We leave nothing to chance. As the HCB’s strategic control centre, we are aiming at long-term objectives and we are setting course for promising markets. To these ends, we are actively engaged in research, we commission studies and we initiate surveys. The success of our work can be measured in numbers: about one-fifth of all overnight stays in Hamburg is attributable to convention visitors and business travellers – and these numbers keep rising.

We pursue a cross-departmental approach that is based on corporate transparency. Communication is an essential means of expediting internal processes and of successfully raising our external profile. Via newsletters, press releases, social media channels and personal contacts we provide insights into our work and report on current projects.

We see ourselves as a non-partisan and neutral partner of the event industry. Hamburg-based service providers from all sectors support our work within the framework of our partner programme. Since the establishment of the HCB as a private-public partnership, we have been able to expand our collaborations to the mutual benefit of the HCB and its partners. Collaboration projects include joint presentations at trade fairs as well as diverse options for participating in client events in Germany and abroad.

As part of the HCB’s Strategy and Communications division, Selina Dörffler is responsible for managing strategic tasks with a focus on the systematic development and reorganisation of market research and monitoring projects.

Selina supervises studies, analyses and surveys in the area of trend and business development to highlight the advancement of promotable business tourism and the segment’s relevance for Hamburg as a location. Furthermore, Selina is in charge of coordinating any accompanying marketing activities. In addition, Selina continues to be responsible for the HCB’s online and offline communications and ensures the implementation of communication measures in accordance with the Hamburg brand. Selina trained as a hotel manager and subsequently graduated in tourism management, with a focus on business travel and destination management.

Being the HCB’s contact person for media representatives and the head of corporate communications, Michel Molenda is responsible for the strategic development of PR measures and their target group-specific implementation via multiple communication channels. Key areas here include the use of new media and the further development of public relations work. The aim is to raise public awareness for HCB activities and activities within Hamburg’s event industry.

Michel is an alumnus of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW), where he studied media & information. After his graduation he completed a trainee programme at the HAW’s press department and became deputy press officer. He later moved internally to the Competence Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) at the HAW, where he was in charge of public relations work in the respective fields. As part of his role, Michel coordinated e.g. the media campaign for the Energy Campus Hamburg technology centre as well as the Energy Week. Michel also gained valuable experience in editorial teams of print and television, as well as press and PR work relating to events.