Advantage launches new meeting and events offering for members

Advantage Travel Partnership has appointed Andrew Winterburn and Ian Quartermaine to launch its new meetings and events offering.

Advantage Meetings and Events will provide resources, knowledge, assistance and a white-labelled full-service event management offering for all Advantage members.

Launching on June 12, it will be available to UK members before being rolled out internationally in 2019 to the WIN Global Travel Network.

With over 25 years’ experience in the meetings and events industry, Winterburn was instrumental in building a global meetings and events business with offices in Europe, North America and Asia.

Quartermaine was prominent in the creation, implementation and management of the international division of HelmsBriscoe, the largest venue-finding service company in the world, operating across 40 countries. The pair were appointed by Advantage to develop the meetings and events product to expand Advantage’s portfolio of services for members.

"There is major growth in the SME sector which is driving the need for small to mid-size meetings. The UK M&E market is estimated to be worth approximately £21 billion, so this new solution will provide members with the fantastic opportunity to grow their revenues within this sector, service the needs of their existing clients and pitch for new business," said Winterburn.

Quartermaine added: "Over the course of our careers, we’ve arranged everything from small meetings to corporate overseas events for hundreds of people. We’ll be able to share this experience with Advantage members to help them grow their own businesses by better serving their clients."

Advantage members will have access to a dedicated Advantage Meetings and Events team to act as a seamless extension of their own business and provide additional support, said the consortium.
Members will benefit from a variety of services and can choose from a mix of additional products to meet the business needs of their clients and the level of their own in-house expertise.

Assistance will range from full service meetings management and marketing support, to venue finding to training and development.

As part of the meetings and events proposition, members will have access to pre-negotiated hotel rates, ability to request and book group rates with selected airlines, supplier agreements with destination management companies, as well as print and design providers.

Additional operational support such as budget and financial management, standard operating procedures and on-site event management staff can also be arranged by Advantage.

Global product director Neil Armorgie said: "We listened to our members and identified that more than two-thirds would like a meetings and events solution, with 88% already implementing meetings but requiring additional support. We are delighted to be launching a service that will support every member, whether they are established in the M&E sector, or just starting out."