StarCite, the leading provider of Web-based solutions to strategically manage corporate meetings and events, announced today at IMEX that electronic Requests for Proposals for meetings (RFPs) through its online marketplace in Europe have increased 239% this year (January-April 30) compared to the same period last year. StarCite is exhibiting at Stand #690 at IMEX in Frankfurt, the Worldwide Exhibition for meetings, incentive travel and events.

David Norris, Vice President International Sales, who heads StarCite’s operations in Europe said, “No company is better suited than StarCite to facilitate interaction in the Meetings Ecosystem that exists between corporate buyers, event suppliers and travel/meetings management companies. Our tremendous penetration in the European marketplace is a testament to the benefits European companies are realizing by working with StarCite to implement highly effective strategic meetings management programs that deliver cost-savings, efficiencies and more effective meetings programs overall.”

StarCite has a number of activities that are significant to the European marketplace:

• Launch of Nexus, StarCite’s next generation platform for innovation, which brings the latest in service-based architecture. The configurability inherent in Nexus meets client requirements for global meetings programs including international specifications such as currencies, tax codes and regulatory/approval routing.
• Focus on StarCite’s European operations, centralizing Corporate Sales, Supplier Sales and Account Management to provide even greater direct focus for the international market. StarCite’s European operations are managed by a team of industry thought leaders with years of experience deploying global strategic meetings management programs and technology including:

Deep strategic meetings management experience within its global account management team working hand-in-hand with EMEA-based global corporations to launch best practices and innovations.

Experts in meetings technology and customer deployment providing meetings technology solutions, payment integration, and training programs.

Intercultural communications and marketing know-how to effectively deploy global programs across country boundaries and other traditional barriers.

Supplier industry expertise through hospitality industry veterans and an established $3 billion marketplace and RFP tool operating more than a decade within Europe.

• Expanding client penetration as US-based customers expand their strategic meetings management programs to Europe.
• Expanding Partnership with Hogg Robinson Group, which uses StarCite as its online sourcing tool for its meetings requests

Referring to the successful deployments of Hogg Robinson UK and Hogg Robinson Germany, Nicole Pool, Head Events & Meetings Management Europe Central at Hogg Robinson Switzerland Ltd., selected StarCite’s meetings solution for her key markets of Switzerland and Italy. “The idea is to roll out this meetings solution in the other Europe Central markets like Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia once convenient,” said Pool.

Sandra Schall, global Category Manager for Hotels & MICE, OPS GPR IP Travel & Fleet, at Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in Munich, Germany, launched a program using StarCite’s meetings technology platform, establishing a standard sourcing and procurement process for meetings services across the company's seven operating regions globally. “While it is still too early to measure savings and efficiencies, we are already benefiting from comprehensive meetings spend data via improved relationships with suppliers, and we have established greater control over spending, benefiting from regular reporting on meeting volume and compliance from teams from NSN's seven operating regions,” said Schall.

Top European Cities Trends – 1 Jan through 30 Apr 2011 vs. the same period in 2010

Destination City % Growth YTD vs Prior YTD

• London 276%
• Barcelona 46%
• Paris 74%
• Madrid 52%
• Frankfurt 161%
• Amsterdam 32%
• Munich 109%
• Rome 89%
• Berlin 255%
• Brussels 120%.