Convention Industry Council Delivers APEX Accepted Practices and Encourages Industry Adoption

Housing & Registration Accepted Practices are Complete

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. October 14, 2008

MCLEAN, VA, August 12, 2005. At a special conference call meeting, the Convention Industry Council's (CIC) board of directors unanimously approved accepted practices from the APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange) Housing & Registration Panel, making this the fourth series of practices to be established by the initiative. Accepted practices have also been approved in the areas of terminology, history/post-event reporting, and event specifications.

The Housing & Registration panel was co-chaired by Deborah Sexton, president & CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), and Robert Hope, CMP, director of housing, registration & travel services for the Radiological Society of North America. The panel was charged with developing accepted practices for collecting, reporting, and retrieving complete housing and registration data for meetings, conventions, and other events. A second focus for the panel was to develop accepted practices around housing issues such as housing providers, internet issues, international housing, and disclosure.

"The new processes and systems that are coming from APEX will create huge efficiencies - in time, money and frustration," commented Ms. Sexton. "This will enable event organizers, and all of their partners, to focus on the strategic development of events, and not so much on the forms we use. As events become better, the industry will be perceived as a more significant player in the world of business, rather than the party-planning people in marketing departments."

Mr. Hope agrees and noted, "Based on this panel's work, we have solid, practical guidelines and best practices. And beyond that, I believe that the process of developing accepted practices itself is creating greater unity and cohesiveness among all of the industry segments. This can only serve to strengthen each segment and the industry as a whole."

In the final report for the areas of Housing and Registration, accepted practices, templates, and form development and management instructions are outlined for three forms in use throughout the industry:

1. Event Registration Form

2. Housing Form

3. Rooming List

Additionally, accepted practices were developed to address:

1. Housing-Related Terminology: For example, an "Event-Contracted Block (ECB)" is "the rooms that are contracted for by an event organizer with a housing facility(s) for a particular event (the Main Event)."

2. The management of room blocks, including housing facility/event communication, deposits, cancellation, sub-blocks, contracting, and incentives to book within the block: For example, in managing housing facility/event communication, the accepted practice is to "conduct pre-event meetings in advance of opening housing with the contracted facility(s) to ensure understanding of and support for established housing procedures. Use these meetings to build relationships and promote the event organizer's support of the facility through its housing policies."

3. The role of technology and the Internet in the industry's housing and registration processes.

The full report with forms can be found on-line at www.conventionindustry.org.

APEX Commission Chair Mickey Schaefer, CAE, president of Mickey Schaefer & Associates, expressed gratitude to the many volunteers involved in this effort and to the industry as a whole for supporting the initiative and its goals. "The continued positive response to APEX reflects the industry's enthusiasm for working together to achieve efficiencies." Schaefer said.

APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange), an initiative of the Convention Industry Council, is developing and implementing industry-wide accepted practices which will create and enhance efficiencies throughout the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry.

The Convention Industry Council's 31 member organizations represent more than 100,000 individuals and 15,000 firms and properties involved in the meetings, conventions and exhibitions industry. Formed in 1949 to provide a forum for member organizations seeking to enhance the industry, the CIC facilitates the exchange of information, develops programs to promote professionalism within the industry, and educates the public on its profound economic impact. In addition to the APEX initiative, the CIC is also responsible for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Program. Other programs include Project Attrition, the Hall of Leaders, the Prestigious CIC Cup, and the CIC Economic Impact Study.