Access Marketplace Passport	2009 Schedule, Deadlines and Future Dates	Appointment Information and Guide
Marketplace Action Items	Marketplace Caucus Locations	Name Changes, Additions and Other Changes to Your Registration
Business Floor Plan and Buyer Booth Assignments	Marketplace Networking Floor Plan and Booth Assignments	Product Pavilion Floor Plan and Booth Assignments

Last Minutes Details for Marketplace 2009

Delegate Checklists

Click here for your Marketplace Action Items Sheet

Simple checklists to help you make the most of your Marketplace experience.

Registration - Name Changes, Additions, Cancellations

How can I add additional delegates to my registration?

All new registrations should be made on-site at Marketplace.

How can I request a name change?

All name changes should now be made on-site at Marketplace.

If I need to cancel a delegate or my company?

All cancellations must be made in writing. You may submit them via e-mail to meetingsdept@buses.org or fax.

Refunds for appointment-taking delegates: A refund will be granted with a $100 cancellation fee per delegate if written requests are received within 30 days of registration confirmation and before Sept. 24, 2008. Written requests may be faxed or e-mailed. A 50% refund will be granted if written requests are received prior to Sept. 24, 2008. No refunds will be granted after Sept. 24, 2008. Appointments, the Marketplace Passport and Marketplace services are not available to cancelled delegates.

Refunds for observer/rotation and guest delegates: There will be no cancellation fee if written requests are received within 30 days of registration. After 30 days, there will be a $100 cancellation fee. No refunds will be granted after Sept. 24, 2008.

No refunds will be given for on-site cancellations, late arrivals, unused services, unattended events or early departure. It is your responsibility to submit your cancellation request early enough so that it is received in the ABA office by the above dates.

All cancellation requests will be sent a cancellation verification via email which must be responded to in writing by the cancelling delegate or representative from the company. When the cancellation verification is received by ABA the registration will be cancelled and a cancellation confirmation will be sent to the delegate. Appointments, the Marketplace Passport and Marketplace services are then no longer available to cancelled delegate(s). Delegates are respoonsible for cancelling their own housing and transportation reservations.

Any request for an exemption to the above policy must be made in writing (letter or email) and submitted to ABA for consideration.

How can I request changes to my registration?

All registration changes such as a dietary request or special badge request should be made on-site at Marketplace. Dietary requests are limited to: Kosher, No Seafood, Gluten-Free and Vegetarian.

Special Event Registration

How can I sign up to attend the Marketplace Gives Back event or the Foundation event?

You can sign up on-site at Marketplace to attend the Marketplace Gives Back Event and/or the Foundation event.

Volunteering

How can I sign up to volunteer?

You can sign up directly with the service centers on-site at Marketplace to volunteer.

How do I find out my volunteer schedule?

Click on the Master Schedule

Housing

How do I make changes to my housing reservation?

The ABA Housing Bureau closes on Friday, Dec. 18. During the week of Dec. 22 PassKey will be sending the hotels our housing list. After that time contact the hotel directly to make or change your hotel reservation. For a listing of Marketplace Host Hotels click here.

Transportation

When is there transportation provided from the airport?

Click here for the transportation schedule.

On-site Schedule

What is the schedule fo events for Marketplace?

Click here for the daily schedule.

When/where are the caucuses scheduled?

Click here for the caucus listing.

Where are the floor plans and booth assignment information?

Click here for the Business Floor

Click here for the Networking Floor

Click here for the Product Pavilion

Where can I find Profile Sheet Samples?

Click here for Profile Samples.

What is the dress code at Marketplace?

Marketplace Business Function - Business attire required (Jeans are not permitted in the exhibit hall)
Evening Events - Casual

Questions? Still have questions, contact us at meetingsdept@buses.org or 800-283-2877.

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View our Marketplace Video to learn all about Marketplace.

The American Bus Marketplace is the premier business event for the group travel industry. The appointments are the core of the show; which allow Buyers and Sellers to meet face-to-face in prescheduled seven-minute appointments. In addition to the quality appointments, Marketplace offers professional education seminars and numerous networking opportunities. ABA’s new Product Pavilion at Marketplace, offers operators the opportunity to view the industry’s latest products and services. Associate members can showcase their products and services on the exhibit floor to the more than 320 operator companies who attend Marketplace.

Marketplace is a one-stop shop for the group travel and motorcoach industry to build business relationships, conduct one-to-one business appointments, view the newest products and services, learn about the latest trends and industry information, and network - all resulting in providing our members with a greater return on investment.

Buyers (Motorcoach and Tour Operators) attend Marketplace to meet with travel industry suppliers (Sellers) to create business relationships and plan future charters and tours. Sellers are travel industry representatives from destination marketing organizations (cities, areas, states), attractions, restaurants, receptive operators, hotels and associate service suppliers. These business sessions allow Buyers and Sellers to plan trip itineraries for motorcoach group travel throughout North America.

The Business Sessions, or Appointment Sessions, are conducted and are the core of Marketplace. The appointment sessions are held on the Marketplace Business Floor, which is a secured area. Only delegates belonging to the group that are taking appointments during that particular session are allowed on the Business Floor. All Buyers have access to the Business Floor at any time. Associates who are not registered as appointment-taking delegates do not have access to the Business Floor.

Buyers have a maximum of 182 seven-minute appointments, as they take appointments throughout the week with each of the Seller groups. Sellers have a maximum of 52 appointments scheduled in 2 out of the 7 sessions. The primary group (DMO, Lodging, or Attraction/LRO/Other) the company belongs to determines which of the 2 sessions are assigned.

The Marketplace Business Floor consists of booths where Buyers sit. Appointment-taking Sellers move from Buyer to Buyer every seven minutes. These groups are:

Destinations Marketing Organizations (DMO’s) – Thursday PM/Friday AM appointments
Lodgings – Saturday AM/Saturday PM appointments
Attraction/LRO/Other – Sunday AM/Monday AM/Monday PM appointments (Organizations that fall into the Attraction/LRO/Other group are assigned randomly to two of these three sessions.)

ABA carefully monitors the number of Seller Appointment-Taking delegates allowed based on the number of Buyer Appointment-Taking delegates registered. By maintaining a near one-to-one ratio in each session, ABA offers quality appointments for all delegates.

Each Seller session is scheduled a 20-minute Mating and Networking Session where they can exchange profile forms, business cards and make contacts. This is an opportunity to connect with Buyer delegates that Sellers could not be matched up with for prescheduled appointment. Buyers are required to be in their booths during these scheduled sessions.

Education seminars, luncheons, sightseeing tours, and evening events are on-going activities throughout Marketplace week and are open to all registered delegates and a valuable part of the Marketplace experience.

Statistics

Marketplace 2008

3302 Total Delegates
717 Buyers Delegates from 328 Companies

Marketplace 2007

3000 Total Delegates
660 Buyer Delegates from 318 Companies

Marketplace 2006

2823 Total Delegates
630 Buyer Delegates from 321 Companies

Future Marketplaces

Gaylord National on the Potomac: January 15-19, 2010

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: January 7-15, 2011

Grapevine, Texas: January 7-12, 2012