Joel Whitten
Sr. Meeting Planner
Subway World Headquarters
Milford, Conn.
Do you find that your booking window is increasing or shrinking recently? Are you finding it harder to book rooms/meeting space in a short timeframe at hotels and other meeting facilities?
Booking lead time is increasing and we are currently finding it a bit more difficult to find availability over last year.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding?
The duration of meetings is expanding because we are considering meetings that were previously spread out into one time period.
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding?
About the same
Did you have a smaller or larger budget to work with last year? If so, how much do you estimate it was decreased or increased?
Budget have increased by 3%-5% over last year.
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2012?
Increase slightly
Do you expect your attendance to increase or decrease in 2012?
We anticipate attendance to remain about the same.
Are perception problems (meeting at luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.) a great concern for your organization? Have they become less of a concern than they were in 2010, and do you expect them to present any perception problems in 2012?
This is of no concern to our company.
Are there any destinations or facility types that are considered “off-limits” due to perception problems or the current economic climate?
No.
Have you planned, or do you expect to plan, virtual/videoconference meetings? Do you expect to see more virtual meetings in the future?
We plan to increase these types of meetings dramatically due to the onslaught of new technology in the company.
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?
We are scheduling more meeting sessions, however, keeping the same number of social events squeezed into the schedule.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
About the same number of activities.
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
Nothing scheduled for the coming year.
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
We have made some slight moves in the direction of being more sustainable with our meetings
Do you feel the pendulum is swinging back to being a seller’s market?
Room rates are increasing.
Do you find that you had much more leverage on room rates during the last year?
Still seeing some significant discounting, however still not back to the pre-2008 days.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
We use Twitter for our largest convention for on-site and pre-marketing communications.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago?
Much more optimistic as I see more meeting planners are getting jobs.
How do you think 2012 will shape up for the meetings industry? Where do you see costs (hotel, restaurant, venue prices, etc.) going? Do you think your budget and/or attendance will increase or decrease?
I feel 2012 will be a make-it-or-break-it year politically, which in turn will affect the meetings/ hotel industry. Despite the outcome, costs will continue to rise due to the increasing inflation taking place in the economy.
