ATLANTA, GA NOVEMBER 01, 2012 – While delegates delivered their speeches and filled the floor of the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC), event services company, EventSphere, delivered an impeccable performance and packed a one-two punch behind the scenes as it handled the convention’s complex housing process. To successfully manage the event, EventSphere’s housing team built multiple sub-blocks for each state party, monitored lengthy lists of VIPs, managed security details, and coordinated with transportation companies.
Nicholas Pellito, Operations Manager for the Florida Democratic Party, the Nation’s third largest democratic delegation, said, “As a first time housing director overseeing hotel accommodations, I was a bit overwhelmed by the size and scope of the housing process. From the first training session, I knew that I could count on EventSphere’s knowledge, experience, and customer service approach to guide me as we put together a most successful event.” EventSphere’s insider knowledge of the DNC was owed in large part to their partnership with Tina Akintayo, President and CEO of Akintayo Management Group. As a lead strategist for the project, Akintayo played a crucial role in the venture, from the initial RFP and presentation to the DNC through the weeklong event itself. Akintayo’s long history with the DNC and profound institutional knowledge of their organization’s inner workings proved to be an invaluable consultative and strategic asset for all team members.
Kelsey Larus, Director of Housing for the 2012 DNC, commented, “We were looking for a Housing Services partner that understood the complexity of the DNC’s housing process and would go above and beyond to offer the best customer service possible to the convention attendees. EventSphere’s incredible knowledge of the unique Convention housing process was an amazing asset. They understood the number of sub-blocks involved, the sensitivity and security processes needed in handling our various groups, and the amount of changes that would and did occur leading up to Convention week. They were able to meet each challenge with utmost professionalism, timeliness, thoroughness, and customer service for both our guests and our contracted hotels.”
Having just celebrated their 2nd anniversary, EventSphere’s President & CEO, Todd Lambert, credits their success to their staff’s combined 90 years of industry experience. “We began working on the convention over a year in advance and deployed staff to all areas of the housing process, including having staff permanently located in Charlotte. We were thrilled when we won the bid to handle the housing for the DNC and knew that our team’s depth of experience could handle the complexities of the convention’s housing process.” Todd explains, “The combination of our company’s customer service philosophy along with our use of the innovative web application, GroupMAX ME by Passkey, was the key to our success.” Passkey recently won the 2012 Web Award for outstanding achievement in web development for its GroupMAX ME web application. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association’s annual WebAward Competition has been setting the standard of excellence for Website development.