Companies that choose to exhibit during HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West program will be targeting more than 700 quality meeting planners as well as benefit from the following:

• $500 discount for HSMAI members (one staff member of the applicant’s firm must be an active member of HSMAI and based at the address to which the contract is mailed)
• Free electronic post-show attendee list, including demographic information, profiles of attendees, and extensive contact information
• Exhibitor welcome breakfast and seminar (NEW for 2007 – see description)
• Pre-show exhibitor educational tools (NEW for 2007 – see description)
• Exhibiting HSMAI members receive expedited on-site registration and member recognition badges
• Inclusion in an extensive marketing campaign featuring direct mail and comprehensive broadcast e-mails, reaching over 95,000 planners, as well as ads placed in key industry trade publications
• Complimentary promotional brochures and stickers
• A free listing in the official show directory and online directory
• A comprehensive booth package to help minimize on-site costs
• Automatic entry in “Best Booth Awards Program”
• Three (3) exhibitor badges per booth included in the exhibit fee
• 3:1 planner/exhibitor ratio
• Pre-show attendee lists at a bargain price
• Networking opportunities

NEW FOR 2007

Exhibitor Welcome Breakfast

Taking place on Tuesday morning (June 19) before the show opens, a complimentary breakfast will be served, followed by a NEW Exhibitor Educational seminar on “The Importance of Follow-Up,” presented by Theresa Syer, of Syer Hospitality Group, Oakville, ON, Canada.

Exhibitor Toolkit

Exhibitors will receive a toolkit providing the essentials for a successful show, increasing the opportunity for greater ROO (return on objective). The toolkit will be sent to every exhibitor prior to the show and consists of pre-show marketing and promotional tools, booth display information, sales tips for use during the show, and post-show follow-up tools.

Exhibitors at HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West show will include hotels and resorts, university conference centers, unique meeting sites, convention and visitor bureaus, cruise lines, transportation companies, trade publications, software and audio/visual businesses, and other meeting and convention suppliers.

The exposition at HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West provides over 22,000 square feet of exhibit space and will feature more than 275 booths representing over 250 companies. Trade show hours allow planners to do business on the exposition floor early from 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on both days.

A sample of companies exhibiting for the first time at HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West include: Absolutely Fabulous! Events and Productions, The Callanish Group, Ghiradelli Chocolate Company, GoPicnic, Inc., Las Vegas Monorail Company, Orange Tree Golf Resort, Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, DMI Hotels, Spandex USA, Sprint-Nextel and Air Fulfillment Services.

Beyond a broad selection of destinations, hotels and services at all price points, the exhibition will feature a West Affordable Meetings® Bookstore offering a one-stop shopping source for attendees to find the most up-to-date publications and resource materials focusing on the needs of meeting planners at every level of experience, as well as a complete line of CMP study materials.

The exposition also offers opportunities for planners to meet one-on-one with industry experts at the Speakers Corner and research a broad selection of destinations and services at all price points.

jetBlue Airways tickets, AMEX gift cards and cash prizes, as well as drawings at many exhibitor booths, remain popular attractions for meeting planners.

During the exposition, exhibitors and attendees will be provided with a $10 coupon on both days of the show to purchase food at the concessions in the exposition hall, compliments of HSMAI.

During this presentation, Joan Eisenstodt, Chief Strategist, Eisenstodt Associates, and Marsha L. Rhea, CAE, Senior Futurist, Institute for Alternative Futures, will conduct a lively and fascinating session that paints a clear picture of what the meetings industry will be like in years ahead and the core competencies planners will need in the future to be considered a successful meeting professional. All attendees and suppliers are encouraged to attend this informative seminar.

During HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West, planning professionals at all levels of experience can choose from a variety of valuable workshops and seminars where they will discover the “secrets of success” from industry insiders. This FREE comprehensive educational series will provide attendees with expert insight, fresh ideas and inspirational advice, helping them to produce more successful, cost-effective meetings.

As an added benefit, attendees will receive a complimentary spiral-bound book containing handouts from all of the seminars so they will have access to the ideas and insights shared during each of the sessions and workshops.

More than 700 attendees, representing meeting and event planners from a variety of organizations, with a majority representing corporate, association and independent sectors and the balance from government, non-profit, education, religious and medical/health care organizations, trade show management and the military, are expected to visit HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West 2007 show.

Attendance at HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West is free-of-charge for qualified meeting planners, defined as those who work full-time, part-time, or as decision-making volunteers for corporations, associations, independent planning businesses, or other active organizations.

HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America, the first show of the 2007 series, took place in Chicago in April and welcomed more than 1,000 attendees. The final show on the 2007 program is HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National, taking place Sept. 5-6, 2007 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.