IACC Partnership 
BENCHMARK & IACC
Exceptional Meetings. Powerful Connections.
Partners In Groundbreaking Innovation
Benchmark’s pioneering approach in redefining the meeting experience can be traced back to the birth of the company. Burt Cabañas identified and envisioned the extraordinary potential of the meetings industry, and the need for an organization where brightest minds from the best meeting venues in the world could collaborate and collectively benefit from their knowledge and expertise. In 1981, just one year after Burt founded Benchmark, he and a other industry visionaries formed IACC. Since that time, IACC has evolved to represent the epitome of a meeting and conference destination, with only the top 1% of meeting venues earning IACC certification.
In addition to being one of the founders, Burt went on to be a president and active supporter of IACC. In 2012, the organization presented him with the IACC Global Distinguished Service Award in honor of his contributions. Alex Cabañas carries on the family legacy, becoming Global President of IACC in 2015 after a number of years as an IACC member and vice president of the IACC-Americas chapter.
ABOUT IACC AND BENEFITS OF PARTNERING
Passionate People and Organisations Delivering Innovative and Exceptional Meeting Experiences.
IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) is a global community of passionate people and organizations delivering innovative and exceptional meeting experiences. This not-for-profit global trade association’s mission is to bring together the brightest industry minds to promote the best meeting venues, which deliver exceptional meeting experiences. IACC members deliver the IACC Meeting Experience by complying with IACC’s stringent Quality Standards and agreeing to IACC’s Code of Ethics.
The key benefits of IACC membership include marketing and business growth opportunities; educational events and courses, networking at member’s conferences and meetings, benchmarking, the immensely popular global Copper Skillet Culinary Competition that celebrates the artistry of IACC-member chefs from around the world, and the IACC Code of Sustainability, which supporting green meeting environments, initiatives and best practices. IACC has over 300 members in 23 countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australasia. There are IACC members in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Kenya, Nigeria, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, The Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Mongolia and the Philippines.
Understanding the key trends in the delivery of meetings and the environments needed for an optimum experience is important for planners and venue operators. With the help of our partners, including Benchmark, we invest in research to give us valuable information and understanding and allow us to make informed decisions linked to investment in meetings.
- Mark Cooper, IACC’s CEO
IACC is a global community of people and meeting venues committed to delivering exceptional meeting experiences. We lead the small meetings industry and create trust with meeting planners and our clients through the delivery of the most productive meeting environments available.
- Alex Cabañas