While downtown hotels still garner the most religious meetings, the number of groups heading to resort destinations is on a steady upswing. This was among the findings of the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), which recently released its annual survey, citing the practices and preferences of its meeting planner members in 2009.
The survey reported that 10.2 million people attended meetings conducted by RCMA members last year, while the number of meetings totaled 13,394.
Among the findings for site preferences:
- The geographic locations where RCMA members hold meetings have not changed over the past 10 years, with the Midwest leading with 17.2 percent, followed by the Southeast (15.9 percent), Northeast (13.1 percent), South Central (11.3 percent) and the West (10.2 percent).
- The percentage of RCMA planners who hold meetings "throughout the U.S." was 23.3 percent, while 8.9 percent said they hold meetings outside the U.S.
- Downtown hotels continue to be the most popular choice for meetings conducted by RCMA members, accounting for 17.5 percent of the business.
- Conference centers, the second most popular option, hosted 16.7 percent of the meetings, while suburban hotels garnered 12.3 percent.
- Resorts, which drew only 6.7 percent of meetings in 1994 and 9.7 percent in 1999, drew 11.3 percent of RCMA business in 2009.
- Convention and civic centers drew 11.1 percent of the business, while airport hotels and retreat camps each drew 10.9 percent.
- Colleges and universities drew 7.5 percent of the meetings, a percentage that has held steady for the past 10 years.
Other findings:
- The average length of conferences and conventions was four days, while retreats averaged 3.5 days.
- Just 3 percent of RCMA meetings required more than 5,000 sleeping rooms, while 36 percent required 200 to 1,000 sleeping rooms and 29 percent required 10 to 200 rooms.
- The popularity of catering services is climbing, with 83 percent of RCMA members reporting that they used catering and banquet services in 2009, contrasting with just 25 percent in 1994.
- Trade shows and exhibitions were part of 69 percent of the meetings.
