Improved Outlook for Meetings in 2011

A recent article in Successful Meeting shared a positive outlook. In encouraging news for 2011, American Express Business Travel released good news in its annual Global Business Travel Forecast. According to the results of the forecast, companies will hold an increased number of meetings next year and overall will spend more money on them. However, it is predicted that companies will spend less per-meeting as meeting sizes decrease and sourcing efficiencies increase.

American Express also predicts that planners will hold more local and regional meetings and will include more virtual alternatives to face-to-face gatherings.

Another projection lies in business travel prices. We can expect that airfare and hotel rates will rise up to as much as 10% in the next year, in key global markets. They specifically forecast domestic economy class airfares will rise 2% to 6% while hotel rates will rise 1%. "Throughout 2010, companies have lifted travel restrictions brought on by red bottom line fears and this is expected to continue into 2011 as firms look more toward growing the top line," said Christa Degnan Manning, director of eXpert insights and research, American Express Business Travel. "Yet pricing power will swing back to air and hotel suppliers for the first time in two years in 2011 as more competition for limited seats on planes and increased occupancy levels at hotels are expected."

With the increased demand and constrained capacity, airfare and hotel rates are expected to reach pre-recession levels next year, according to American Express.

For more information, including complete forecast data, visit www.businesstravelconnexion.com.

Lean & Green: Trimming Conference Costs through Environmentally Responsible Practices

Many organizations have made strides towards “going green,” whether in small steps or grand gestures. But in a challenging economy, it’s easy to put responsibility practices on the back burner as other priorities demand attention. The good news is that environmental and fiscal responsibility don’t have to be at odds with one another.

Greening your meetings simply requires making thoughtful choices throughout the planning process that support your organizational priorities. Here are just a few tips to effectively manage resources – both environmental and financial! – for your next meeting or convention.

• Transitioning from paper handouts to web-based solutions saves printing and shipping costs, gives meeting content a longer shelf life, and allows delegates to share the value with colleagues.
• Switching from packaged foods to bulk items eliminates wasteful packing and reduces your food and beverage expenses.
• Finding a local school or charity to reuse conference bags and other materials is a positive contribution to the community, as well as a tax write-off.
• Including a carbon-offset donation on your registration form allows attendees to make tax-deductible contributions to support planting trees.
• Asking the chef to source food locally reduces food miles and provides attendees with fresher ingredients that taste better and cost les.
• Requesting that meeting facilities place recycling bins throughout your event won’t cost you a dime.

Going green isn’t just about saving the planet – making smart choices that can save your organization money make good business sense, too.

A Buyer’s Market Means Great Deals on Meetings

It’s said that desperate times call for desperate measures – and in the current economy, it’s a buyer’s market.

In an unprecedented marketing effort, today the hotels and meeting facilities of the Dallas-Fort Worth launched a multi-city, multi-brand promotion to encourage bookings of meetings and conventions in the Dallas metro area. The promotion includes every major hotel brand in four participating cities, representing every tier of service - including luxury, economy, full-service and extended stay. The deal, called the “DFW Promise,” includes automatic no-attrition room contracts as well as group discounts on airfare and ground transportation.

Although this is an excellent opportunity for conventions that are considering DFW, it’s also highly likely that other cities will seize the opportunity to follow suit – building on already amazing offers. The bargaining power of buyers continues to offer excellent opportunities to save money on future bookings and renegotiate existing ones.

Contact us to find out how our firm can help you take advantage of amazing site selection packages -- in DFW or any other city -- for your next meeting or convention.

Cost-Cutting Advice for Thrifty Planners

Originally published in Associations Now magazine (June 2009)

Not long ago, association conventions had a reputation for being a money pit—a huge black hole in your annual expenses through which money flowed like water. But in the current economy, maximizing your conference budget has become more important than ever. Execs and meeting managers are scrutinizing every dollar spent, from big-ticket items such as audiovisual and F&B down to even the tiniest of expenses.

Luckily there are a number of changes you can make that your members will never even notice. The following are a few tips to help you do more with less.

Be a piggy(back). Hotels and convention centers are a revolving door: When your group is moving in, someone else is moving out. Chances are, the group before you also had a general session and an exhibit hall. Contact them to find out who their vendors are and whether you can share labor and/or equipment costs.

Put your partners to work. Your conference vendors are valuable partners with real-world experience at thousands of conventions. They can offer great suggestions to save you money. Engage them as part of the convention management team, and ask them to think creatively for you. You'll be amazed what your vendor partners are able to do for you if you can be a little bit flexible.

