The meetings world has changed—again. Corporate meetings, association meetings and citywide meetings all are back.
That means the Starwoods, Hyatts, Hiltons and other big-flag properties that were rolling out the red carpet for small groups in 2011 have largely gone back to courting large groups with large room blocks, leaving smaller groups to again fill in calendar gaps.
Whether that shift in the market is good news or bad news depends on the planner and the group that you ask.
Kate Christiansen, DMCP, CMP, president of AlliedPRA Arizona, sees the shift as a potential plus for the approximately 60 small events she handles every year.
“It can be an opportunity to be more creative and go somewhere else,” she says.
Some small groups adjust their dates to fit hotel availability. Other groups look for alternatives, such as lining up a sponsor. Still other groups opt for conference centers, which typically have less demand than hotels.
Alternative Venues
Conference centers without hotel space, especially, can be flexible on dates, pricing and other details, Christiansen says. Some groups have paired meeting space at one venue with room blocks at limited-service hotels, using free shuttle service to link the two components.
Small groups that are determined to meet in a hotel that carries a global brand’s flag can still be accommodated in some major cities—like Vancouver, British Columbia —where recovery has been slower.PageBreak
“We are still fighting with Westin, Hyatt and Fairmont for every group, no matter how small,” says Kathleen McWilliams, director of sales for The Listel Hotel, a boutique luxury property in central Vancouver.
“We quite often get overflow from the big properties but it is still a fight to win small groups,” she says. “The corporate market is just starting to come back for us. There aren’t a lot of citywide events on the books until 2015, so the competition remains fierce.”
The picture is different for Lorie Ryan-Spellen, director of global meetings and events for BCD Meetings & Incentives in Wilmington, Del. Big hotels aren’t ignoring small groups, she notes, but the red carpet has disappeared.
“Hotels still need small groups, but we aren’t a priority,” Ryan-Spellen says. “We are losing out to bigger meetings where there is a head-to-head choice, but we have shorter lead times than large groups, so we are able to fill in more easily.”
It also helps planners to have a relationship with a hotel. The big groups may get top priority, but smaller groups can place a close second if the planner has a preferred relationship at the property level.
“Preferred relationships trump everything,” Ryan-Spellen says. “When you don’t have a strong relationship at the property level, that’s when the welcome mat disappears.”
Another tactic is to skip the big names entirely. Instead of taking a 200-attendee event to a 1,000-room hotel, take the group to a 250-room boutique property.
“Boutique hotels are very welcoming and often the way to go for smaller groups,” Ryan-Spellen says. “Boutique brands like Kimpton and Drury are trying to spread their wings; we see them treating planners very well.”
City sales execs offer similar advice. John Reyes, executive vice president and chief customer officer, convention sales and service for the San Francisco Travel Association, says boutique hotels fill the distinct needs of small meetings.
“Small events can well feel they are the only group in-house,” he says. “And there’s a very good chance that they will be. Boutique hotels need small meetings the same way big hotels need mega meetings.”PageBreak
Small is Big
The major brands don’t try to hide their preference for large groups that fill large room blocks. Any sales manager with 1,000 rooms to sell every night of the year would rather book one large group that fills 400 rooms for four nights than juggle a dozen smaller groups to make up those same 1,600 room nights. The problem is filling in around those 400 rooms every night. Small meetings are crucial to that goal.
“We are still seeing small meetings as a strong component of filling holes and layering around big groups” says Michelle Gillman, regional director of marketing for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in California. “The smaller meetings market is one that we recognize as important in the long term, and that is not going to change.”
Cities that traditionally focus on big meetings also areevaluating the value of smaller events.
San Francisco is known for citywide events that fill its Moscone Convention Center and overflow into hotel meeting space. But those big meetings only account for 1.3 million of the San Francisco Travel Association’s annual budget of 2 million room nights.
Reyes counts on small meetings to fill 35 percent of San Francisco’s total 700,000 room nights. The typical small meeting counts just 220 attendees and 120 peak room nights.
“There is a general perception of cities like San Francisco that we only are interested in big events at the convention center,” Reyes says. “Those smaller events are absolutely essential. The competitive landscape has changed. We can’t afford to have customers say ‘I won’t try San Francisco because I’m not a citywide.’”
We have entire hotels—big hotels like the Fairmont and big brands in the Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf and boutique properties everywhere—that absolutely depend on small meetings.”
Fred Gebhart has covered the meetings industry for more than 30 years.
