EliteMeetings.com Creates GSO/NSO Solution for Its Proprietary Commission-free RFP Engine

. April 17, 2009

SANTA BARBARA, CA, April 16, 2009 - Elite Meetings International (EMI) announced today that its Web site, http://www.EliteMeetings.com, has enhanced its complimentary, commission-free RFP tool. The latest improvement (http://elitemeetings.com/support/gso.php)allows planners to include their contacts at global sales offices (GSOs) and national sales offices (NSOs) as carbon-copy recipients of their RFPs. This new feature allows planners to work with familiar brand-level contacts who consolidate corporate meetings-spend and ensure responsiveness from individual hotels within the brand.

EMI CEO Kelly Foy says, "A great many planners enjoy existing relationships with GSOs and NSOs, and they have been asking us to create a solution that allows them to maintain their relationships while using our system. So this new feature does just that. It keeps the RFP process on a personal level, while allowing hoteliers to reward their high-volume clients for their brand loyalty. And because hotels are accountable to the GSOs, the oversight will ensure timely response. We think it's another everybody-wins solution."

To create an RFP on EliteMeetings.com, planners simply search by hotel name(s), desired amenities, number of guest rooms, amount of meeting space, etc. Once they've narrowed their search, planners can then attach their own RFP or complete the online form. Before sending the RFP, they will now have the option to insert the name and e-mail address of their GSO/NSO contact for each hotel brand (http://elitemeetings.com/support/gso.php) included in the RFP. If a planner does not have a GSO/NSO contact, the RFP will still be sent directly to the recipient(s) each hotel has specified.

Glenna Fulks, site procurement specialist with Synthes and a member of the Elite Meetings Advisory Board (http://www.elitemeetings.com/advisory.html), applauds the enhancement. "A really good global sales person can make a planner's life much less stressful, and once you've built that relationship, you appreciate it all the more. This new feature on the Elite database is going to allow a much easier sourcing process."

Future releases of EliteMeetings.com will introduce even more enhancements recommended by planners. Last January, the company announced a zero-commission policy on all RFPs, ensuring a net rate for all events processed through the EliteMeetings.com Web site.

ABOUT ELITE MEETINGS INTERNATIONAL

Elite Meetings International is based in Santa Barbara, California, and connects top meeting and incentive planners with a hand-selected, independently evaluated group of upscale hotels and resorts throughout North America via their semiannual publication, Elite Meetings magazine and semiannual event, the Elite Meetings Alliance (http://www.elitemeetingsalliance.com). Additionally, the company's Web site serves as a commission-free RFP-generating tool and a comprehensive vehicle for sourcing luxury properties. For additional information, please visit http://www.EliteMeetings.com or call 805.730.1000.