The Convention Industry Council (CIC) announced the launch of a research study to quantify the time and cost inefficiencies of existing methods used in exchanging meeting specifications between planners and hotels.
Researchers from the Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies at the University of Central Florida will gather data and conduct measurements inside the convention service departments of participating hotels. Hotel companies participating in the project include Gaylord Hotels, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
The study will analyze processes from sales, through the planning cycle to the delivery of the final product. The researchers will also examine a variety of meeting and event types and profiles, including private social functions, corporate events, association meetings, and components of citywide conventions.
"In the planning process for every meeting or event there are many transfers of information—the event specifications, the BEOs, all the arrangements that need to take place," said Kimberly Meyer, founder and principal of Chicago-based Meetings Analytics and chair of the CIC's APEX Technology Advisory Council. "Despite all of our technical advances this is largely still a manual, paper, email, and even fax-based process, with a high level of input and rekeying.
“Even though they're widely accepted, these business processes are frequently inefficient and inaccurate,” she continued. “What this study will accomplish is to accurately quantify the cost. We think this is a multi-million dollar problem annually."
"Hoteliers and venue operators in particular recognize that these processes need to be looked at and quantified," stated Karen Kotowski, Chief Executive Officer of the Convention Industry Council. "Our hope is that we can then begin to identify solutions together through CIC's APEX initiative, and lead by the Technology Council."
Findings of the study are expected in the second quarter of 2011.
