Debi Maines, CMP
Senior meeting manager
Association Headquarters
Mount Laurel, N.J.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
I am the director of meetings for the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. We have not even discussed shrinking or expanding our annual conference. However, we have discussed changing the pattern of our conference from Saturday through Wednesday to possibly a Monday-Friday pattern, but feel that would be a burden on our attendees as they would need to take a full week off from their jobs.
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
Our attendance at the 2010 [annual conference] was actually above our 2009 registration numbers, in part due to the fact that we partnered with an international organization that is similar to ours.
Did you have a smaller budget to work with last year? If so, how much do you estimate it was decreased?
My budget has remained pretty steady from 2009 to 2011. With the exception of expenses increasing for the 2010 [annual conference], with more attendees.
Do you expect your budget to increase in 2011?
I have been asked to look at ways to decrease our expenses for 2011. Specifically, I have looked at decreasing our audiovisual to consolidate some of our pre-conference sessions to use the same room (an a.m. session and a p.m. session) so that we don't have to pay for extra set-up.
Do you expect your attendance to increase in 2011?
I expect our attendance to be in line with our 2009 conference, and hopefully increase a slight bit over that final number. The 2010 conference cannot be compared to our numbers because it was a joint conference.
Are perception problems (meeting and luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.?) a great concern for your organization? Have they become less of a concern in the past few months, and do you expect them to be a problem in 2011?
We typically do not have the opportunity to meet in luxurious properties. I try to stick to "second-tier" cities because of the fact we typically use a convention center.
Are there any destinations or facility types that are now considered "off-limits" due to perception problems or the current economic climate?
Not for our group.
Have you planned, or do you expect to plan, virtual/video conference meetings? Do you expect to see more virtual meetings in the future?
For our 2011 we are looking at webcasting our general sessions to those unable to attend the conference and offer credits. This will also generate revenue that we haven't had in the past.
Are you finding that you are scheduling more meeting sessions per day, and if so, is it at the expense of entertainment or events that are more social in nature?
I have not been scheduling more sessions per day. Our sessions run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Are you scheduling more educational components for your meetings? If so, why?
We have been scheduling the same educational components that we have been.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
We do not plan activities into our agenda. It is up to the attendees to schedule any additional activities (specific to the area).
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced less strictly? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
Knock on wood, we have not had to address any type of attrition.
Do you find that you had much more leverage on room rates during the last year? If so, please give an idea how much discounting you are seeing.
I have not been aware of any additional leverage on room rates, although some cities/facilities seem to be sending out more information on "discounted" rates.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
We have just started using Facebook. Because of the demographic of our membership/attendee population, this seemed to be the best choice for us.
Have you planned more meetings closer to your organization's headquarters ("drive-to" meetings) recently? If so, why?
We have planned some committee meetings closer to our headquarters so that we don't have the additional expense of sending staff to a different location.
