Meetings industry of the region gathered traditionally in Belgrade on November 18th, for 6th time, on the event popular known as SEEbtm Party, organized by portal SEEmice.com / Kongresniturizam.com and SEE business travel & meetings magazine.

This event attended around 250 most important represents of hotel meetings industry, as well as companies – the event organizers. Among them, there were represents of pharmaceutical, IT, insurance, banking and auditor, food companies and many others.

The event is established as strong platform that connects most prominent participants in meetings industry – hotels, hotel chains and groups with key regional companies that are event planners and organizers.

This year’s novelty are SEEbtm Awards. SEEbtm Awards represent the recognition that were for the first time, in the organization of the portal Kongresniturizam.com and SEEbtm magazine, awarded to the best and most prominent hotels and facilities in the region, in the meetings industry for 2016.

Special importance and value of these awards is the fact that the awards were given based of votes of those who were direct buyers within the meetings industry, i.e. on the basis of votes of the event planners. Their opinion and vote are practically the most realistic at the very end, regardless of all other criteria, and those make the most impact.

The awards were given in 22 categories, and, during the month of voting, from 17th October to 17th November the votes were given by more than 6,500 voters.

The voting, which was organized online, was participated by the voters from various countries (Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia…) and various industries (pharmaceutical and IT companies, representatives of food industry, nongovernmental houses, banks, audit companies, etc.) as well as the readers and jury of the SEEbtm magazine.

SEEbtm Party 2016
SEEbtm Party 2016

When we talk about the criteria taken into account in forming the categories, the location of the hotel was the main criteria for 9 categories (in the city, outside the city (mountain, village, spa, ethno village) and the coast), as well as the number of rooms (less than 100, 100-200 and more than 200).

For the remaining 13 categories, the criteria were the location, capacities, uniqueness of service or activities that the hotel or venue offers. The categories were not limited in number of the nominated, but one hotel/venue could compete in maximum of four categories.

The uncertainty of the results of voting until the very close was proven by the fact that the category of Best City Hotel with Conference Center had two winners. And the independence of voting was proven by the fact that there were plenty of winners who were nominated externally, outside of the portal Kongresniturizam.com, which was the base for nominees.

We celebrated first 10 years of operation of leading regional portal for event organizations SEEmice.com / Kongresniturizam.com. After rich decade experience in congress industry, we decided to launch SEEbtm Awards – recognitions for delivering excellence in this industry. SEEbtm Awards are result of professionalism, experience and knowledge in region’s industry. We congratulate all winners and thank them for long cooperation and support. The concept of this recognitions will stimulate us to be even better in next 10 years, and we hope all our partners too”, said Miona Milić, co-founder of regional portal SEEmice.com/ Kongresniturizam.com and Editor in Chief of SEE business travel & meetings magazine (SEEbtm magazine).

Portal SEEmice.com/ Kongresniturizam.com, along with specialized magazine for event management and congress and business tourism – SEE business travel & meetings (SEEbtm), for 10 years consolidates meetings industry of Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and region, promotes importance  and initiates cooperation and  exchange of business in region, but also promotes region as congress industry on international map.

In the competition for this prestigious awards, had participated hotels and venues that have positioned themselves as the best in the meetings industry of the region. With such acknowledgements, the winners of SEEbtm Awards once again confirmed their position in meetings industry and justified the trust of their clients.

Photos from SEEbtm Party you can see here, and the video you can watch at  https://youtu.be/9ad-veZf5so

STATEMENTS OF SEEbtm AWARDS WINNERS

  1. Best Conference Resort
  2. Best City Hotel for Meetings & Events (fewer than 100 rooms) – 88 Rooms Hotel, Belgrade, Serbia
Svetlana Kostić, Marketing Manager, MK Mountain Resort
Svetlana Kostić, Marketing Manager, MK Mountain Resort

As each time, you managed to bring together clients and associates in an atmosphere that was great and inspiring.

