At the beginning of the year, the Spanish chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the world's leading professional meetings and events association, and Melia Hotels International, Spain's leading hotel chain, signed a collaboration agreement in which the chain will provide the venues for the education and networking sessions that the association organizes periodically in Madrid and Barcelona.
Both entities have been collaborating on a frequent basis since MPI opened its Spanish chapter in 2006, thanks to the mediation of Melia Hotels International's meetings and event department. However, the signing of this agreement puts the official stamp on a synergy generated around a joint objective: to attend to, guide and support the industry's top professionals. "MPI is proud to build strategic relationships that benefit our members and the meetings and event industry as a whole," stated Francisco Quereda, president of MPI Spain.
The renewable one-year agreement will provide MPI with headquarters in Spain and help the association to focus on its objectives: to increase the corporate and professional status of event planners; to favour the exchange of ideas and experiences between its members; and to provide them with continuous education. Likewise, the agreement will allow Melia Hotels International to actively participate in the professionalization of the industry and to gain greater visibility in the MICE industry.
The agreement will come into force at the end of January or the beginning of February, coinciding with two events that MPI has organized for its members in Madrid and Barcelona. "Both the venues chosen for the two educational events – the ME Madrid Hotel and the Melia Barcelona Hotel – and the issues on the agenda – new formats, technologies and trends in the meetings and event industry – could not be more in line with the spirit of excellence marking this new phase of collaboration with one of the industry's key players," said Quereda.
