WINDPOWER who had not necessarily seen information that we emailed to them or presented in webinars. Being able to directly link to up-to-date tar- geted floor plans and the shipping-label creator tool were some of the most commonly used tools; our small sales and services team probably referred to them on the phone at least 20 times a day in the month leading up to WIND- POWER. Our exhibitor surveys were filled with very positive comments about Expresso. This was our first year using GES’s services, and many exhibi- tors praised what they felt was a very intuitive layout of the various pieces of information and order forms, and the live-chat feature to connect directly with GES service reps was greatly appreciated by those who used it.” — Mike Swinburne, CEM, sales and operations manager, American Wind Energy Association
ILEAD sandiego.org/meetings/services/ilead.aspx The San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau’s iLead tool allows the organiza- tion’s national sales directors to match specifications for any meeting that requires 10 or more sleeping rooms from among 135 hotels and resorts through- out San Diego County. Features include matching meeting specifications to only those hotels that fit the meeting’s needs, and compiling all responses into a sum- mary format that can be downloaded to Excel for ease of comparison. San Diego hotels respond in real time using an elec- tronic proposal template. “I have had successful results using
San Diego’s iLead for the past four years to assist me with site selection for our yearly Fitness Symposium. The iLead system is extremely user-friendly on three platforms. One, it allowed me to easily walk through entering in all my RFP information. Second, it allowed me to easily assess each site’s response and details. Third and most impor- tantly, while you have the advanced technology of the iLead system, you also have the amazing customer service of the San Diego Convention & Visitors
Bureau staff at your fingertips to help you with any questions you may have. They are proactive in letting you know that your RFP has been received and they will be working with the hotels to accommodate your request. You get the best of both worlds: technology and human personal assistance.” — Kerrie Smith, event marketing coordi- nator, American Council on Exercise