate with different beverages. Although some stories say that chocolate originated in South America, many others indicate that Mexico was the birthplace and cradle of the entire chocolate industry. And of course this article was also a pleasure, since to research it in depth required tasting innumerable samples of chocolates and wine. READ MORE