Common Acronyms at Chambers of Commerce

Welcome to the chamber world, the industry where the sponsorships are made up and the wine calories don’t matter.

While you can learn a lot about the chamber industry by getting an accreditation (see below) or posting in Frank Kenny’s Facebook group, I’ve found that nowadays most people don’t get much training before we jump in. So naturally, I’m trying to build my own resource lists 😁

I recommend bookmarking this page so you can search for acronyms you come across if you don’t want to talk to a real person. (That’s not sarcasm – I’m just an introvert.) Also, if you’re looking for a specific, acronym, hit “Ctrl” and “F” on your computer keyboard. This allows you to search a webpage or document you’re on.

Chamber (& similar industry) Acronyms

ACCE = Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives
- Tip: Look for your state’s ACCE, ACP, or CEA
ACP = Association of Chamber Professionals,
- Tip: Look for your state’s ACP, ACCE, or CEA
AHLA = American Hotel & Lodging Association
AHMA = American Hotel & Motel Association
ASAE = American Society of Association Executives
Amb. = Ambassador
CVA = Convention & Visitors Association
CVB = Convention & Visitors Bureau
BBB = Better Business Bureau
BIA = Business Information Centre
BOD = Board of Directors
BR&E = business retention and expansion
CC, COC, C of C = Chamber of Commerce
CCCE = Center for Chamber of Commerce Excellence
CEA = Chamber Executives Association
- Tip: Look for your state’s CEA, ACCE, or ACP
CCI = Chambers of Commerce and Industry
CDC = Community Development Council (under CDI)
CDI = Community Development Institute
CID = Community Improvement District
DMC = Destination Marketing Company
DMO = Destination Marketing Organization
ED = Economic Development or Executive Director
EDO/EDA = Economic Development Office/Agency
FAM = Familiarization Tour
FDI = Foreign Direct Investment
FEA = Festival & Events Association
HOT = Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax
HSMAI = Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International
IACVB = International Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus
LTO = Local Tourism Organization
M & IT = Meetings & Incentive Travel
MEC = Members of the Executive Council
Mem. = Member
Mfg. = Manufacturing
MOB = Members Only Benefit
MOM = Member of the Month, sometimes
MPI = Meeting Professionals International
NG, NGO – Non-governmental, Non-governmental Organization
NTA = National Tourism Association
NTO = National Tourist Office
R&D = Traditionally Research & Development, most chamber people lovingly mean Ripoff & Duplicate 😘
RDMO = Regional Destination Marketing Organization
SBA = US Small Business Administration
SBC = Small Business Center
SBDC = Small Business Development Center
TIA = Travel Industry Association of America
USCC, USCOC = United States Chamber of Commerce
VCB = Visitor and Convention Bureau
VIC = Visitor Information Centre
VIP = Volunteers, Investors, & Partners (Robins Regional Chamber)

Accreditations for Chamber Executives

These are professional accreditations for people, not chamber accreditations. (If I missed any, please correct me in the comments.)

CAE = Certified Association Executive, from The Center for Association Leadership
CASE = Certified Association Sales Executive, from Professional Convention Management Association
CCE = Certified Chamber Executive, from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives
CEcD = Certified Economic Developer, from the International Economic Development Council
CEM = Certified in Exhibition Management, from International Association of Exhibitions & Events
CeMA = Certified eMarketing Associate, from eMarketing Association
CMP = Certified Meeting Professional, from the Events Industry Council
CSEP = Certified Special Events Professional, from International Live Events Association
DES = Digital Event Strategist, from Virtual Edge Institute
DMCP = Destination Meeting Certified Processional, from Association of Destination Management Executives International
IOM = Institute of Organization Management, from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation
PCED = Professional Community and Economic Developer, from the Community Development Institute

Source: Everyone whos ever been to Southeast IOM

Popular Chamber Event & Program Acronyms

In case you’re going through your predecessors notes and trying to figure out what they’re talking about… (Have more abbreviations? Share in the comments at the end!)

ACE = Awards for Chamber Excellence
ABA’S = Annual Business Awards
CC = Chamber Connects/Connections, Chamber Chat, Coffee & Connections
CEA’s = Community Excellence Awards
BAH = Business After Hours
REACH = Relationships Established at Cocktail Hour
HYPE = Helping Young Professionals Excel/Evolve
Leadership CORE = Community Organizational Reciprocal Educational
PAC = Political Action Committee
RC = Ribbon Cutting
SMARTies = Social Media Ambassadors and Resource Team (Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber)
TCB = Taking Care of Business
YP = Young Professionals