We are proud to be the winners of the award given directly by our partners, because that is truly a proof of quality of service and an open relationship that is imperative for us.

An indispensable part of our success in this area is certainly the cooperation with you, because, as the largest and most influential media platform that addresses the congress tourism, you recognize and support our efforts which we are especially grateful for.

Svetlana Kostic, Marketing Manager, MK Mountain Resort, Kopaonik, Serbia

3. Best Hotel Group for Meetings & Events

4. Best Seaside Hotel with Conference Center – Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel, Croatia

Zlata Muftić, Director of Convention Bureau Zagreb
Zlata Muftić, Director of Convention Bureau Zagreb

We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this election. We are honored and proud to be winners of the SEEbtm Awards.

I personally believe that the idea of developing i.e. establishing the regional awards for the best operators within the MICE industry is excellent, as well as the very professional and objective criteria followed by the jury during the award ceremony.

As an umbrella company, HUP Zagreb d.d. won the award for the ″Best Hotel Group for Meetings & Events″ in the area of activity within the MICE sector, while, at the same time, our Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel was awarded as ″Best Seaside Hotel with Conference Center″.

Of course, we are glad to receive these awards. Those are an additional indication that we are on the right track and that our investments in the continuous improvement of offers and services in the destinations in which we operate, Zagreb and Dubrovnik, record adequate attention of the market and profession.

Tihana Bazdar Gasljevic, Head of Marketing Department, HUP Zagreb, Croatia

5. Best Conference and Banqueting Staff

Aleksandar Vasilijević, General Manager, Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade
Aleksandar Vasilijević, General Manager, Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade

The SEEbtm Award in the category of the “Best Conference and Banqueting Staff” came as the most important confirmation of what we all strive for in meetings industry – to be recognized as a true and reliable partner.

On the other hand, my business philosophy to make our hotel distinguished from the rest by our staff, proved to be completely founded.

As every year so far, the organization and the concept of the SEEbtm Party were at the most professional level, and I would like to take this opportunity to, in the name of the Hotel Falkensteiner, congratulate the Portal Kongresniturizam.com its first decade of work and wish a lot of future anniversaries.

Aleksandar Vasilijevic, General Manager, Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade, Serbia

6. Best City Hotel with Conference Center – 2 Awards because they had the exact same number of votes

Nemanja Mihajlović, Director of Sales, Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade
Nemanja Mihajlović, Director of Sales, Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade

After many years of cooperation, we are proud of the fact that it was Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade that won the award for “Best City Hotel with Conference Center″.

We enjoyed your celebration, traditionally held every year, bringing together the most important representatives of the meetings and hospitality industry.

In the beautiful ambient, with exceptional refreshments and the band that astonished us, once again you have proved why one is always looking for an additional invitation card for the SEEbtm.

Marija Vuckovic, PR & Marketing Executive, Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade, Serbia

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Dejan Pejcinovic, General Manager, Zira Hotel Belgrade, Serbia
Dejan Pejcinovic, General Manager, Zira Hotel Belgrade, Serbia

Participation of the Zira Hotel at the SEEbtm Awards, as well as winning the award in the category of the “Best City Hotel with Conference Center”, represents for us another confirmation of the quality and performance of work during the previous years.

We are extremely proud of all our awards (both regional and international character) and, of course, we have included this one in our presentation as a mark of superior services quality.

By extending the convention facilities on 1,300 sqm and with a team that strives for perfection, our motto – Serbian hospitality with international standards – gets its daily confirmation and I am sure that we will meet each other this year at the SEEbtm gathering as well, and be in the company of the best.

Dejan Pejcinovic, General Manager, Zira Hotel Belgrade, Serbia

7. Best Out-of-the-City Hotel with Conference Center

Branka Marinković, Brand Manager, A hoteli
Branka Marinković, Brand Manager, A hoteli

Everything that portal Kongresniturizam.com does or organizes is in advance known to have high standards, and, thus, the expectations of all of us invited to participate were huge. The expectations are exceeded, and impressions worthy of a successful jubilee, which we shall use this opportunity to congratulate once again.

