While a bleak economic outlook is causing distress in many circles, it could well be a boon for affordable meetings venues such as college and university campuses.
“So goes the economy, so goes looking for affordable meeting space,” says Deborah Blom, executive director for the Association of Collegiate Conference & Event Directors-International (ACCED-I), based in Fort Collins, Colo.
She says that in today’s uncertain economic climate, planners are looking for alternatives to high-priced downtown hotels. At the same time, however, they don’t want to sacrifice excellent service, top-notch technological capabilities and well-appointed accommodations. As a result, university venues are becoming more attractive to meetings than ever.
“Traditionally, universities are more affordable than an established hotel brand,” Blom says. “Anytime we go into a recession and planners are looking for more affordable accommodations, one of the places they look to is universities, particularly for regional meetings. We have seen it in the past with economic downturns.”
From a planner’s perspective, Jenny Prosser, director of meetings and conference services for the St. Paul, Minn.-based Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance, couldn’t agree more.
Prosser has been planning continuing education meetings at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for the past four years and goes to the campus approximately 15 times per year.
“You can’t beat the price,” she says. “For standard audiovisual, all of our food, which is excellent, a mid-morning break, mid-afternoon break, and unlimited coffee, it is about $30 per person. And what they deliver is an excellent product.”
Prosser also says that with the economy the way it is, it is a wise choice.
“With the economy that we are now working in, it is a cost savings,” she says, adding that for similar meeting requests, it might cost $90 per head at a high-end hotel. “Thirty dollars versus $90—that is a huge cost savings.”
Collegiate Trends
While a slowing economy may be one reason to look to university venues as viable meeting options, the college setting has long stood on its own as a popular site for gatherings, with various types of groups coming to campuses to meet in classrooms and stay in dorms.
But what has changed, Blom says, is the introduction of professional conference centers on campuses—a new trend for some institutions of higher learning.
“I believe that there is a trend with colleges building more dedicated conference centers on campus,” she says, adding that she’s seen this increase over the past two years. “They [schools] are realizing it can be a revenue generator for universities.”
With dedicated conference centers (many of which include guest rooms) on campuses, in addition to existing classrooms and residence halls, it is no wonder college campuses have become so popular.
“I am definitely seeing more meetings coming to the university,” says Julie Kieffer, manager of Iowa State University’s University Conference Services in Ames, Iowa. “As travel costs continue to grow, it causes people to look at non-traditional settings like universities.”
She also adds that today’s business person wants a different experience.
“In general, the generations out there now are more experiential,” she says. “They want to experience more and see more things. Therefore a traditional ballroom setting is not going to provide them with that unique experience. A university campus brings lots of options that lend themselves well to meetings.”
Marks for Creativity
Many universities operate as highly accessible cities within cities, where sought-after attractions are right at a meeting planner’s fingertips—often within a comfortable walking distance down a tree-lined street.
“On a campus setting, you can do a reception in an art museum, walk across the street to the library and then have a reception or dinner at the football stadium,” says Drew Norris, assistant director for Indiana University (IU) Conferences in Bloomington, Ind. “We have well over 100 classrooms that are available for conferences and a 3,200-seat auditorium and up to 15,000 people or more can fit in our assembly hall.”
While campus sizes range from a few blocks to several square miles, one thing is usually consistent: most offer both cultural and sporting facilities that groups can take advantage of while meeting on campus.
After convening in a classroom or snazzy dedicated conference center, groups can take in a live performance at a university’s amphitheater, a sporting event at its arena or browse through an on-campus museum.
Mary Morgan, client development manager for Indiana University Conferences, says IU has a vast array of cultural opportunities, serving as perfect options for groups.
“The cultural richness of a university campus, be it music, theater, art—and with the off-shoots of all that talent in the community—there are plenty of places to see fabulous students and professors providing entertainment and it is all moderately priced and accessible,” she says.
Pam Hicks, assistant program manager for University of Kansas (KU) Continuing Education in Lawrence, Kansas, says KU also offers plenty of cultural options for groups.
“Groups usually set up a reception in the entryway of the Spencer Museum of Art,” she says. “They can also go to the Natural History Museum to have a dinner or to the Lied Center for a play.”
In addition to utilizing campus attractions for off-site venue options and evening entertainment, many seemingly mundane spaces on campuses can be transformed to meet the needs of groups.
“I have seen gymnasiums turn into fabulous places for formal dinners,” says ACEED-I’s Blom, adding that green spaces such as gardens can also be used for outside tented receptions, dinners and awards banquets.
When group bonding time is in order, university venues can also offer a handsome array of team-building options.
“On campus, you might be able to access some gymnasiums and do some great team building,” says Lisa Howe, director of sales and marketing for the University Place Conference Center & Hotel at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. “If they [groups] want to do some kind of icebreaker for the evening, they might do a scavenger hunt with some of the nearby buildings.”
Howe also says that if a group visits an institution known for its culinary department, planners could organize a food-focused team building session or “have the students at the culinary school prepare some special dishes for you.”
Some schools, such as Colorado State University in Fort Collins, even offer ropes courses, another fun option for group team-building events.
Engaging Speakers
Beyond their variety of housing and meeting space, university venues offer yet another advantage: accessibility to expert speakers specializing in a wide array of topics.
“When you plan a meeting at a specific university, you can look to their faculty to do some speaking for you,” Prosser says, adding that it is a cost savings to have experts right at your fingertips rather than having to fly them to the meeting site. “We’ve done that a few times and it has worked out great.”
Howe says planners may be surprised at what type of speakers might be available to groups.
“At IU, I was at a conference and they pulled back Kevin Kline—it was for the business school,” Howe says. “He wanted to come to his old campus, his alma mater.”
Working with Universities
While it may be exciting to visualize your group taking advantage of the many different venues offered on a university’s campus, the logistics of setting it up may be daunting. Thankfully, a number of schools are now installing a meetings department, therefore making it a one-stop shop for interested groups.
“Operating, maneuvering, managing, and coordinating a meeting on a university campus can be potentially complicated,” IU’s Morgan says. “Many university campuses do not have conference management services like Indiana University does. You may be dealing with more than one person because a university campus in general tends to not be centrally administered in the same way a hotel would be.”
Lucky for planners, ACCED-I offers certification to universities with a centralized conference office designed to answer questions from meeting planners, organize events and seamlessly plan gatherings at multiple venues.
“Sometimes the nature of a university is very decentralized,” ACCED-I’s Blom says. “For meeting planners wanting a more hotel-like experience, we have implemented our One-Stop Shop Certification. Meeting planners who want to consider a university venue, but want one point of contact and one bill, can go to a One-Stop Shop campus.
“It is our recommended best practice to have a one-stop shop,” she adds. “We publish a list [of certified schools] for meeting planners on our website. Currently we have about 37 campuses certified.”
Advice for Planners
Beyond having one point of contact, Prosser says planners should think about what rules the university may have in place, especially pertaining to alcoholic beverages.
“If you want to have adult beverages on-site, that is a good question to ask,” she says. “The alcohol thing can or cannot be an issue.”
And although some corporate and association planners may not place university venues high on their list because of preconceived notions of messy residence halls and cold classrooms, Prosser advises planners to look beyond the stereotypes.
“Be open-minded as a meeting planner,” she says.
Those planners who decide to book university venues are more often than not extremely pleased with their decision, Howe says.
“A campus conference center provides more networking opportunities than a downtown hotel, which may have many distractions,” she says. “A campus also provides a certain type of nostalgia for some people. It gets participants into an environment where they were in a learning mode before and gets them back into a student mentality where they are more open to listening to new ideas.”
