Testimonials

"Attending the SMU event was a wonderful experience. I have made a number of very valuable contacts with representatives of international venues. The information gained will be very useful to us as we plan and place our conferences…I very much enjoyed attending this well organized event. The venue was convenient and very comfortable, the receptions and meals were memorable…the presentations were meaningful and applicable as well."

- Lynn Louise Kindle

Conference Coordinator,
Gordon Research Conferences

"A big thank you for the fantastic event you put together for us. The food, the hotel, the presentations,... it was a fabulous experience for me as a newcomer in the Meetings industry!. We managed to get 3 RFP's out of it and 30 new contacts for our database…the quality of the buyers were high."

- Virginie Baeriswyl

Account Manager Meetings,
Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau

"I wanted to thank you again for the great event…I really enjoyed it and found it very useful, really had mostly great meetings! I definitely will participate again next year."

- May Sollinger-Soucek, CMP

Marketing Manager USA & Canada,
Vienna Convention Bureau/Vienna Tourist Board

"Thank you so much for inviting me to the SMU event… I had a great and very productive time. I met many people that I can work with on programs for many years to come and found the sessions excellent."

- David N. Bruce, MMP, HTS

Managing Director, CMP Meeting Services - Simplifying the Business of Meetings

"I just wanted to thank you for coordinating a fantastic event in St. Martin! I met a lot of wonderful people and have 6-8 leads from it!"

- Pamela Shepherd

Regional Director of Sales,
Aruba Convention Bureau

"The Successful Meetings University was the most productive group business centric session I have attended in years. The planners were well selected and genuinely interested in bringing business to the Caribbean Region. The buyer to supplier ratio was perfect and the opportunities were tangible - I am confident that we will secure at least two quality group programs within the next 3 months."

- Sharlene Brenkus

Director of Sales & Marketing,
Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa

"Thank you for including me in the Caribbean Successful Meetings Program. It was a great opportunity to learn more about St. Martin, and to meet with other destination specialists. I will hope to be able to utilize one or many of the vendors for future programs. I liked the intimacy of the program and found it to be a great networking tool. I look forward to future events."

- Evelyn Pettit

Meeting Planner, event-logix

"Thank you to all the many Planners that I met, shared ideas and developed new friendships with. I look forward to staying in contact with all of you…May all of us continue to Weather the Storm and may continued success and prosperity be your road ahead."

- Gene Harley

Managing Director, Advantage International, LLC

"SMU is my best show of the year, quality planners and one on one appointments with great networking and education sessions make this show a win-win for planners, suppliers and sponsors! You do it right SM."

- Debi DeBenedetto

CHA, Naples Marco Island Everglades CVB

"There are other appointment shows that I attend throughout the year and I think the smaller size of your show actually makes the time spent with the planners more beneficial. Some of the larger shows are overwhelming to the planners and the suppliers, by the last day the planners are deliberately missing appointments due to exhaustion. Not to mention they are handing the same RFP to that many more suppliers. I also thought the educational sessions were a highlight and the off site venues were a nice change. I actually came back to the office today and stated that I would gladly attend any of your events with the knowledge of how well they are planned and executed. Thank you for making my first Successful Meetings event, a true success!"

- Anna Pernia

Southeast Sales Manager, Biltmore Hotel

"This year's SMU provided quality customers who were truly interested in learning and knowing more about Florida and the wide variety of properties and destinations we have to offer. I think the Florida Successful Meetings University is one of the best organized programs for a client/supplier forum. The number of new clients I was able to meet along with the supplier to client ratio is exceptional. Having a more intimate group of people also gave you the opportunity to really be able to get to know these clients and the other suppliers."

- David Irwin

National Sales Manager, Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa

"SMU provides everything a planner could want! Educational topics that matter from speakers that you can refer to associates; Amazing venues that you would definitely want to book for future meetings; Ample networking with the top suppliers - much more than a 30 second business card exchange. It was definitely worth my time."

- Vicki Penchosky

CMP, ConferenceDirect

"This was a very educational experience with a good amount of free time to explore the surrounding area. The meeting was extremely well organized and you did not leave feel overwhelmed with information because of the way the meeting was structured. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is serious about obtaining a high quality of information in a short period of time ."

- Alan Mazzola

Director, Travel Services SYKES Enterprises

"The best event yet! As a corporate planner, it exceeded my expectations and I made many networking contacts for future events. The Sand Pearl was an exceptional property and the staff went above and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity to take part in this successful event!"

- Gigi DeLuca

Director of Marketing and Events, Fortriss, LLC

"Time is my most valuable commodity and the SMU agenda respected that. The program was exceptionally well thought out and executed. It delivered valuable content in the general session portion while providing an opportunity to meet 20+ suppliers (the majority of which I hadn't known prior to my arrival) in a compressed (but comfortable) amount of time. To garner this sort of input, from this diverse cross-section of suppliers, would have taken months versus days. As a result of attending the University, I have broadened my awareness of an important region of the country-- the benefits it could offer our future programs--that I wasn't aware of prior to my arrival. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I met planners and suppliers who I learned a lot from and who are now part of my resource network going forward."

- Katie Smith CMP

Corporate Conference Director, M2Media360

"Thank you so very much for arranging the Successful Meetings University at the Sandpearl Resort. I made some terrific connections and learned quite a lot about all of the Hotels and CVBs that I was able to meet. The networking opportunities were invaluable! I look forward to working with many of the vendors I met."