Marriott International launched its European Convention Network (ECN), a collection of 14 convention hotels that have one dedicated contact person. The goal of ECN is to provide a streamlined, cost effective and comprehensive service for all meeting planners organizing regular annual or bi-annual meetings and events in Europe.
Modeled on the Marriott International Convention and Resort Network in the U.S., which celebrates its 25th year in 2016, the ECN provides both consistency and variety, with each hotel experienced in hosting large-scale meetings and events.
Each of the 14 properties belong to a Marriott brand, including JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Marriott Hotels, AC Hotels by Marriott and the Autograph Collection, and are located in key gateway cities across Europe. All hotels have at least 350 guest rooms and over 25,000 square feet of meeting space with capacity for at least 150 attendees. The largest hotels, Marriott Rome Park, has over 140,000 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate 2,800.
“The launch of the European Convention Network brings together the scale of Marriott Europe’s meetings and events capabilities with a simplified and personal approach,” says Pauline Bronkhorst, head of the ECN. “Our customers have told us they want to save time when planning events in different cities by having one account manager that works with them regularly and understands their business.”
Following each event, the ECN conducts a review that summarizes key learnings, aiming to enhance the process for the next event and acting as a liaison between the meeting planners, event managers and the general managers at the hotel.