Hotel Room Block Poaching and High Speed Internet and Connectivity Resonates on a Global Level

Michael Owen, Chair of the APEX Standards Committee

Recently presenting an education session during IMEX Frankfurt, the issue of hotel room block poaching in regards to consumer fraud is happening everywhere. Whenever we have a conversation about piracy/poaching, we hear of new instances and increasingly dubious methods. We find that the topic is not front of mind – until it is. We don’t think about the issue until it affects us directly, and that is often after the damage is done. With the APEX Best Practices for Piracy and Poaching Prevention and Responses and Piracy and Poaching White Paper, we aim to raise awareness of the issue and equip those impacted with tools to protect their organizations.

Solving the connectivity and pricing equation also continues to confound both consumers and providers around the world. As meetings technology evolves and innovates, the conversation in our industry has not kept pace. Understanding required bandwidth loads to efficiently deliver the technology is critical to both planners and suppliers.

While there are operational and cultural differences in the way we work in various regions, the underlying message is that we have an opportunity to meaningfully engage the global community in the APEX effort. We have strong interest from within the European industry and beyond to join us in adapting current work and identifying issues which are unique to the meetings industry in their respective regions. Visit for more information: www.conventionindustry.org/StandardsPractices/APEX.aspx

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