With Global Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, BCD Meetings & Events is one of the world’s largest global meetings providers and plans and executes over 66,000 successful meetings, generating over 1.6 million room nights, and just under $5 billion in client meetings and event spend annually. They maintain a 97 % customer retention rate.
Key clients include BMW, Chili’s, Goodyear, Lenovo, SEIU, DJO Global, , Pfizer, Genentech, UCB, Stryker, Citi, Merck, PwC, Fiserv, Honeywell, Philips, Coca Cola, Deloitte, HSBC, and Ingram Micro, to name a few.
In the past two years, this partnership resulted in just under $ 5 million in consumed room revenue to our hotels, which represented year-over-year growth of almost 32 %. The BCDME team generated almost 2,000 RFPs to Preferred Hotels & Resorts resulting in over $ 5 million in contracted room revenue for 2019 & beyond. Their team has seen the benefit of our unique member hotel experiences around the globe, and with previous announcements from Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt regarding commission reductions in North America, the Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio is in an enviable position to continue our growth through the support of our partnership.
BENEFITS & TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT
Preferred Hotels & Resorts member hotels will benefit from the agreement in the following ways:
- All BCD Meetings & Events teams worldwide will be advised of the terms of this agreement, including the commitments and benefits to the parties
- Increased visibility for member hotels on the Meetings & Events venue sourcing tools with Preferred Hotels & Resorts clearly distinguished as a preferred partner.
- Opportunity to engage with the BCD Meetings & Events team who are supporting their key STRATEGIC MEETINGS MANAGEMENT, Events, & Sports clients. In light of our preferred supplier status, their teams are motivated to drive business to our member hotels whenever possible. To increase your engagement, contact your Preferred Hotels & Resorts GSO team to determine the best opportunity. A few highlights are indicated below.
- In Europe and Asia-Pacific, Preferred is afforded preferential opportunity for office visits and presentations (subject to arranging appointments in advance and where applicable) as a result of our partnership. In these regions, contact the respective Preferred GSO to determine when the next opportunity will be available and the specific nature of the meeting.
- In North America, the Events Team has a solid presence within their Chicago headquarter offices, and BCDME also has a strong office presence within New York. Preferred is afforded preferential opportunity for office visits and presentations (subject to arranging appointments in advance and where applicable) as a result of our partnership. They welcome Preferred Hotels & Resorts periodically when accompanied by our GSO managing the Midwest Incentive market, Amy Butterfield, and also to the BCDME New York office when accompanied by our GSO, Katy Gettinger-Eagen.
- In North America for their STRATEGIC MEETINGS MANAGEMENT clients, most of the sourcing team members are remotely based. In these cases, contact the respective Preferred GSO to strategize on connecting with the appropriate team members sourcing for clients from your key client industries or geographic feeder markets.
- As a preferred partner, BCD Meetings & Events team members globally are invited to our various Preferred Hotels & Resorts regional client events. Please refer to the Events Calendar and contact the respective Preferred GSO to discuss the client base targeted for the specific events of interest to you.
- As a preferred supplier with BCDME, we are occasionally approached to have our hotels considered as host locations for their leadership meetings, internal incentive programs, or client events. Some success that we enjoyed since the inception of our partnership include having the following events held at a Preferred Hotel:
- Global Leadership Gathering – United Kingdom
- ASPAC Leaders Conference – Singapore
- EMEA BCDME Leadership - The Netherlands
- NY Office Opening – New York, NY USA
- LATAM Office Event - Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Masterclass West Client Event – Santa Barbara, CA USA
- Platinum Circle internal incentive – Cancun, Mexico
Of course, in exchange for the promotional exposure to the BCDME team and their clients, there is a high level of expectation for full or significant sponsorship. If your hotel would like to consider being a host location for an event of this nature, please let us know.
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts Member Hotels will be required to pay commission to BCD Meetings & Events at the rate of 10% upon the total gross for accommodations revenue only excluding VAT at the prevailing rate.
Please note that any existing agreement you may have with BCD Meetings & Events will not be affected by this agreement.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts is also proud to be a longstanding partner with BCD Travel in serving their corporate traveler needs at our exceptional hotels around the globe.
Should you have any questions relating to this partnership, please contact Amy Butterfield.
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BCD Meetings & Events - Asia Pacific
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