Creating the ultimate event all under one roof

On 12 to 14 January， CEFCO 2017 took place at The Venetian Macao. As the host venue for this leading industrial MICE event， the hotel was responsible for guest reception and on-site service throughout the event. With its high quality service， the hotel won extensive acclaim from both local and international guests. As an official media partner of CEFCO 2017， Overseas Exhibitions magazine interviewed Gene Capuano， Vice President of Convention Exhibition Operations， Venetian Macau Ltd， who introduced the hotel’s facilities and service concepts to the reporter.

As Asia’s major MICE venue， The Venetian Macao opened in 2007 and is home to Cotai Expo， one of the largest convention and exhibition halls in Asia， offering more than 75，000 square metres of exhibition space， complemented by 6，500 square metres of pillar-free ballroom space and 108 meeting rooms with more than 18，600 square metres of flexible meeting space. Another built-in facility， the 15，000-seat Cotai Arena， is an ideal venue for major corporate events and product launches.

The Venetian Macao has hosted numerous conferences， exhibitions and events of various types and on every scale. Equipped with a dedicated MICE operation team， it provides a one-stop service for event planners both home and abroad. In addition， Sands China Ltd. regularly offers attractive benefits that allow planners to create the ultimate event all under one roof. For instance， through the Sands Resorts Macao “Smart Meetings in Macao” offer launched in January 2017， planners can take advantage of seven uniquely interconnected， worldclass properties， including a huge range of facilities and attractive benefits.

This year， CEFCO welcomed nearly 800 delegates， including industrial leaders from over 25 countries and regions. Did it pose an exceptional challenge for the venue？ Capuano said that thanks to a capable MICE team， The Venetian Macao successfully delivered a seamless conference experience for the participants and it was hoped that in the future， the delegates would bring their own events back to Macao.

In 2016， The Venetian Macao received large MICE delegation groups of up to 12，000 people and saw a remarkable increase in business from the international market. In 2017， the hotel is expecting more MICE business from both mainland China and the overseas market. “In order to keep service quality consistent with rising business volume， we will continue to strengthen staff training.” Capuano added.

Over the past few years the exhibition sector in Macao has been steadily improving and the government has launched multiple incentives to attract MICE events to the city. However， Capuano observed that as a MICE destination Macao is still developing， and he hopes that the facilities in the city would be further improved， especially traffic infrastructure， including light rails， bridges and tunnels.

The meeting space currently sold in The Venetian Macao accounts for up to 85% of Macao’s market share， and Capuano said that while in the past ten years Sands China Ltd. has opened a property almost every two years， for 2017 he is happy just to focus on the MICE business development and building an international talent base. “It is very important that we have staff members from many nations and regions， because those from the same cultural background as the clients can better understand their individual expectations.”

On talent retention， Capuano believes in the value of creating good career opportunities for employees. ‘People today not only look for just a higher salary， but a good career，’ he said.

While the B2C exhibition sector in Macao is flourishing， to Capuano， the overall development of the exhibition industry relies on the development of B2B events， especially those in the format of “conference + exhibition”. He believes this format can attract more delegates than single format events， which means a higher financial outcome for the venue. At the same time， the venue must remain highly flexible to meet customer demands and utilize proper technologies such as fast and secure internet access for creating a smooth event environment.