Quality Appointments

Appointment Sessions

DMO Sellers

• Monday AM/Monday PM

Lodging Sellers - One of the following two sessions:

• Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM
• Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM

Attraction Sellers - One of the following two sessions:

• Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM
• Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM

Associate Sellers - One of the following two sessions:

• Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM
• Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM

Receptive Operators/Tour Planners Sellers- Receptives/Tour Planners will be able to choose to have prescheduled appointments with the DMOs or the Lodging/Attractions. One of the following sessions:

• Monday AM/Monday PM (DMO Session)
• Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM(Lodging/Attraction Session)
• Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM(Lodging/Attraction Session)

The Marketplace Business Floor will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday for seller delegates registered under the Lodging/Attraction categories. DMO and Receptive Operators/Tour Planner delegates registered for appointments on Monday only have access to the Business Floor on Monday.

General Appointment Session Information

The Business Sessions, or Appointment Sessions, are conducted and are the core of Marketplace. The appointment sessions are held on the Marketplace Business Floor, which is a secured area. Only delegates belonging to the group that are taking appointments during that particular session are allowed on the Business Floor.  Delegates are assigned different colored badges depending on their business type grouping. These colors determine access to the Business Floor where appointments are conducted. The color and design change every year. All Buyers have access to the Business Floor at any time. Associates who are not registered as appointment-taking delegates do not have access to the Business Floor.

There are 6 appointment sessions for a total of 174 appointments. Buyers have a maximum of 174 appointments, as they take appointments throughout the week with each of the Seller groups. Sellers have a maximum of 58 appointments. These 58 appointments are scheduled in 2 out of the 6 sessions. The primary group (DMO, Lodging, Attraction, Receptive Operator/Tour Planner) the company belongs to determines which of the 2 sessions are assigned.

The Marketplace Business Floor consists of 8x8 booths where Buyers sit. Each booth contains a 6’ table and 2 chairs inside the booth, an outside chair for the Seller to sit in, and an ID sign giving the Buyer company name, location and attendee number.

Appointment-taking Sellers move from Buyer to Buyer every seven minutes. There is an announcer who announcers the time and the number of the appointment so the Sellers know when to move to the next Buyer. The announcer also gives the delegates a one-minute warning so they know to start wrapping up. Sellers are divided into groups, broken down by business type, that meet with Buyers at specific times. These groups are:

• Destinations Marketing Organizations Session - Monday AM/Monday PM
  • DMOs
  • CVBs
  • Receptive Operators/Tour Planners
• Lodging/Attraction Session- Tuesday AM/Wednesday PM or Tuesday PM/Wednesday AM
  • Hoteliers
  • Attractions
  • Receptive Operators/Tour Planners
  • Associates (appointment-taking only)
    

ABA carefully monitors the number of Seller Appointment-Taking delegates allowed based on the number of Buyer Appointment-Taking delegates registered. By maintaining a near one-to-one ratio in each session, ABA offers quality appointments for all delegates.

Marketplace 2010 Appointment Statistics

100,000+ Appointments Pre-scheduled (2000+ more than Marketplace 2009!)
26-29 Appointments on Average Depending on Registration Type

Ph: (800) 283-2877 Fax: (202) 898-1575 Send us an e-mail at meetingsdept@buses.org

700 13th Street NW, Suite 575 Washington, DC 20005 © 2010 American Bus Association