MCLEAN, VA | More convenient trade show hours, new seminar topics and 12 new expert speakers, complimentary lunch coupons, and free registration for qualified meeting planners are just some of the highlights of the 16th annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Affordable Meetings® National show, set for Sept. 7 – 8, 2005 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

“We’ve enhanced this year’s program to appeal to the evolving needs of meeting planners and suppliers while continuing to offer exceptional educational, networking and business-generating opportunities that are unrivaled on the meeting planning trade show circuit,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “After nearly 16 years of insightful programming and one-of-a-kind offerings, we remain on the cutting-edge of what’s essential in the growing meetings industry,” Gilbert added.

The 2005 HSMAI Affordable Meetings® National Program

HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National offers a superior educational component of 36 seminars (30 different topics with six repeated) that present a broad range of topics such as meeting contracts, on-site management, negotiation skills, budgeting, effective communication, technology, marketing, designing a brochure, growing your independent meeting planning business and more. A highlight will be the informative general session on negotiating critical issues in hotel contracts where attendees can hear from business professionals on both the meeting planning and the hotel/facility side.

Reflective of its fresh appeal, this year’s educational program welcomes 12 new speakers, who are considered experts in their field and will discuss a multitude of meeting planning subjects.

As an added benefit, attendees receive a complimentary bound book containing handouts from all of the seminars for easy reference.

In addition to the educational program, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and do business with more than 520 exhibiting companies at 600 booths during a unique exposition at the Washington Convention Center (with 60,000 feet of exhibit space) that will showcase venues, products and services to help produce various types of meetings and events.

The exposition encompasses a plethora of activities and opportunities for meeting planners such as liaising one-on-one with industry experts at the Speakers’ Booth and researching a broad selection of destinations and services at all price points. Exhibitors represent hotels and resorts, university conference centers, unique meeting sites, convention and visitor bureaus, transportation companies, trade publications, software and audio/visual businesses, and other meeting and convention suppliers.

Providing more convenient hours for business and general perusing of the booths, the trade show features new hours: 10:30 am – 1:30 pm each day of the show.

During the exposition, exhibitors and attendees will be provided with a $10 coupon on both days of the show to buy lunch at the food concessions in the exposition hall, compliments of HSMAI.

Travel and cash prizes, as well as drawings at many exhibitor booths remain popular attractions.

Delegates can also visit the HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Bookstore, a one-stop shopping source where planners have access to material specific to the industry – printed materials and audio/visual resources as well as a complete line of CMP study materials.

Over 1,700 attendees, representing meeting and event planners from a variety of organizations, with a majority representing corporate, association and independent sectors and the balance from government, non-profit, education, religious and medical/health care organizations, trade show management and the military, are expected to visit HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National 2005 show.

HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National is the last show on the Affordable Meetings 2005 calendar. The first show in the series, HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America, a successful, sold-out event that took place April 6 – 7 at Navy Pier in Chicago, welcomed 1,100 meetings planners, building momentum for a sensational year. The next event in 2005, where similar success is anticipated, is HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® West, June 15 – 16 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA.