American Express Meetings & Events, a full-service global meetings and events management provider, has today announced the UK rollout of MEETINGS EXPERT. The new service provides companies with an experienced sourcing and contract negotiation expert for meetings organised outside the scope of a managed, centralised meetings and events programme.
Piloted initially with clients in North America, MEETINGS EXPERT provides access to meetings and events specialists skilled in negotiating all aspects of hotel contracts – such as conference rooms, bedrooms, food and beverage and ancillary spending – for events with 10 or more rooms per night. These specialists secure cost savings and successful contract outcomes by employing standard meetings policies and best practice sourcing methods. Furthermore, by tracking meetings sourced, MEETINGS EXPERT offers standardised reporting that gives clients a clear picture of their meetings spend.
Issa Jouaneh, Vice President and General Manager, American Express Meetings & Events, said: “We are excited to extend this new offering in the UK as we see it very much aligned with the needs of the corporate buyers. MEETINGS EXPERT builds on our existing local capabilities and expertise, while leveraging some of the tools and best practices of the North American launch.”
Many departments within an organisation need to plan meetings on an ad hoc basis. MEETINGS EXPERT is designed to help professionals, who may not be trained meeting or contract experts, to still be able to secure the best terms from hotels and venues. Through thorough, criteria-based analysis of properties, MEETINGS EXPERT provides all the information a client needs to make an informed choice of venue, while the buying power of American Express helps obtain the lowest rates and best contractual terms.
Peter Manning, UK Director, American Express Meetings & Events, said: “MEETINGS EXPERT helps companies reduce the risks associated with meetings contracting, gain control of their spend and drive significant savings. North American clients using the service have already achieved average savings of 28 per cent per meeting. The cost savings delivered by MEETINGS EXPERT helps demonstrate the importance of maintaining a structured approach to managing meetings and associated expenses, one of the largest categories of uncontrolled spend for most companies. Even if companies require help in sourcing meetings only intermittently, it is vital they benefit from best practice expertise to secure the greatest value.”
