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Cvent announced the top 50 cities for meetings and events in the United States, according to meeting and event booking activity in the Cvent Supplier Network. Cvent operates the number one marketplace for group meetings business in the world, expecting to source $7 billion of meetings business in 2012.
The top 10 cities are:
- Orlando, FL
- Washington, DC
- Las Vegas, NV
- Miami, FL
- Chicago, IL
- San Diego, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Atlanta, GA
- Dallas, TX
- New Orleans, LA
"Meetings and conventions are important revenue generators for cities, supporting not only the meeting venues and hotels, but also local restaurants, entertainment and numerous other businesses within the city," said Bharet Malhotra, Vice President of Sales for the Cvent Supplier Network. "Cvent’s role in the meetings ecosystem is to connect venues and planners to facilitate efficient and informed meeting booking. As the single largest marketplace for meetings activity, we have an excellent feel for which cities and properties are popular and growing, and the data to back it up."
"We are honored and excited to be rated as the top U.S. destination by Cvent. Corporate meetings are a crucial business segment for Orlando, and our ranking No. 1 validates the effort we have put into working with these groups," said Tammi Runzler, senior vice president of convention sales and services at Visit Orlando. "More importantly, Orlando remains committed to making the destination a compelling choice for corporate meetings."
More than 2,000 Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) are profiled on the Cvent Supplier Network. Cvent acknowledges that CVBs are trained to support planners when booking meetings or events. As destination experts, CVBs can provide complimentary insider tips, venue recommendations, local area information and contract negotiation assistance. Planners who are interested in working with Cvent’s CVB partners have the opportunity to include CVBs at multiple points during the site selection and sourcing process.
Cvent evaluated 1,000 cities and 200 major metropolitan areas (MMAs) in the U.S. on the Cvent Supplier Network to create the list. Activity was tracked between July 2011 and June 2012, and the ranking was then determined by a set of qualifying criteria, some of which included:
The number of total room nights booked through the Cvent Supplier Network;
The number of unique electronic request-for-proposals (RFPs) sent through the marketplace to venues within the city;
The total value of the RFPs submitted;
The actual awarded value for meetings booked.
In addition to ranking top cities, Cvent also ranked the top MMAs to represent select markets where notable meetings activity takes place near, but outside the limits of the city core.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
