Location: George R. Brown Convention Center – Houston, Texas
Total Attendees: 12,359
Total Hotel Room Nights Booked: 48,312
Total Number of Contracted Hotels: 32
Total Number of Hotel Sub-Blocks: 62
Number of attendees requesting a room: 8,487
CRG managed all aspects of this event including:
- Overall Event Management
- Online Event Registration
- Registration & Housing
- Budget Management
- Manage Vendor Team and Staffing
- Digital and Print Signage
- Event Marketing Collateral
- Evening Reception and Activities
- Closing Attendee Party
- Structured Networking
- Executive and Side Meetings Management
- Networking Lounges
- Promotional and Sponsorship Opportunities
- Attendee and Executive Transportation
Event Highlights:
For the past eleven years, CRG has provided event management services for Microsoft's largest annual partner event, Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). With over 12,000 attendees converging upon Houston, CRG partnered with the city officials, venues, convention center, visitor’s bureau, hotels and the mayor to develop a strategy to host and accommodate a conference of this size, and in some instances, introduce new approaches to handling the impact on the city’s infrastructure. As a part of CRG‘s project management role, we lead a large team – managing over 800 vendor staff onsite and coordinating the flow and continuity between four event venues.
Registering and housing 12,359 attendees is also no small feat. The CRG housing team worked with 32 hotels and managed over 48,312 room nights during the conference. Attendees experienced streamlined registration check-in and accurate badge information with our on demand badge printing solution and strategic on-site check-in plan. With check-in numbers reaching up to 6,163 a day, CRG registered up to 1,560 attendees in one hour!
A key component to CRG’s logistical execution was utilizing Microsoft products to showcase their technology within the conference. This event leads the industry in using digital technology and Microsoft technology to communicate information to attendees faster and easier – with mobile access, digital signage and kiosks. CRG also partnered with Microsoft on their sustainability efforts by working with the convention center and the city to implement recycling and composting programs. Over the past 11 years, CRG has become a true partner with the Microsoft WPC team, by acting as a consultant and leveraging our experience to raise the bar and fine tune an already efficient planning process for all involved.
Photos courtesy of Hudson Photographic