October 26, 2005 marks the 17 month anniversary of a brand new on-line meeting and event marketplace offering streaming video site tours of Chicago venues and services for busy meeting planners seeking more than photos and text when researching venues and services in Chicago.

Hereschicago.com is poised to connect meeting planners with Chicago area group-friendly events, attractions, restaurants and transportation providers. The website serves as a virtual marketplace where meeting and event planners can locate hundreds of service providers and plan the perfect off-site event for their group.

"We have 17 videos online to date, however, we expect 50 video site tours to be online by June 2006. This has been extremely popular among vendors and meeting planners alike.

Planners especially love it because they are able to take a video site tour from their desktop!" says Jim Grillo, General Manager and Vice President of Marketing of Hereschicago.com.

The company is headed by Jim Grillo, CMP, former C.O.O. and General Manager of a large Chicago-based destination management company, and a 17 year industry veteran. Mr. Grillo is the Past President of the Chicago Area Chapter of MPI, Past President of HSMAI Illinois and a Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau Mentor and former ambassador.

“We pick up where traditional meeting-planning sites leave off,” said Grillo. Conventional on-line meeting planning sites focus on sleeping rooms and meeting space, while hereschicago.com concentrates on the fun aspect of meetings and conventions; hosting awesome off-site events, finding the perfect restaurant for your sales meeting, arranging sightseeing trips and coordinating transportation logistics. Through my extensive experience in the business, I have learned that meeting planners need to "touch and feel" a venue to gain an understanding of whether the venue or service matches their group's expectations. We apply a "high tech, high touch feel" for the planner in the form of virtual marketplace including video site tours at hereschicago.com.”

Hereschicago.com aims to help busy planners sort through the clutter associated with planning off-site events by providing a short list of pre-qualified vendors, directly on the planner’s internet browser.

“The site features steaming video tours of venues that allow planners to see inside venues without having to do a personal site inspection. The video's provide a comfort factor and allows the planner to make an educated buying decision before they sign on the dotted line,” said Grillo.

Other features of the site include an on-line RFP that will go direct from the planner to that particular vendor.