Meet the chef. Food and beverage represents a huge line item in most conference budgets, and the facility's executive chef is an excellent resource to help you reduce F&B costs. Ask to meet the chef during an early planning meeting, and build a relationship leading up to your conference. Learn what produce will be in season during your event and ask that these cheaper items be substituted. Ask what the facility makes in house (less expensive) and what is purchased from other sources. You can always request custom menus that fit your price point; with appropriate advance notice, the chef will be glad to prepare something that meets your needs.

Skip the soda. Conference attendees increasingly appreciate healthful choices in food and beverage. Cut out expensive bottled drinks and replace them with beverages you can purchase by the gallon, such as iced tea and lemonade. And ask your catering manager to get creative with everyone's favorite free beverage: water. Regular ice water becomes a gourmet option when you serve it in glass canisters with a few slices of citrus fruit or herbs such as mint or lavender.

Forgo packaged foods. Prepackaged foods such as chips, candy, and snack bars are convenient when attendees need to grab something quickly between sessions. Your attendees also appreciate that you are offering them snacks for the plane on the way home—probably not what you had intended when you prepared your conference budget. When it comes to packaged foods, remember that taking two, three, or more is just as easy as taking one. Switch to other break food options to cut down on quantity and cost. Mother Nature will thank you for reducing wasteful packaging, too.

Rob Peter to pay Paul. Hotels make money from conventions in a variety of ways, including sleeping rooms, meeting room rental, F&B, telecommunications, restaurants, and other guest services. Each of these areas has different value; some are pure profit, while others have a slimmer margin. If your organization is facing severe cuts and is unable to meet your contractual obligations, ask your sales manager whether you can redistribute your spending in areas that will net the hotel greater profit. Often you can reduce your commitment proportionately and save your association money on the bottom line.

Getting the Most for your Conference Dollars

In these economic times, organizations of all types are looking for ways to slash expenses across the board. The Annual Conference, with all its associated costs and contracts, is often scrutinized. Savvy managers know that all businesses are feeling the squeeze, which means that short-term contracts can be renegotiated to provide lower rates and greater incentives.

But it is also an excellent time to negotiate favorable long-term agreements, particularly site contracts for future years. Bargains abound in both first- and second-tier meeting locations across the world. as well as resort and luxury properties When considering future meeting locations, however, facility fees and incentives aren’t the only consideration. Organizations will reap the greatest savings by selecting a location where overall costs are lower.

Earlier this week, Forbes magazine released its annual list of the Top 10 Bargain Cities in the U.S. – places where you can pay the least for the most. The financial gurus at Forbes developed their list by analyzing a city’s overall cost of living, pay scale, labor and housing statistics, and unemployment rate.

Austin, Texas tops the list as the best bargain city; followed by Phoenix, Arizona and Washington, DC. All of these cities are meetings-friendly and excellent destinations, as well as providing lots of bang for your buck. The magazine also publishes an annual list of Most Overpriced Cities, a resource managers might want to consult when booking future years.

These indices are not the final word on the matter, but a useful barometer for gauging overall meeting costs in a destination. Final site decisions must of course be based on the best overall fit, but financial considerations are king in a sluggish economy.

Hotel Negotiating on Both Sides of the Fence

I recently finished a first-time Healthcare Conference in Philadelphia. Our client put together an excellent plan for the Conference but like many first time events, they over estimated the attendance and sleeping room block. The result was that the Conference was assessed a $20,000 attrition charge.

During our debriefing, I worked closely with the client to review the goals they accomplished this year and to evaluate the viability of their second Conference next year. Everyone agreed that the Conference was marketable, worthwhile and should be held again.

I put together a revised plan for the subsequent Conference and used the new plan to discuss rebooking with the hotel for next year. I worked hard to reconfigure the meeting for 2009 with a better agenda and a more efficient use of meeting space. I was able to negotiate a mutually beneficial deal for both the client and the hotel.

The new plan met both the needs of the client and the needs of the hotel. We designed a more efficient use of meeting space to help the hotel, to improve the flow of the program, to better support the needs of the Conference Sponsors and to meet the needs of the Conference attendees. The modified Conference plan worked well for the hotel and allowed the hotel to sell another group concurrently with our client’s conference to maximized the hotel’s revenues.

The new plan helped me to negotiate the following items for the client:

• A waiver on 80% of the 2008 Conference attrition charges
• A 10% discount on all F&B for next year, which is valued at $4,500
• Maximum cap increase of F&B menu pricing
• Reduction of exhibit hall cleaning fee in half
• Reduction of total room block for next year
• One staff room at 20% off the group rate
• Attrition if incurred, will be charged at the Group Rate and not at the Average Daily Hotel Rate
• Room rental savings
• Inclusion of non-competing group verbiage
• Improved Force Majeure clause

Negotiations are always more effective when you take the time to carefully learn what the most important issues are for both groups. Knowing this information to work ‘both sides of the fence’ makes it easy to negotiate the deal to make everyone happy.