Marriott International Asia Pacific announced on Apr. 10 in Mumbai that it is unveiling Meetings Imagined (MeetingsImagined.com) and its Meeting Services App to the region’s events planners and organizers. The two digital innovations are the first-of-their-kind in the industry and are intended to assist the planner, from inspiration to execution.
Meetings Imagined will be launching across approximately 100 properties throughout Asia Pacific and 13 fully-serviced Marriott International properties in India namely Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, Goa Marriott Resort & Spa, Jaipur Marriott Hotel, Kochi Marriott Hotel, Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru, JW Marriott Hotel Chandigarh, JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity, JW Marriott Hotel Pune, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar and Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel.
Meetings Imagined is an online platform modeled on the user-friendly Pinterest.com and the Chinese Huaban.com online forum and provides expert tips on everything related to meetings, including networking activities, maximizing social media exposure and creating the right meeting environment. Meetings Imagined also includes the latest meeting trends and hundreds of inspirational images to spark creativity. Marriott International’s research discovered that there are seven purposes for meetings: celebrate, decide, educate, ideate, network, produce and promote. Meetings Imagined allows meeting planners to design their meeting with a purpose in mind; the website is curated around these purposes and the component building blocks of meetings - setup, food & drink, tech & supplies, and experiences.
In addition to the website, event planners can collaborate on event creation with Marriott International’s Meetings Imagined specialists who are available in 11 Asia-Pacific markets.
Speaking on the occasion, Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific at Marriott International said, “Marriott International has been studying the way planners interface with hotels when they organize events. We have mapped out the planners’ journey, from the moment they have a need for a meeting, all the way through to how they search, book, plan and design the meeting. We aspire to provide something different to address the milestones – and pain points – in the planners’ journey. Meetings Imagined is a unique approach to help planners and organizers to design more inspiring and engaging meeting experiences for their delegates based on the purpose of the meeting.”
The Meeting Services App is a continuation of Marriott International’s innovation in technology, spaces and services, and builds upon the brand’s existing offerings. The app provides real-time connectivity to Marriott for meeting planners and features a wide range of functions. This includes a chat facility to connect MICE organisers with Marriott’s event team throughout the planning and execution process, and allows Marriott to respond immediately to any issues or requests, and to inform the planner on how the request is being handled.
As of this year, the Meeting Services App is available in 20 languages, at 100 hotels under Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, Renaissance, The Ritz-Carlton, Autograph Collection and Courtyard by Marriott across the region. The app would be active in India from June, 2015. The app will be available to meeting planners who use Marriott’s facilities through the following brand names: Marriott Hotels: Red Coat Direct, JW Marriott: JW Event Concierge, Renaissance: R.E.N. Meetings Expert, The Ritz-Carlton: ((chime)), Autograph Collection: Meeting Services App and Courtyard by Marriott: Courtyard Connect.