Although the Hotel Izvor has won more than 25 prestigious national and international awards, the SEEbtm Award is of a special significance, even a double one. For the hotel itself, it is a confirmation of quality given upon the evaluation of services and satisfaction of clients and business partners.

It is a great motivational encouragement for all employees and proof that team work results in visible result and guest satisfaction. I believe that the joy thus experienced is well known to you, as you have organized an event that had just the same effects.

Vesna Vlatkovic, Marketing & PR Manager, A Hoteli – Hotel Izvor, Aranđelovac, Serbia

8. Best Out-of-the-City Hotel for Meetings & Events (fewer than 100 rooms)

Sanja Rajkovic, Director, Hotel Central, Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sanja Rajkovic, Director, Hotel Central, Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina

I am very positively surprised by the atmosphere that, with very kind and professional staff, welcomed us, and followed throughout the whole event.

The utmost atmosphere and impressive protocol have made us proud to be partners of SEEbtm, and, as winners of the award, we feel the responsibility to confirm to our clients that we really are one of the best hotels, the best in its category.

Sanja Rajkovic, Director, Hotel Central, Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina

9. Best Seaside Hotel for Meetings & Events (fewer than 100 rooms)

Jelena Čabarkapa, Corporate and Leisure Executive, Regent Porto Montenegro
Jelena Čabarkapa, Corporate and Leisure Executive, Regent Porto Montenegro

We are honored with the award for the „Best Seaside Hotel for Meetings & Events (fewer than 100 rooms)” for which we were recommended by the expert jury of the portal www.kongresniturizam.com and specialized magazine SEEbtm.

The Awards Ceremony at a gala evening held on Friday, November 18th in Belgrade was experienced by us as a gathering of well-known participants of the MICE industry of the region, a great opportunity for reaching relevant contacts and networking. We believe that the received award is a confirmation of the quality of our offer for organizing special events, conferences and congresses, and the continuity of high-quality services of Hotel Regent Porto Montenegro.

We are especially pleased that this tourism segment, crucial for both pre and post-season, has a great potential for Regent Hotel and the region which was proven by 174 successfully held special events, conferences and congresses we had during only two and half years of our work.

Elena Ljiljanic, PR & Marketing Manager, Regent Porto Montenegro, Tivat, Montenegro

10. Best City Hotel for Meetings & Events (100 – 200 rooms)

Milica Aćimović, Sales and Marketing Department, Hotel Tulip Inn Putnik
Milica Aćimović, Sales and Marketing Department, Hotel Tulip Inn Putnik

We were so excited to have received this award. This is a confirmation of the satisfaction of our clients with the cooperation with us.

Everyone who voted for us showed that they notice and appreciate the effort we give to creating high-quality services and we express our gratitude for that.

Spending time at the party was great. In particular, we shall give praises to the music, it was perfect.

Tanja Cujic, General Manager, Hotel Tulip Inn Putnik, Belgrade, Serbi

11. Best Out-of-the-City Hotel for Meetings & Events (100 – 200 rooms)

Katarina Cicvaric, Executive Director for Sales and Marketing, Hotel Palisad, Zlatibor, Serbia
Katarina Cicvaric, Executive Director for Sales and Marketing, Hotel Palisad, Zlatibor, Serbia

I express sincere congratulations to all your team for the excellent organized SEEbtm Awards.

It is my great honor that the hotel Palisad took the title of the best in its category in the area of MICE industry, and I shall once again thank the organizers for their trust, and our dear friends, business partners and guests for recognizing for our knowledge and experience and voting for us.

This award carries a great value, because of the fact that it comes from our clients and associates, as well as a great responsibility and obligation to justify this title.

We hope that this event for all of us is just a beginning, and that we will have a lot of opportunities in future to meet each other and cooperate.

