Here are some definitions and acronyms as a handy reference:

AACB (Association of Australian Convention Bureaux)

An organisation consisting of 16 city and regional bureaux, dedicated to marketing their specific region as premier Business Events destinations to intrastate, interstate and international markets.

AIME (Asia Pacific Incentive and Meetings Expo)

Significant trade show held in Melbourne in February/March each year to showcase destinations to meeting planners and event organisers.

ANW  (Australia’s North West)

The region in the North of Western Australia including Broome and the Kimberley.

ASW (Australia's South West)

The region in the South West of Western Australia including Margaret River, Bunbury, and Albany.

AV (Audio Visual)

Equipment including projectors, microphones, speakers, and other staging equipment to project sound and images.

Banquet Style Seating

A seating arrangement designed for large group events such as award ceremonies, galas and black-tie seated dinners. Banquet Rounds for 8 to 12 people each are used and spaced evenly throughout the event space.

Bid Development

The preliminary stage of the event bid process when the potential event host would consider how to approach the organisation holding the event and the decision-makers, how they could be lobbied, and how  the competition could be out-bid. PCB Business Development staff can assist with all aspects of bid development and presentation.

Boardroom Style Seating

A seating arrangement designed to facilitate conversation. Participants are seated facing each other around a square, rectangular or round table. This seating arrangement is preferred for training meetings or committee meetings where participants will need to closely interact with one another. Hollow Square set up is a variation on this, where tables are arranged in a square or rectangle, with chairs placed around the outside of the tables and the centre of the arrangement is hollow.

Breakout Rooms

Small meeting rooms used for specialised sessions that are part of a larger meeting, conference or event. 

Bump In/Out

A period of time included in the venue hire charge and stipulated in the Event Run Sheet, in which conference and exhibition organisers, and then exhibitors, are permitted to move in and set up, and then move-out.

Business Events

A term encompassing conferences, meetings, incentives and exhibitions.  Is used instead of MICE in many parts of the world.

Cabaret Style Seating

Uses round tables with seating on two thirds to three quarters of the table and with no seats facing away from the speaker. Also known as Crescent Round, Half Moon, and Buzz style.  This seating arrangement is designed for working luncheons or presentations where participants need to take notes. This arrangement is often used as an alternative to classroom style seating.

Capacity Chart

A chart that illustrates the meeting spaces offered at a given venue including the name of each space, dimensions of the room, and the number of delegates the room can legally and comfortably hold in the various set up styles, including classroom, theatre, boardroom, banquet and cocktail.

Classroom Style Seating

A seating arrangement designed for presentations or lectures where participants need tables. Participants are only seated on one side of the table allowing all participants to face towards the front of the room. Also known as Schoolroom Style.

Cocktail Style

A set up style designed to encourage the flow of traffic so participants can network and socialise, usually in the pre-dinner period, for a relatively short period of time. High-top tables are placed throughout the room with limited or no seating provided. Any chairs are typically placed along the edges of the room. Appetisers and beverages are offered from trays. Also known as the Reception Style set up.

Complete Meeting Package

A meeting package is often offered by convention centres or hotels which includes the cost of food and accommodation in a flat charge per delegate.

Concurrent Session

Short meetings held during a larger event, which are scheduled to take place at the same time. Each session normally focuses on a different subject or theme so attendees can choose the session that most interests them. 

Conference

This term usually suggests a meeting designed for discussion, fact-finding and consultation about business or professional problems.  Compared to a congress, a conference is normally smaller in scale and more select in character - features which tend to facilitate the exchange of information. The term conference carries no special connotation as to frequency. Though not inherently limited in time, conferences are usually of limited duration with specific objectives.

Convention

Traditionally this term referred to a meeting of delegates representing political, church, social, or fraternal organisations. However more recently the term is used interchangeably with “conference”. 

Convention Ambassador

Inspirational Western Australians with great passion, from business, education, science and sporting communities, who are invited to represent and showcase the State’s expertise, culture, and lifestyle to the world by attracting major international conferences and meetings.

Convention Bureau

A term used to describe a non-profit organisation which represents and promotes a certain region or destination, primarily designed to assist meeting and event planners with information for the coordination of event logistics such as site selection, accommodation, pre and post event tours and transportation.  Sometimes also called a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). 

Corporate Meeting

Gathering of employees of a commercial organisation. Travel, room and most meal expenses are paid by the organisation.

Day Package

A meeting package with a per delegate price created by a venue for groups that will only be utilising the hotel during daylight hours. No room nights are required. This price is usually inclusive of all catering. A day package is often the most economical option for a local meeting that does not require any overnight accommodations.

Destination Management Company

A professional services company possessing extensive local knowledge, expertise and resources, specialising in the design and implementation of events, activities, tours, transportation and program logistics.

Destination Sponsorship

Funding offered to local Western Australian, national or international non-profit organisations prior to confirming Western Australia as the destination for their conference or event.

Disabled Access

Accommodation or venue space which caters to some extent for guests with mobility impairments. For some properties, only specific rooms or particular on-site facilities may be suitable for those requiring special access.

