For more information, please contact Sandy Eitel at 312.423.7271 or seitel@pcma.org.

PCMA, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and MeetingMetrics Introduce New Meeting ROI Service Enhancement Tool
11/28/2007

CHICAGO, November 28, 2007 - The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), MeetingMetrics^SM and the ROI Institute, Inc., have announced the release of a major addition to the MeetingMetrics online meeting measurement service: a new post-meeting ROI survey with online Return on Investment (ROI) reports.

By using MeetingMetrics with ROI, meeting professionals can now accurately demonstrate the financial success of their meetings. They can also show attendees that the time and effort expended to attend was worthwhile.

Using a streamlined process, the MeetingMetrics online ROI application is the leading tool in the meeting industry that identifies the ultimate post-meeting business impacts and bottom-line results of an event.

"The learning curve is short, generally a single meeting; but the long-term gains can be invaluable," observed Ira Kerns, Managing Director of GuideStar Research and developer of MeetingMetrics. The ROI service determines the net profit or loss of an event, as well as the average financial value for individual attendees. In assessing event ROI, meeting professionals gain information to rationalize their meeting investments and to demonstrate achievement of financial objectives. By assessing ROI at the participant level, they will gain information to help promote and justify attendance at future events. 'Meeting Measurement and ROI have to be more than just buzz words,' said PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton. "At PCMA, we believe that meetings professionals must make strategic contributions to their organizations, whether that means more accurately measuring meetings or serving up the tools to better measure organizational success."

MeetingMetrics' online ROI service is endorsed by the ROI Institute and adheres to the meeting measurement methods, standards and report formats of the Institute. The ROI Institute works closely with MeetingMetrics to promote and accelerate the use of meeting ROI throughout the meeting industry.

"This application will empower meeting professionals by providing them information that will assist them in improving their meetings and events," said Dr. Patti Phillips, President and CEO of the ROI Institute. "The functionality to measure and evaluate a meeting or event in this way simplifies the data collection process, providing meeting professionals with a tool they can immediately adapt to their specific events."

The online ROI service shares the same easy, intuitive interface as the other MeetingMetrics surveys with measurement and meeting intelligence built into the system, and a comprehensive point-and-click ROI reporting interface.

Pricing and purchasing information are available online at www.pcma.org/meetingmetrics. For additional information on MeetingMetrics including the ROI reporting feature, contact MeetingMetrics at 212-426-6222.

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is the professional resource and premier educator for the meetings and convention industry. Founded in 1957, PCMA represents the interests of meeting management executives from associations, non-profit organizations, corporations, independent meeting planning companies, and multi-management firms who recognize the importance of meetings to their organization. PCMA empowers members with the tools they need to succeed as meeting professionals and to promote the value of the industry to their organizations and the general public. Headquartered in Chicago, PCMA has 16 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. For additional information, please visit the PCMA Web site at www.pcma.org.

The role of the PCMA Education Foundation is to support the mission of the PCMA through fundraising and grant giving focused on education and research that will benefit the meetings and conventions industry. Established in 1985, the Foundation supports educational programs to improve professionalism in the meetings industry and to provide a university-level meeting management curriculum. The Foundation funds educational programs for meeting managers, hotels, convention and visitors bureaus, and other members of the meetings industry. It also conducts ongoing research of industry issues and concerns. The Foundation continually funds new programs to encourage the highest levels of professionalism in the meetings industry