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CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THOMAS L. KEMP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER LISA COHEN PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP ROBERT G. SULLIVAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL MEDIA THOMAS CINTORINO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER DAVID BLANSFIELD SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LORI CIOFFI SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ARNIE WEISSMANN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES JANINE L. BAVOSO VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING SOLUTIONS MICHELLE ROSENBERG VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION ROBERTA MULLER VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT LICENSING SHEILA RICE VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS RICH MASTROPIETRO VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS ELIZABETH KOESSER Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: (65) 6801 0450 FAX: (65) 6801 0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: (8610) 8532 3611 | FAX: (8610) 8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: (8621) 5179 8360 | FAX: (8621) 5179 8360 Head Office 100 LightingWay, Secaucus, N.J. 07094-3681 U.S.A. • TEL: ( 201) 902-2000 M&C/Asia ISSN 2424-8215 MCI(P) 007/09/2017 PPS 1871/11/2015 (025607) is published on a bi-monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd, located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Please address all subscription mail to the above address. Alternatively, you can fax to +852 3020 5794 or go online at: www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact M&C Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to reprint@ntmllc.com Printed by Times Printers Private Limited (LL008/08/2017) A PUBLICATION OF NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA, LLC GROUP PUBLISHER Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@ntmllc.com EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Yeoh Siew Hoon Tel: (65) 6801 0450 | syeoh@ntmllc.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Esther Faith Lew Tel: (65) 6801 0457 | esther.lew@ntmllc.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Lee Xin Hui Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | xinhui.lee@ntmllc.com REPORTER Naomi Neoh Tel: (65) 6801 0461 | naomi.neoh@ntmllc.com CONTRIBUTORS Andrea Doyle, Loren G Edelstein, DJ Hanson Catharine Nicol, Brooke Thio and Marissa Trew ART DIRECTOR Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Kevin Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | kevin.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com ASSOCIATE MANAGER, MARKETING AND EVENTS Melanie Ong Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | melanie.ong@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL IT & DIGITAL OPERATIONS Ron Wee Tel: (65) 6801 0456 | ron.wee@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE GROUP PUBLISHER (China) Rebecca Zhang Tel: (8621) 5179 8363 | rebecca.zhang@ntmllc.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR (Shanghai) Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@ntmllc.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Susan Li Tel: (8610) 8532 3611 | susan.li@ntmllc.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9731 2090 | manna.ma@zamintl.com.hk INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk JAPAN R Project Incorporated - Hiroki Fukunaga Tel: (81) 90 4958 0658 | hirokif@rprojectinc.com KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com MIDDLE EAST The MediaVantage - Lenora Bennis Tel: (971) 52 846 6212 | lenora@themediavantage.com PHILIPPINES MMPRMedia Group, Inc - Marie Monozca Tel: (63) 917 328 7658 | marie@mmprmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@ntmllc.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@ntmllc.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham Tel: (65) 6801 0452 | julia.tham@ntmllc.com M&C Asia is BPA audited, with 10,100 print circulation and 10,562 eNewsletter circulation as of Dec 31, 2017. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self- regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. Editor's Note JUL-AUG 2018 1 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS. SEND EMAIL TO ESTHER.LEW@NTMLLC.COM Esther Faith Lew EDITOR-IN-CHIEF W hen it comes to hotel brands, they most certainly are. And according to past M&C Research surveys on the subject of loyalty, the top influencing factors that resonate with planners are: prior experience, consistency of service, quality of meeting spaces, consistency of product, and quality of rooms, in the order of importance. Even though it is considered to be expensive and complicated to manage, hotel loyalty programmes remain pivotal to hotel brand marketing today even after 30 years or so of evolvement. They have proven to win over a greater share of a member's wallet once they join, and they are also more likely to use direct channels for booking. This bodes well for hotel brand companies and owners as direct bookings translate into cost efficiency. We already know that these programmes offer great perks and benefits that go beyond just free room night rewards. It's also about creating memorable and unique experiences for members, and it is even more relevant now in the heated landscape for planners. Get an update from top hotel chains on pg 20 and gain the mileage that will help you plan more effectively. We also take a look at creative themed events on pg 42 that will give you ideas on creating a big impact and the venues for doing so, while pg 14 will provide insights on captivating your audience. Are planners loyal?

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