The Electrochemical Society meets in the spring and fall each year, with both meetings averaging around 2,000 attendees. The 2006 Joint International Meeting, held at the Moon Palace Resort the last week of October, surprised the organization with a solid 2,300 attendees. But that number came only after a labyrinth of decisions and negotiations.

The society shifts its fall meeting to different corners of the world, but international destinations pose a problem. "As a U.S.-based organization, we don't have much ownership in other countries," said Roque Calvo, ECS executive director. "So we find potential partners - our counterpart organization in host countries. Believe it or not, in almost any non-Third World country, we're finding an association like us because of the importance of energy sources."

The Mexican Electrochemical Society accepted ECS's offer and the two groups shared the already planned date for the Mexican organization's meeting, conducting one meeting. Moon Palace Resort worked well as the host venue. On 123 acres, the resort offers 2,100 rooms and conference facilities for up to 5,000 people. Highlights of the property include a secluded white sand beach stretching nearly 2,000 feet. The space itself seemed to fit the group better than anything else in Cancun, but the resort's all-inclusive label seemed to be a major obstacle for an international society with 48 countries represented at meetings.

Calvo said Moon Palace crafted a plan that worked well for ECS. "I never thought an all-inclusive could do that," he said. "Associations typically won't go to an all-inclusive because it's too complicated when you're doing a technical meeting, but they really worked with us."

The hesitation about using an all-inclusive was because of the variety of attendees attracted to this meeting. "We have a lot of students, people from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and they don't have the budget to pay for a package. We had to have arrangements for people to stay outside the resort," explained Calvo. After the maneuverings, 75 percent of attendees stayed at the resort, a number certainly helped by the 20-minute drive time to the tourist section of Cancun. Staying off resort wound up being more of a hassle for attendees, plus the options offered at Moon Palace made the rates competitive.

Extraordinary Meetings Take Away

Here is how Moon Palace worked with Electrochemical Society:

• A food package was offered so those staying outside the hotel could still eat and drink without limit at the resort, therefore still compensating the hotel without trapping attendees on the property. ECS Executive Director Roque Calvo called the $180 deal "dirt cheap."
• Most of the convention housing encompassed the guest rooms closest to the convention center, but to satisfy student needs, the hotel set aside a student block farther down the beachfront for a lower price. "That meant students could have the same quality rooms for more inconvenience and less money. Plus they had a lot of double and triple occupancy," Calvo said.

Contributing Editor Ginny Phillips is a freelance writer in Birmingham, Ala. This installment of Extraordinary Meetings was sponsored by Palace Resorts. Visit its Web site at www. palaceresorts.com.