Katarina Cicvaric, Executive Director for Sales and Marketing, Hotel Palisad, Zlatibor, Serbia

12. Best Seaside Hotel for Meetings & Events (100 – 200 rooms)

Tomislav Hrala, Director of Sales and Marketing, Kempinski Palace Portorož, Slovenia
Tomislav Hrala, Director of Sales and Marketing, Kempinski Palace Portorož, Slovenia

Kempinski Palace Portorož is extremely happy to have won an award and considers it an honour.

To us, it represents recognition of the hard and quality work that has been done in the past and serves as the basis for the professional and hard work in the future.

Tomislav Hrala, Director of Sales and Marketing, Kempinski Palace Portorož, Slovenia

13. Best City Hotel for Meetings & Events (more than 200 rooms)

Ksenija Lubarda, Director of Sales and Marketing, Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel Belgrade
Ksenija Lubarda, Director of Sales and Marketing, Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel Belgrade

It was our pleasure to attend the jubilee – the celebration of the first 10 years of work and 6th gathering of representatives of meetings industry and business travel. We congratulate our hosts, who delight us with the organization every year.

We would like to thank everyone who supported us, it is a great privilege to be awarded, in the presence of numerous colleagues from the industry, in the category of the “Best City Hotel for Meetings & Events (more than 200 rooms)” and to conclude 2016 with such an important recognition in the field of hospitality.

We will try to be even better in 2017, and to continuously improve our services and content.

Ksenija Lubarda, Director of Sales and Marketing, Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel, Belgrade, Serbia

14. Best Out-of-the-City Hotel for Meetings & Events (more than 200 rooms)

Vesna Kostadinovic, Marketing Director, Kraljevi Čardaci Spa, Kopaonik, Serbia
Vesna Kostadinovic, Marketing Director, Kraljevi Čardaci Spa, Kopaonik, Serbia

The Award we received by SEEbtm magazine and Kongresniturizam.com represents for us a great acknowledgement considering that we are still pioneers in MICE industry.

It is an additional stimulus that the extension of the facilities of Cardak with the congress center was an excellent complement to everything that Cardaci otherwise has in the offer.

We express our gratitude to SEEbtm magazine and portal Kongresniturizam.com for having recognized us as safe and reliable partners in the last 3 years and thus additionally bound us to be even better 🙂

Vesna Kostadinovic, Marketing Director, Kraljevi Čardaci Spa, Kopaonik, Serbia

15. Best Seaside Hotel for Meetings & Events (more than 200 rooms)

Zarko Radulović, Co-owner of the Hotel Splendid Conference & Spa Resort, Montenegro
Zarko Radulović, Co-owner of the Hotel Splendid Conference & Spa Resort, Montenegro

This award is even more preferred as it is a newly established recognition in the regional framework. It is highly important for us this symbolic round of awards for this year.

It began in Slovenia with a Certificate of Excellence to the Hotel Splendid which is ranked in the top 10 MICE hotels in the South East Europe, and was closed, at least as far as the MICE segment is concerned, in Belgrade after receiving this award.

At the same time, everything happens in the year when both we and you are celebrating a decade of work.

We are honored to receive this award, because it is considered as an additional incentive and an obligation to respond as soon as possible with an additional quality with which we will animate some new people and events, which will continue to choose Hotel Splendid as a hotel where one shall make important decisions and create policies that concern us all.

Zarko Radulović, Co-owner of the Hotel Splendid Conference & Spa Resort, Montenegro

16. Best New Hotel for Meetings & Events

Jelena Djuraskovic, General Manager, Palmon Bay Hotel & Spa, Igalo, Montenegro
Jelena Djuraskovic, General Manager, Palmon Bay Hotel & Spa, Igalo, Montenegro

This recognition once again confirmed the excellent quality of the offer and the facilities of the hotel, which is an important prerequisite for the successful organization of congresses gatherings and events.

We are extremely proud to have the expert jury and the public recognized the quality of the hotel. The award motivates us to constantly improve the quality of the offer, particularly when it comes to MICE industry.

