Skift MeetingsIQ: Melbourne and Andaz Hotels as First Adopters, Marriott Merger

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What You Need to Know

Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO on Marketing a City’s Intellectual Capital

In the global meetings and conventions industry, Melbourne exemplifies the trend where cities are positioning themselves as knowledge incubators to drive competitive advantage in specific industry sectors.

The reason for that is because the Melbourne Convention Bureau and the City of Melbourne have a surprisingly cohesive relationship with an aligned vision to develop and promote Australia’s second largest city officially as an “intellectual capital.” Read more at Skift

Social Quote of the Day

“See how you can #reimagine the way you #network: c2m.tl/20OZNiq #C2Montréal #creativity #innovation”

— @C2Montreal on Twitter

Destinations

Bringing One of Canada’s Top Tourism Researchers to Greater Victoria: Paul Nursey, president and CEO of Tourism Victoria, writes: “Increasingly what separates winning destination marketers from losing destination marketers is good knowledge, speed and continuous optimization in terms of interpreting multiple data/analytics inputs, and then leveraging them into strong marketing and sales efforts.” Read more at LinkedIn

Visit Baltimore Presses Harder For More Support For Convention Industry: The Baltimore Sun writes: “Baltimore is falling behind, officials said, as other cities direct more money to marketing and invest in new or improved convention centers. ‘It’s going to take a lot to restore perception of the city,’ said Sam Rogers, executive VP and CMO of Visit Baltimore. “We’re up against a lot of competition.” Read more at The Baltimore Sun

Manchester: Truly a City of Science: Manchester is the European City of Science in 2016. Planners have access to one of the world’s most science-friendly infrastructures, including the renowned Museum of Science & Industry and a cluster of the UK’s leading universities. Read more at Manchester Science City

HOSPITALITY

Andaz Hotels’ Development Pipeline Kicks Into Overdrive: Jonathan Frolich, VP, global brands for Andaz: “We want to be an enabler to maybe help guests think differently about their jobs, their lives, and introduce them to like-minded individuals that might spark new perspectives. The whole hotel is designed around that social environment.” Read more at Skift

Q&A With Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson About the Starwood Merger: “I think in the group space, we can offer many more options to group folks, whether it’s a citywide or someone saying they’re looking for a convention hotel in, say, one of three cities of a certain size. I think we’ll be able to offer a much better list of options now.” Read more at Skift

Who’s Down With Airbnb?: Adding Airbnb as an official housing provider doesn’t just give attendees more lodging options. It also can help meeting planners gain a more complete picture of their meetings’ value to a destination. Read more at Convene

Events & Venues

Meetings Industry Advocacy Q&A with Roger Dow & Roger Rickard: “Successful movements identify spokespeople, tell their story in multiple media and feedback small successes to their constituents to motivate them to act and believe that they are making a difference.”—Roger Dow Read more at Meetings Today

Convene Magazine’s 15th Annual Meetings Industry Forecast: In 2016, global exhibitions will increase by 45%; hotel occupancy will push 70%; virtual reality will finally achieve its full potential at events; and Asia-Pacific will lead the world in travel growth. Read more at Convene

Digital Engagement Is Fueling The Desire For People To Meet Face To Face: Today’s digital savvy attendees are looking for a full 360° experience, combining online touch points and engagement before, during and after the event with their physical experience onsite. Read more at Kongres Magazine

Tips & Comments

Skift MeetingsIQ is curated by meetings industry veteran Greg Oates. Send story ideas and feedback to [email protected].

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