MCLEAN, VA | Designed for meeting planners looking to enhance their professional career and organize high-caliber events as well as exhibitors seeking to target quality planners, the eighth annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings® () Mid-America show will take place April 9-10, 2008 at Chicago’s Navy Pier.

“We are looking forward to kicking-off the 2008 three-show series with our Mid-America program, which has been tailored to exhibitors and meeting planners at all levels of experience,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “We are proud to host the leading industry event that offers planners exceptional educational, networking, and business-generating opportunities, allowing them to remain on the cutting-edge of essential industry information in this ever-changing marketplace,” added Gilbert.

Meeting planners are encouraged to take full advantage of the exceptional educational component of the HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America show, which will feature 15 seminars and five in-depth workshops that present a broad range of topics such as meeting contracts, site selection, negotiation skills, budgeting, effective communication, food and beverage selections, technology, marketing and more. 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.

In addition to the seminars and workshops, HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America will feature a general session entitled, “Two Keys to Meeting and Event Success: Overcoming Event Housing Challenges and Using Search Engines to Your Advantage.” During this presentation, attendees will hear from Moderator Liz Jackson, president, Consulting Solutions, as well as James Gowell, director of business development, Passkey, and Katherine Markham, CHME, principal & co-founder, ConventionPlanit.com.

HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America will once again offer attendees the opportunity to meet and do business with more than 300 exhibiting companies during a unique exposition that will showcase venues, products and services to help produce various types of meetings and events. Year-after-year, the highly-acclaimed trade exposition is a main attraction for attendees looking to meet and network with knowledgeable suppliers who are determined to help produce valuable meetings and assist with purchasing decisions.

Exhibitors represent hotels and resorts, university conference centers, unique meeting sites, convention and visitor bureaus, transportation companies, trade publications, software and audio/visual businesses, and other meeting and convention suppliers. New noteworthy companies are: BizBash, Ghirardelli Chocolate, and Hooters Casino Hotel.

The exposition encompasses a plethora of activities and opportunities for meeting planners such as researching a broad selection of destinations and services at all price points. Providing a resting place for attendees, The Scene will be located in the center of the trade show floor, complete with a lounge, coffee bar, speaker’s corner and bookstore.

Generous cash and other prizes, as well as drawings at many exhibitor booths, remain popular attractions. Trade show hours allow planners to do business on the exposition floor early from 12:30 – 3:00 pm on Wednesday (April 9) and 12:15 – 2:30 pm on Thursday (April 10). During the exposition, exhibitors and attendees will be provided with networking luncheons both days of the show compliments of HSMAI.

Meeting planners can also visit the HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Bookstore, 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.

For the third consecutive year, HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings will be conducting its “Best Booth Awards Program” to acknowledge those vendors who show exemplary efforts in targeting and enticing attendees. Categories to be recognized for single and multiple booths include: Best New Exhibitor Booth, Best Overall Booth and Best On-Site Booth Promotion and Marketing. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded during the show.

Over 1,000 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 Mid-America 2008 show. Attendance at HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America is free-of-charge for qualified meeting planners.

Other shows for 2008 include: HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West, (returns to Southern California), June 11-12, 2008, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, and HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National – Sept. 10-11, 2008, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.

For exhibitor information, contact Beth Petersen, show manager, GLM, a dmg world media business, phone (804) 261-3730; fax (804) 918-1547; e-mail: [email protected]. Attendee information is available by calling 1-800-272-SHOW. Additional information and a complete program schedule can be obtained by visiting the show’s website at .

HSMAI’S AFFORDABLE MEETINGS

HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings is owned and presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Americas region and managed by George Little Management, LLC (GLM), a dmg world media business.

HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and members at annual events, including HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 39 chapters in the Americas Region.

For more information on HSMAI, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, phone (703) 610-9024; fax (703) 610-9005, or visit the website at .

Richard Kahn
HSMAI