Jelena Djuraskovic, General Manager, Palmon Bay Hotel & Spa, Igalo, Montenegro

17. Best Special Venue

Opera & Theatre Madlenianum, Belgrade, Serbia

18. Best Rooftop Venue

Katarina Stojanovic, Director of Marketing, Restaurant Top of the Hub, Belgrade, Serbia
Katarina Stojanovic, Director of Marketing, Restaurant Top of the Hub, Belgrade, Serbia

We would like to express our gratitude to SEEbtm magazine and Kongresniturizam.com for a lovely evening and the opportunity to participate in the event like SEEbtm Awards for the “Best Rooftop Venue″ in 2016.

The award for the “Best Rooftop Venue″ gives us an incentive to keep trying to make our restaurant still on the map of leading facilities for organizing corporate events.

What makes the restaurant Top of the Hub distinctive is certainly a panoramic view of the whole Belgrade, which is also our trademark, and thus, by receiving the award for the ″Best Rooftop Venue″ is the best confirmation of our work.

Katarina Stojanovic, Director of Marketing, Restaurant Top of the Hub, Belgrade, Serbia

19. Best Wellness & SPA Hotel

Jelena Radivojevic, Chief od Reception, Hotel Premier Aqua, Vrdnik, Serbia
Jelena Radivojevic, Chief od Reception, Hotel Premier Aqua, Vrdnik, Serbia

As every year, SEEbtm is a true event that is awaited with special energy. Thank you for being there and for managing to gather us, the hoteliers, in addition to summarizing the results and exchanging business ideas, manage always to have a good time with a great band and, of course, delicious food.

The award for “The Best Wellness and Spa Hotel” represents for us the result of our work during the four-year existence of the hotel. The visionary owner, who puts his ideas into practice, good management who, with their team, manage to provide the best service and, of course, our guests who recognized the qualities, voted for us and together with the portal Kongresniturizam.com, brought us the most valuable award.

Our task is to preserve the quality and upgrade it furthermore, educate the staff, make each guest satisfied, and keep the title of “The Best Wellness and Spa Hotel” for the forthcoming year as well.

Jelena Radivojevic, Chief od Reception, Hotel Premier Aqua, Vrdnik, Serbia

20. Best Hotel for Team Building

Grand Hotel Bernardin, Portorož, Slovenia

21. Best Business Hotel near Airport

Hotel Aristos, Zagreb
Hotel Aristos, Zagreb

The award for the “Best Business Hotel near Airport” represents to the Hotel Aristos a confirmation of many years of high-quality work of all its employees, and, at the same time, it is the result of continuous improvement of services.

The very fact that the Hotel Aristos was recognized as a top business hotel by business and conference clients is of great significance because they make one of the most demanding segments of guests who are always looking for high level of service, professionalism, trust and reliability.

In the hotel business performance, the goal and the greatest recognition is a satisfied customer, and, therefore, the selection and award of the clients and the profession is certainly a good indication and positive stimulus for further work.

Nikolina Storga, Sales and Marketing Manager, Hotel Aristos, Zagreb, Croatia

22. Best Venue for Car Launch

The received award for the “Best Venue for Car Launch” is a great tribute to all the so far activities and successfully realized events, as, since the opening of Dubrovnik Sun Gardens in 2009, we have been strategically working on the 0909promotion of our resort and the city of Dubrovnik as an ideal destination for events from the automotive industry.

In 2016, we achieved more than 16,000 overnight stays from the automotive industry, and, at the very beginning of the next year, we expect 7,500 overnight stays on a global presentation of Nissan Micra.

The confirmation thereof is the exclusivity of our facilities, high standard service and dedication of the entire team, but also the qualities of Dubrovnik, which is becoming increasingly popular for the organization of such events.

Iva Svetac, Marketing & PR Manager, Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik Sun Gardens, Croatia

Photos from SEEbtm Party you can see here, and the video you can watch at  https://youtu.be/9ad-veZf5so

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