When staff of Meeting Professionals International chose Cancun, Mexico, for the association’s 2010 MeetDifferent conference, it had many hotel options from which to choose. After several site inspections, MPI settled on Moon Palace, the crown jewel in the Palace chain of all-inclusive resorts that dot the Yucatán Peninsula and Caribbean.
With support from the Mexico Tourism Board and the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, MPI members will have a chance to explore the all-inclusive option for their own groups while enjoying the same innovative qualities the conference always offers, said Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of MPI, at the recent World Education Conference in Salt Lake City.
Ginny Davito, vice president, group and incentive sales, Palace Resorts, calls it a strategic choice. “They wanted an all-in-one venue,” she says. “They didn’t want to worry about transportation or a convention center. When attendees see the value they’ll be getting, a room rate that includes food and beverage, wireless Internet, long distance calls to the U.S., water sports and other activities, even gratuities and taxes, they will be amazed.”
Meet Different, scheduled for February 20–23, will offer rates of $238 a night until December 1 (and children stay for free). After that it will go up to $258 a night. Rates at that time of year are typically over $400 a night.
Mindful of the expense exhibitors face when shipping trade show materials to another country, MPI organizers have decided to forego the traditional trade show format at MeetDifferent. They are working on other types of networking activities that will replace the buyer-seller network that a trade show traditionally affords.
For more information on MeetDifferent, visit MPI’s Web site.