M & I
20 years of M & I Forums
RAMY JAMES SALAMEH REPORTS FROM LUXE BODRUM ON M & I FORUMS , MARKING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS SPECIAL MICE JOURNEY
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& I Forums has been , as its website states : “ Connecting the MICE industry through world-class events ” for the last two decades . During the recent LUXE Bodrum , only the second event of the new LUXE by M & I series , I asked Richard Barnes , CEO of organiser Worldwide Events , about the company ’ s M & I boutique events history as they mark their 20th anniversary .
Changing the way we meet What began as a vision to revolutionise how industry professionals network and do business , has , over 20 years , evolved into an influential sectoral platform . The first shoots of change came after Barnes , with co-founder Peter Gould , set-up ‘ Great Hotels of the World ’. They recognised members were not making the most of their ‘ meeting and event ’ spaces and so the ‘ Great Hotels of the World Meeting Forum ’ was born .
“ I knew from the popularity of these events that we were onto something special , something which did not exist in the market . From the outset we innovated , disrupted the meetings model and we continue to do that today ,” he says .
What followed was the creation of a new company , M & I Forums , which started taking leading buyers to destinations around the world . Barnes notes it cost a lot to get the buyers to the destinations , “ but this totally changed their level of commitment to our shows ”.
Company milestones M & I created their own software to run their events and a tool to schedule buyer / supplier appointments through matchmaking .
Currently , the company hosts 75,000 meetings per year across the portfolio and Barnes says 95 % of these meetings are based on buyer / supplier preferencing .
Left : M & I futurefocusing its business with new brands
“ The fundamental difference between us and the big trade shows ,” says Barnes , “ is creating a ‘ destination and venue led ’ experience which is unique each time ”.
Trendwatcher Barnes has witnessed the MICE industry mature and segment , and has kept abreast of trends . Leisure hotels looking to supplement their business with MICE events has helped drive the company ’ s new ‘ LUXE ’ product .
The new world of remote working has also created another opportunity for M & I Forums . Barnes believes that event agencies having less office time to receive as many sales calls from hotels has resulted in the demise of the traditional sales trip , and thus created more demand for his product .
Knowing your strengths To achieve ROI for suppliers at the M & I events , Barnes notes the choice of destination as ‘ paramount ’, as is the need “ to excite people with great places , venues and experiences ”.
So , how will M & I Forums curate their portfolio of the future ? ‘ M & I Fest Global Marrakesh ’ and their new ‘ LUXE by M & I ’ products are two good examples of future-focussing the business . These events address the diverse needs of both sides of the buyer / supplier table , a process Barnes describes as “ taking the best from the major exhibitions and combining it with the magic of a more intimate event ”. The company supplements these with other segmented events , such as Express , Healthcare , Transatlantic and Private .
The M & I team recently selected the Turkish Riviera ’ s luxurious LUJO Hotel , as the inspirational base and platform for the one-to-one meetings . Buyers were also able to discover the region ’ s rich history , vineyards , cuisine and coastline and to indulge in a spectrum of experiences from mixology and chocolate-making classes , to using boats and even seaplanes to explore the Aegean landscape . n
28 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 133