DMC (Destination Management Company)

Serves as a third party planner which specialises in assisting corporations or associations with planning large events in a specified city. They are particularly helpful when planning tour programs that require detailed knowledge and familiarity of a destination.

EIA (Event Industry Association)

A Western Australian association representing local event suppliers.

Event Sponsor

An organisation which is responsible for some portion of the costs associated with an event, or for the provision of goods and services, in exchange for branding, marketing and other forms of exposure during the event. For example, a sponsor might receive, at no cost, an exhibition booth, logo inclusion in the event signage and delegate satchels, and access to networking events.

Exhibition

An event or part of an event at which products and services are displayed. Also known as Trade Show.

Exhibition Services Contractor

An organisation responsible for the supply of all trade show furnishings and equipment such as exhibition booths, furniture, flooring, signage, lighting and sometimes electrical and computer connections.

Fascia Board

Signs for an exhibition booth or display stand.

Famil

Short for “familiarisation” and sometimes known as “fam” - a tour for the purpose of familiarising event organisers with potential event destination cities and locations.

Gala Dinner

An evening event at which a multi-course, seated dinner is usually accompanied by entertainment, dancing, speeches and an awards presentation. The dress code for gala events is usually black-tie.

Green Event

An event with objectives to reduce the negative impact on the environment and society, through principles of sustainability.

Ground Operator

A company in the destination city is responsible for the arrangements of land transportation and tours.

Group Room Block

The total number of guest rooms reserved for one group at a particular accommodation property. Group room blocks are designed to increase efficiency in the reservation process for large groups associated with the same event.  Attendees are often given a common reservation code so that they can ensure that they are receiving the same rate as all other attendees.  Rates are pre-negotiated with the hotel by the organisation planning the event.

ICCA  (International Congress and Convention Association)

An international association representing specialists in organising, transporting and accommodating international meetings and events and comprising over 900 member companies and organisations in 86 countries worldwide.

Incentive

An event which is offered to group of employees or contractors to reward a previous performance, usually in a sales organisation.

Keynote Speaker

A motivational and esteemed individual responsible for addressing the underlying theme, big picture, or future direction in relation to the subject matter, delivered at a plenary session.

Inbound Tour Operator

An travel organisation which provides services to combine tour and travel components to create a tour package for a destination.

Local Host

A Western Australian member of a national or international association, significantly involved in the organisation of this association’s event in Western Australia, as a local representative who has the potential to assist in bidding for the event to come to this State.

MEA  (Meetings and Events Australia)

A national, not for profit organisation dedicated to fostering professionalism and excellence in all aspects of meetings management, through the member organisations of event industry professionals. It also promotes the value and effectiveness of meetings as an important high-yield sector of business travel and tourism.

Meeting

A general term indicating the coming together of a number of people in one place, to confer or carry out a particular activity. The frequency can be on an ad hoc basis or according to a set pattern, for example annual general meetings, committee meetings, etc. 

Meeting Capacity

The limit on the number of delegates for a meeting or event at a particular venue.

MICE

Stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.  Refers to the industry as a whole and the business generated by it.

MPG (Meeting Planner Guide)

A biennial publication by the Perth Convention Bureau, providing invaluable information for event organisers about Western Australia, venues, accommodation, dining options and activities.

PCB  (Perth Convention Bureau)

Our organisation promotes Perth and Western Australia as the premier business event and incentive destination, and represents member organisations which provide outstanding conference, meeting and incentive services to event organisers.

PCB Member

Suppliers to the meetings industry in Western Australia, including hotels, audio visual and staging companies, professional conference organisers and unique venues.

PCO (Professional Conference Organiser)

A company which specialises in the management of conferences. The company will act as a consultant to the organising committee, enacting its decisions whilst utilising the experience and knowledge it has gained over many years in organising events.

Plenary

The sessions of a conference when all delegates are to attend. These sessions may contain a broad range of content from keynotes to panel discussions.

Registration Form

An on-line or hard-copy form that is used by event attendees when they are requesting to participate in an event. Registration forms are used to collect key information about attendees including name, organisation, professional interests, requests to be included in the social program, and special dietary requirements.

Road Show

An event presented in multiple locations, in the same or similar format. Also known as a Multi-Venue Event.

Room Block

See Group Room Block

Site Visit/Inspection

A visit to event venues, accommodation and dining properties, for the purpose of examination and assessment, in the planning stage of a particular event. Also see famil.

Staging Company

An organisation which provides creative and other services to facilitate an event such as theming, audio-visual facilities, equipment.

Theatre Style Seating

A seating arrangement designed for presentations or lectures where participants do not need to take notes. Participants are not seated at tables, but rather. In chairs set up  in rows, with or without a centre aisle, with all chairs face towards one point of interest, usually a stage, head table, speaker podium or lectern. Also known as Auditorium set up.

TWA  (Tourism Western Australia)

A government authority responsible for promoting Western Australia, nationally and overseas, as an attractive holiday and event destination. 

Trade Show

See Exhibition.

WAITOC (Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council)

An organisation providing unique indigenous experiences ranging from traditional dance and dreamtime stories to contemporary history, bush tours and art.

Welcome Package

A pack including letters of welcome from the Lord Mayor of Perth, delegate kit and a small gift provided by Perth Convention Bureau.