The first issue of the year is here, and with it arrives the culmination of our redesign effort.
Being focused on providing the most comprehensive destination information to meeting planners, we’ve fine-tuned our magazines to reflect that emphasis by using more photos and opening up the page “spreads” more.
While we still believe our core mission is to bring you all the destination information you need to aid your site-selection process, we believe that beautiful photos also tell a story, acting as an invitation to read our copy.
You’ll also notice some new features sprinkled throughout the pages. This is where you, the reader, really come in, as we want to include more input from the folks that subscribe to our magazines.
On this page, for instance, we’ve included a number of tips from our readers on how to make your job more efficient and friendlier to the bottom line of the organizations you serve. Make sure to send us a letter to editor@meetingsmedia.com to get your two cents in.
Also, on page 48 you’ll notice a new feature, named “The Concierge.” Look at this page as a type of reader-service offering. Who better to take care of your every need than a concierge? We’re also going to use this page to keep you informed on what’s happening on MeetingsFocus.com, as well as what’s coming up at our Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition live educational event series, which is scheduled to spend a day at 17 cities throughout the U.S. next year.
Another highlight of the February/March issue is our annual Meetings Market Trends Survey, for which more than 900 respondents chimed in.
The most obvious finding is that planners expect room rates to remain high next year, which I guess you don’t really need a survey to point out. There were a couple curious and/or startling observations I got from this year’s data, however.
First, the overwhelming majority of planners—even corporate planners—say they are not required to prove ROI.
The major meetings industry associations have beaten the drums about ROI for years now, but the need to prove a return still doesn’t seem to be on the radar screens of the people who were supposed to get the message.
Perhaps on the startling side, respondents also indicated that they haven’t developed a written emergency/contingency plan, even after all of the disasters in recent years.
On a housekeeping note, I’d like to welcome veteran meetings industry journalist Maria Lenhart to our team as senior editor. Maria has written for or held senior editor positions at most all of the major meetings industry trade magazines you’re familiar with, and because of her stellar resume brings a wealth of experience to the table.
We hope you like our new look, and remember to keep us informed as to what you want to see on our pages, as we do this for you.