Common Business Titles To Know

BKPR = Bookkeeper
BD = Business Development
CAO = Chief Accounting Officer
CEO = Chief Executive Officer
CFO = Chief Financial Officer
CIO = Chief Information Officer
CMO = Chief Marketing Officer
COO = Chief Operating Officer
CPA = Certified Public Accountant
CSO = Chief Security Officer
CSR = Customer Sales Representative
CTO = Chief Technology Officer
DOS = Director of Sales
ED = Executive Director
GC = General Counsel
GM = General Manager
GS, GSM = Guest Services, Guest Services Manager
HR = Human Resources
PM = Project Manager
PCO = Professional Conference Organizer
PR = Public Relations
TIC = Tourism Information Councillor
VA = Virtual Assistant

Financial Acronyms

ACCT = Account
ACR = Accrual
ACV = Actual Cash Value
AGI = Adjusted Gross Income
AGR = Adjusted Gross Revenue
AP = Accounts payable
A/R = Accounts Receivable
BS = Balance Sheet
BGT = Budget
CPTAL – Capital
CR = Credit
DR = Debit
FIFO = First In, First Out
GL = General Ledger
GP = Gross Profit
LC = Letter of Credit
LIFO = Last In, First Out
LWOP = Leave without pay
MOM = Month over month
MTD = Month-to-date
NAV = Net Asset Value
OC = Opportunity Cost
P/E = Price-to-earnings ratio
P&L = Profit and Loss
PC = Percent
P-card = Purchase card
Pd = Paid
PO = Purchase Order
Re or RE = In reference to, Retained Earnings
REVPAR = Revenue Per Available Room
ROA = Return on Assets
ROE = Return on Equity
ROI = Return on Investment
SRP = Special Rate Plan
VP = Vice President
WC = Working Capital

Other Acronyms That Might Come Up in the Office

Some of these might vary by industry or person, so just use your best judgement.

a/b = About
ADA = Americans with Disabilities Act
AKA = Also known as
AMS = Account Management System
ASAP = As soon as possible
ATTN = Attention (like who the letter is intended for)
B2B = Business to business
B2C = Business to consumer
BCC = Blind Copied (please do this with mass emails)
BTW = By the way
CAVE people = Citizens Against Virtually Everything
CC = Carbon Copy (most common), Creative Commons (relevant to copyright discussions), or Constant Contact (email marketing provider)
CM = Chamber Master, possibly
Co. = Company
COB = Close of Business
CoCT = Code of Conduct Training
Comp. = Item/service given for free
Corp. = Corporation
CRM = Customer relationship management
CSR = Corporate social responsibility
CTA = Close to Arrival
DM = Direct message, Direct mail
EOD = End of Day
EOM = End of Message
EOT = End of thread
EOW = End of Week
ESP = Email service provider
ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival
Ext. = Extension
EXP = Export
F/T, FTE = Full Time, Full Time Employee
F/U = Follow Up (I promise)
FAQ = Frequently Asked Question
FOTU = Fear of the Unknown
FOMO = Fear of Mission Out
FWD = Forward
FWIW = For what it’s worth
FYI = For your information
GA = Google Analytics
GDP = Gross Domestic Product
GMP = Good Manufacturing Practices
GOAT = Greatest of all time
Govt. = Government
HCA = Handicap Accessible
IAM = In a Meeting
ICYMI = In case you missed it
IM = Instant message
IMO = In My Opinion
Inc. = Incorporated
IOW = In Other Words
KISS = Keep it simple, stupid
KPI = Key performance indicator
LLC = Limited liability company (business structure)
LMK = Let me know
MMS – Membership Management Software (like Chamber Master)
MMS = Multimedia Messaging Service (like texting a photo)
MQL = Marketing Qualified Lead
N/A = Not applicable, Not available
N/S = No Show
NR = News Release
NRN = No Reply Necessary
NSFW = Not safe for work
OOO = Out of office
OLT = Online training
OJT = On the Job Training
OT = Off topic
OTP = On the phone
PITA = Pain in the ….
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 – first quarter, second quarter, etc.
RACI = Responsible, Accountable Consulted, & Informed
Re. = In regards to
Recd. = Recieved
Rep. = Representative
RFP = Request for proposal
RPO = Recruitment Process Outsourcing
RT = Retweet
SM = Social media
SMART (goals) = Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound
SMB = Small to medium business
SMS = Short Message Service (aka texting)
SOB = Son of a…
SQL = Sales Qualified Lead
POC = Point of Contact
P/T, PTE = Part Time, Part Time Employee
P/U = Picked Up
PR = Press Release
Qty = Tantity
RSVP = Répondez s’il Vous plait (French), aka please respond
SM = Social Media
SME = Subject matter expert
SNS = Social network site
SWEAT = Student Work Experience & Training
SWOT Analysis. SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
TBD = To Be Determined
Temp = Temporary
TIA = Thanks in Advance
TL;DR, TLTR = Too long didn’t read, Too long to read
TOS = Terms of Service
TW = Twitter
TYT = Take your time
USP = Unique Selling Point
VOI
W/ = with
W/O = without
WAH, WFH = Work at home, Work from home
WIIFM = “What’s in it for me?”
WOM = Word of Mouth
YTD = Year to Date