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The smart and more agency for event management is the newest and 250th member of the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V.. Just like two cities, six hotels, four event venues and four other service providers, the Hamburg-based agency has joined the marketing organisation that represents the interests of the meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) industry, the German Convention Bureau. GCB director Lutz P. Vogt proudly welcomes the new partners: "With these 17 new members we have gained exciting and competent businesses who not only take our portfolio of MICE professionals in Germany to the magic mark of 250 but who also round it off perfectly."
Service providers for perfect events
The portfolio of events agency smart and more includes conferences, seminars, conventions and meetings as well as kick-off events, trade fair services for exhibitors and visitors, incentive travel, corporate tours or pure travel logistics. "We cover the entire market spectrum. No matter whether full or individual services – our customers receive personal advice and a tailor-made offer. We are most happy to provide our event management expertise in future as the 250th GCB member," says smart and more Director Stefanie Lemmermann.
Be it a gala evening, theme event, business anniversary or birthday party – perfect catering is an essential part of any event. Other key ingredients include delicious food and drink in keeping with the motto, an accomplished service crew, perfect logistics and timing, attractive decorations and beautiful furnishings. All this is provided by the Munich-based gourmet catering specialist Hoffmann Gastronomie & Catering GmbH & Co. KG.
Specialising in conventions, meetings and incentives in Berlin, Germany and Europe, pcma, professional congress & marketing agency gmbh, is both a conference agency and destination management company. The agency was founded in 1991 and has realised a wide variety of trade events for over 897,640 attendees. "What we do is quite simple: we bring people together in one place where they can communicate professionally and we ensure that they are able to concentrate on the essentials right from the start," says Till Runte, pcma’s Managing Director.
Quality Travel GmbH is a destination management company and contact for events such as incentives, meetings and conferences all over Germany. Quality Travel wants to inspire and encourage you to try something new. The international team speaks to customers in their language and this is one of the keys to its success alongside the company’s expertise.
Enthusiasm, commitment, expertise and more than 28 years of professional experience with projects realised in 35 countries worldwide are the hallmarks of Team Seefried. Founded in 1980 as one of Germany’s first incentive agencies, it successfully and reliably realises incentives, events and conferences for German and foreign customers. In addition, the special TS incoming department offers the – local and "cutting-edge" – services of a professional full-service incoming agency.
New cities and regions: Wolfsburg and Tegernsee
Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH offers interested business customers a free service of tailor-made offers for seminar and meeting stays at Lake Tegernsee plus suggestions for a perfect social programme. "Since our inception five years ago we have gained over 50 suppliers with high quality standards for our Meeting Experience Tegernsee network. That’s a large pool from which we can source both exciting and effective meetings" explains Georg Overs, director of Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH.
Wolfsburg Marketing GmbH familiarises guests will all the benefits of this 70-year-old city and its surroundings. Wolfsburg has over 2,800 hotel beds in all categories and countless extraordinary meeting and event venues on offer. For programmes in the region you can choose between the attractions of 700-year-old Schloss Wolfsburg, the Ph?no Science Centre with 300 interactive phenomena and the Autostadt.
Reinforcements from the hotel sector
In early 2009 the design hotel andelOs Hotel Berlin will be completed on Landsberger Allee in Berlin Friedrichshain. With banqueting space of 3,800 square metres and capacities for up to 3,000 people it will be one of the German capital’s largest meeting and congress hotels. Its generous function spaces and ballroom will be suitable for both large events such as trade fairs, concerts, balls, car launches and corporate presentations and for conferences and congresses.
Hilton Dusseldorf is one of the largest meeting hotels in Dusseldorf and has been awarded the "Hilton Meetings Quality" seal. A total of 21 conference and meeting rooms offer the perfect setting for any event with up to 1,500 people. MICE customers appreciate the separate check-in and check-out on the hotel’s executive floor, MAX restaurant with its live cooking area and proximity to the old town and city centre of the Rhineland’s fashion metropolis.
The historic buildings of the Graflicher Park Hotel & Spa Bad Driburg, with their combinable meeting rooms and high-tech facilities, are surrounded by the over 60-hectare, award-winning Graflicher Park. During conference breaks guests can refresh themselves at the in-house Bad Driburg Nature Park spa. After that they can enjoy a barbecue at Donhausen hunting lodge with a guided hiking tour or activity programmes on the high ropes course.
Schloss Montabaur owes its flair to a mix of history and modernity. 15 meeting and 24 seminar rooms with state-of-the-art technical facilities provide a perfect setting for events with 15 to 180 people. The Schlossberg features six guesthouses, where most of the 287 rooms are located. "Our guests like the strict focus on our market segments – conferences, seminars and events – the combination of a historical castle with cutting-edge facilities and our good traffic connections," says hotel director Ralf Kleinheinrich.
Tucked into the airport, Sheraton Dusseldorf Airport Hotel is striking for its detail such as lush greenery and penthouse-style construction. From here any flight is easy to reach – and you can stretch out after a flight in the 24-hour gym. The recently renovated 18 flexible and modern conference rooms offer space for up to 200 people.
The creatively designed Steigenberger Hotel Remarque with its award-wining restaurant lies right in Osnabruck’s picturesque old town. With Mediterranean accents and lots of modern amenities it has ten fully air-conditioned and light-filled rooms for events with state-of-the-art equipment and capacities for four to 400 people. Restaurant Vila Real offers Mediterranean cuisine of the highest standards – winning the acclaim of many a renowned restaurant guide.
Event venues from Berlin to Nurburgring
Located right at the Brandenburg Gate axica Kongress- und Tagungszentrum GmbH is Berlin’s most exclusive convention and event centre. This unique venue in the heart of the city with its expressive architecture offers lots of space for extraordinary events. Seven to 700 people can be accommodated there. Variable room designs, cutting-edge multimedia facilities, exquisite catering and a perfect service lend each event a character of its own.
Operated by Congress Centrum Saar GmbH, Saarlandhalle and Congresshalle are among the largest venues in the south west of Germany. Both centres have already seen every kind of event. Congresshalle, on the banks of the Saar and just a few minutes from the city centre and central station has a grand hall for up to 1,800 guests, while Saarlandhalle has capacities for up to 6,500 visitors.
On over 175,000 square metres, with a multi-purpose hall space of 22,500 square metres in total and a large outdoor and park area, Messe Offenburg-Ortenau has enough space for events, fairs, exhibitions, conferences and conventions in the heart of Europe, only a few kilometres from Europe city Strasbourg. Surrounded by the Black Forest, Alsace and vineyards this is not just a great place to stay but also a great place for business.
Nurburgring is Germany’s largest sports venue and suitable for lots of extraordinary programmes thanks to its drivers’ camp, Formula One race track with its Northern Loop, driver safety centres, racing driver school, off-road park, panorama VIP lounges and mountain bike track. "As of June 2009 we will have function spaces you can use all the year round thanks to a covered boulevard, arena, business lounge and event centre with new hotels providing additional overnight capacities. We are developing Nurburgring into a globally unique power destination," adds Stephan Cimbal, head of marketing of Nurburgring GmbH.
The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international level, and is the place to contact for anybody planning an event in Germany. Its 250 members include leading hotels, convention centres and destinations, car hire firms, event agencies and service providers of the German meetings and conventions industry. Maritim Hotels and Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH are Preferred Partners of the GCB.
The GCB is an interface between organisers of meetings and conventions and suppliers of the German meetings market, offers advice and support for planning and organising events, and provides contacts and addresses. Its website www.germany-meetings.com features an online search facility for meeting venues, newsletter, Germany guide and a lot more.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
