Chicago Named CVB of the Year by ConferenceDirect at Annual Planner Meeting

The third-party planning organization recognizes top destinations and members of the hotel, travel and meetings markets. 

Chicago-River-Waterfront
Chicago Cityscape from Chicago River Waterfront

Choose Chicago was named "CVB of the Year - Primary Market" at ConferenceDirect's Annual Partner Meeting 2019. The Windy City CVB touts itself as a one-stop shop for assisting meeting planners and visitors in finding the right hotels and venues, speakers, entertainers, transportation, decor companies, caterers and more.  

ConferenceDirect is a full-service global meetings company specializing in contract negotiation, conference management, housing, mobile-app technology and meetings management programs. Each year, the company recognizes top destinations and members of the supplier community that they believe have demonstrated exceptional partnership, support and customer services. 

Following are other award winners recognized at this year's meeting: 

CVB of the Year - Secondary Market: Go Louisville, Louisville, Ky. 

Hotel Sales Person of the Year – North America: Tami Cobb, senior sales manager, Hilton Americas-Houston

Hotel Sales Person of the Year - International: Ryan Thompson, senior sales manager, the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort and Spa

Independent Sales Person of the Year: Maureen Carter, director, national sales, The Broadmoor

Global Hotel Sales Person of the Year – Small Market: Scott Bryant, director, global accounts, Omni Hotels

Global Hotel Sales Person/Team of the Year – Large Market: Tricia Dillard and Nicole Gore, director of strategic accounts - Americans and global director - Americas Hyatt Hotels and Resorts

Service Provider of the Year: Valerie Hershier, national account director, Hello! Destination Management

Additionally, ConferenceDirect recognized the top 50 U.S. and international destinations for 2018. Results were based on total room nights booked throughout the year. Here are the top 10; for a complete list of the top 50, click here

Top 10 U.S. Destinations

  1. Las Vegas, Nev.
  2. Orlando, Fla.
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. Atlanta, Ga.
  5. San Antonio, Texas
  6. Denver, Colo.
  7. San Diego, Calif. 
  8. Austin, Texas 
  9. Chicago, Ill. 
  10. Nashville, Ten.

Top 10 International Destinations 

  1. Vancouver, Canada
  2. Toronto
  3. Montreal
  4. Ottawa, Canada
  5. Victoria, Canada
  6. London
  7. Calgary, Canada
  8. Barcelona, Spain
  9. London, Canada
  10. Edmonton, Canada

“We are extremely fortunate for the partnership we have with the supplier community, which we work with daily,” said ConferenceDirect CEO Brian Stevens. “They are true partners that play a vital role in our organization to accomplish mutual success.”