Successful Meetings - February 2009 - (Page 52)

holders and partners,” comply with 54 mandatory says Charles-Eric Vilain standards and may also XIV, managing director institute 33 voluntary of the Lille Convention standards. The standards Bureau. set by DMAP cover everyThose measurement thing from domain names tools and metrics were to marketing plans to what Welsh used to procedures for group sales. convince Indianapolis Accreditation was a officials to approve the “natural step” from the CVA’s 2009 funding progress the industry had requests, and it’s that made in performance standardization in operareporting prior to the tions that he says is the creation of DMAP, most valuable application Gehrisch told Successful of the DMAI accreditaMeetings, and “the protion. The association gram is continually eledoes a “great job” of crevating the relevancy of ating requirements that DMOs—particularly with are relevant and necestheir local stakeholders— sary, Welsh says, espeand enhancing credibility cially as the tough econowith customers, such as my forces cities to cut meeting professionals.” Don Welsh, president and CEO, back on nonessential Even as budgets Indianapolis CVA services. become tighter for memThe Indianapolis CVA ber DMOs, Gehrisch says has been accredited since they do not expect the 2005, when DMAI was known as the pace of new accreditations to slow. The International Association of $1,000 application fee for members is Convention & Visitor Bureaus. The offset with the first extra customer that CVA was grandfathered into the new comes in, he says. accreditation program at its 2007 “On average, the application process can take more than 80 hours of staff time launch, and the distinction will be renewed this year by DMAI. to prepare; that’s the larger commitment on the DMO’s part. But DMOs are truly taking notice of this program as a way to A for Audit stand out from their competitors, so in Accreditations, even if they apply mosttoday’s economic environments I suspect ly to internal procedures rather than even more DMOs may consider this an external certifications, often help in essential competitive feature,” he says. winning business from planners, CVB Many bureau officials say there is value officials say. They are a sign of good just in the process of applying for the faith and of a willingness to follow accreditation, as it serves as an operaindustry best practices. tional audit. “We are instituting a number of operat“We discovered many industry ing procedures and policies—first of all resources, such as DMAI’s various with the goal of getting accredited by the measurement tools. The process also Destination Marketing Association, but solidified the need to be exceptionally also to be at the cutting edge in terms of professional in our approach toward the tactics and techniques that we apply to our clients as well as toward our stakethe group and convention development DMAP’s audits and standards are the most valuable applications of the program. side,” says Jorge Pesquera, president and CEO of the Palm Beach County CVB. Accreditations “absolutely” help to win business from planners, Pesquera says. “I think that getting that ‘Good Housekeeping [-type] seal of approval,’ whether it’s us, as a destination marketing entity for the county, or the hotels that are getting these accreditations or certifications in terms of their meeting space—I think that’s all very helpful in projecting to meeting planners the quality and the importance of the product that we have here.” Mark Vaughan, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for the Atlanta CVB, agrees, saying the bureau will begin using the DMAI seal in marketing materials. Atlanta was among the latest batch of CVBs to receive accreditation in November 2008. A review board examines DMAP applications three times a year. “It allows us to validate to our WHAT’S REQUIRED FOR DMAI ACCREDITATION? The Destination Management Organization (DMO) pledges to: • Abide by DMAI’s Code of Ethics • Have a strategic plan, insurance, written financial policies, and formal training procedures • Establish technology policies, a human resources manual, and a data management system • Maintain a comprehensive website and marketing plan • Offer meetings and convention services for planners and trained support staff for groups • Comply with DMAI standards for convention sales, and maintain a lead distribution and referral system 52 I SM I February 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - February 2009

Successful Meetings - February 2009 Contents Editor's Letter News Update: Meetings Associations Band Together Education Planner Spotlight Technology Talk Food & Beverage Making Cents of It All Meanwhile, Back at Headquarters Seal of Approval Come Sail Away Making Tracks Places & Spaces Florida’s East Coast Aruba Maui 3 Days in Philadelphia

Successful Meetings - February 2009

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