Going the Extra Mile for Clients in a Tough Economy

hinton+grusich partners+ collection is a Hit with Busy Meeting Pro’s

Chicago, IL – February 2009 Press Release –

hinton+grusich is a leading national sales organization best known for representing upscale independent hotels and destinations. Recognizing that its client base of meeting professionals were increasingly tasked with doing more with fewer resources, the firm introduced its partners+ collection in early 2008. The newly expanded service offering includes hospitality service providers who play a prominent role in many meetings’ success.

This “hand-picked” group of industry partners in the collection is widely recognized as experts in their respective fields, and share similar business tenets as hinton+grusich: commitment to service, integrity and unique value. The partners+ collection roster includes: Continental Airlines, worldwide air travel; Hertz Co., nationwide car rental; Lettuce Planet, a division of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises; USA Hosts, nationwide destination management services; Buy-The-Sea, a cruise broker; One Smooth Stone, a worldwide event production company.

In its inaugural year, the partners+ collection has supported a plethora of meetings and conferences, witnessing an increased popularity with professionals who plan meetings as one of their many job responsibilities. Kevin Hinton, principal, stated, “Adding a select collection of services in support of our client base was a natural progression of our offering. We have learned by experience that offering extra value to our service helps everyone involved.”

Hinton attests much of the program’s success to its national sales team, as well as the Director of Industry Partner Sales, Karen Gravlin. A former meeting planner, Karen has been responsible for building the Partner relationships, while introducing the new services to the meeting professional community. Karen stated, “One of my primary responsibilities is to assist clients beyond their need for sleeping rooms and meeting space. As a former planner myself, I can truly appreciate the added value that our supplier partners offer in the planning process.”

Sonal Sullivan, CMP, Manager of Meeting Services for HIMSS is a hinton+grusich client who has seen the value of the new services first-hand. Sonal stated, “A few months ago I decided to investigate a cost saving and streamlining measure for the car rental process within our organization. Karen Gravlin and the partners+ program understood what we were trying to accomplish and worked closely with Hertz to meet our goals year round. We appreciated the level of professionalism and support that saved us time and resources.”

For more information about the hinton+grusich partner+ collection, contact Karen Gravlin at kgravlin@hintonandgrusich.com or 312-346-5679.

About hinton+grusich
Founded in 1986, hinton+grusich is a national sales organization that represents upscale hotels, destinations and hospitality suppliers that serve the meetings industry. Offering a cost-free approach to finding the right hotel, the firm creates efficiency and buying power for professionals who plan meetings through one point-of-contact. Its team of experts provides timely pricing and availability information, first-hand destination feedback, and relevant insight for meeting professionals nationwide.

hinton+grusich represents over 130 upscale, primarily independent hotels, six convention bureaus, and seven industry partners within their “partners+” collection. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers four regional offices and nine national sales managers furnishing regional and market-specific support to meeting professionals.

As longtime supporters of hospitality, philanthropic and civic organizations, members of the hinton+grusich management team currently serve in volunteer leadership positions with MPI, ASAE and SITE. For more information, visit www.hintonandgrusich.com or call 800-783-7350.

Contact:
Gretchen Kihm-Stegall
for hinton+grusich
847-681-0506

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