Meetings are booming. City meetings, resort meetings, convention center meetings, cruise ship meetings. If you’re wondering where clients will take their next event, look no further than their current expansion plans. If international is on the c-suite menu, international events won’t be far behind.
“We have been seeing a major uptick in business going abroad,” says Jane Schuldt, president of World Marketing Group (WMG) in Minneapolis. “Growth is fueled by companies and associations seeking new markets, which is the catalyst for growth in events meetings of all types to support this development and expansion. If your client is going international, your meetings will follow.”
Expanding beyond familiar domestic destinations is obviously good news for WMG, which coordinates events across an international network of destination management companies. Expanding beyond the familiar is also good news for planners who are ready to help clients grow into bigger, better and more rewarding events.
Going international is also a major milestone in complexity. It’s not just obvious differences such as language, currency or electrical power. Taking events into the global arena adds new layers of regulation, cultural expectations and competitive pressures. Basic activities such as estimating room blocks, event attendance and timing take on new dimensions.
Meetings Focus asked Schuldt and two experienced colleagues, Charles Chan Massey, CMP, founder and CEO of SYNAXIS Meetings & Events in West Hollywood, Calif., and Karla Bauman, Meetings & Event Manager for Experient, the events management arm of Maritz Travel, based in Sacramento, Calif., for their takes on the international events scene.PageBreak
Key Trends
Strengthening business results and economies worldwide are fueling a strong recovery in the international events market, Schuldt says. That’s great news for suppliers, not such great news for planners. Rates for air, hotel and ground services are soaring worldwide. Inventory is relatively flat in many markets, which means tighter supply and less flexibility on dates and rates.
“Planning and booking are now requiring longer lead times,” Schuldt says. “The earlier you plan, the better the negotiations will be. In some areas where the dollar is strengthening against the local currency, upward adjustments to rates will have to be noted. Planners need to take note of this possibility in their budgeting process.”
Budgeting is one of the trickiest parts of going international. Once upon a time, hotels and airlines worldwide quoted in U.S. dollars. These days, planners are more likely to see quotes in the local currency. Planners have to deal with euros, pounds, Singapore dollars, rubles, piasters, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, pesos and more, Massey says.
“You are much less likely to find international destinations willing to quote in U.S. dollars today,” he says. “Just because you get a quote in dollars doesn’t mean your bill will come in U.S. dollars. If you’re going to Vancouver or Toronto, the bill will come in Canadian dollars. If you’re going to Mexico, expect to settle your bill in pesos even if you got a quote in dollars. You have to follow currency trends in both the United States and countries where your events are being held.”
There can be third-country currencies involved as well. Destinations on the periphery of the European Union may quote in euros, even though the final bill is settled in local currency. Destinations aren’t trying to be confusing, Massey says, it just works that way for U.S.-based planners. Turkey, for example, is a major market for European groups and European planners, so Turkish destinations typically quote in euros but settle in Turkish Lira.
“I use double columns on every international budget, one column in local currency and the second in U.S. dollars,” Bauman says. “It looks more confusing on paper, but I never have to wonder where I am on budget. And neither does my client.”PageBreak
Where to Meet
Matching location to group size can also be a problem. Mega meeting hotels are fairly common in the U.S. and in Asia, less so in Europe and the rest of the world, Bauman says. Midsized groups that are a good fit for hotel meeting space domestically may need to move to convention center space in other destinations. That raises multiple complications.
Convention center rental is typically higher than hotel space rental because there is no offset for room nights or food and beverage spending. Moving to a convention center also puts room blocks at risk.
“Moving to a convention center opens your room block to all comers,” Bauman warns. “Attrition can be much more of an issue than it is when you are meeting in the same hotel that is housing your attendees.”
Cultural Clues and Expectations
Going international also means going into new cultural territory. Even seemingly mechanical details such as hotel and meeting signage can be different. Location, direction and information signs tend to be lower-key and less obvious outside the U.S., Bauman says. Sponsorship is less pervasive than at U.S. events, which can mean fewer and smaller signs.
Working times and lead times also vary by location. What is efficient in Singapore may not correspond to notions of efficiency in Chicago, Mexico City, Paris or Sydney, Massey notes.
“Some countries work more quickly than we do, other countries just don’t deal with you until you are there in-person,” he says. “You have to adjust your expectations and your timeline accordingly. In Switzerland, if the train is scheduled to leave at 11:53, it leaves precisely at 11:53. In Italy, it might leave 30 minutes later and still be considered on time.”
How do you find out what to expect? Ask colleagues who have worked in the region before, Schuldt suggests. Ask vendors who have worked in the destination. And don’t forget to ask when colleagues and vendors last worked there.
“Just as there have been significant changes in organization and expectation domestically in the last few years, many operations around the world have changed significantly in organization and staffing in the past two or three years,” she says. “Put yourself in learning mode and become a sponge. Soak up everything there is to know about the destination, no matter how trivial it might seem. The more you know about the surroundings, the current events, the market conditions, the more successful your event will be.”PageBreak
Eyes and Ears on the Ground
Whatever you do, don’t do it alone. Bring a destination management company into the earliest planning stages and use them throughout the event.
“You can’t afford not to have a local partner,” Massey says. “Don’t even think about an international event without a DMC.”
Bauman was just as adamant about using a DMC.
“A DMC is your eyes and ears on the ground,” she says. “They know the local players better than you ever can; they know how to get things done. They know the local vendors for everything from signage to entertainment, AV, customs brokers, visa and customs expediters; how to get things done in the right order, at the right time, through the right people.”
The DMC can also help translate local expectations and business practices for U.S.-based planners and translate planner expectations for local vendors.
“DMCs are there to ensure that you get the very best from your vendors and destination,” Schuldt says. “When there are questions and problems—and you will have both—the DMC is your go-to for answers and solutions.”
Fred Gebhart is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus and a seasoned international traveler.
