Do you find that your booking window is increasing or shrinking?
We try to book, if possible, as fare in advance as possible. Rates are going up as well as concessions. However, for a fast turnaround, you can sometimes find a good deal. Empty rooms would remain empty, but also depends on season.
— Millicent Evans, President/CEO, Alliance Incentives & Meetings, LLC, Boca Raton, Fla.; Kansas City
Our booking window for planning events has continued to decrease as our business requires us to be very flexible in supporting evolving business needs – meaning shorter lead time for planning many of our events, and a lot of ‘pop-up’ events that weren’t specifically noted in the annual planning process. As the hotel market has strengthened, we have begun to find it harder to get the space we need at the places we want, as the ‘prime’ locations and dates are booked.
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
Our company has always had a pretty small booking window, so I don’t see it increasing or shrinking, but I do still get a lot of meeting requests for meetings happening within 1-2 months. I don’t usually have trouble finding space for our meetings, but I do send RFPs out to several properties at the same time.
— Tara Smith, Meeting Planner, Southwest Power Pool, Little Rock, Ark.
In the past, companies would begin looking at destination options for meetings and incentives at least a year in advance, if not more, allowing for very thorough research to be done. Now, a timeframe like that is considered a luxury, and more often than not, a much shorter timeframe is given to research, negotiate and do site inspections of potential properties. However, I do not feel that this is causing a huge impact in the ability to book venues and rooms.
— Audrey Esar, President, Audrey Esar Consulting Group, Montreal
We try to begin the process anywhere from 1 year to 9 months out. (One of our meetings, we book on a 3 year contract so we are not faced with that issue.) The only time I have booked meetings on sort time frame is if a committee meeting comes up. Thus it is hard for me to comment on the difficulty of booking rooms and meeting space with a short time frame.
— Rev. Randy Bryant, Executive Director, CMP, Florida State Association of Free Will Baptists, Vero Beach, Fla.
I find my booking window is shrinking. We are adding more and more events and some even as short as a month out! It is difficult to find space available at our preferred locations.
— Kelsey Anderson, Events and Communications Coordinator, John Wiley & Sons Publishing, MinneapolisPageBreak
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding?
Increasing — harder to book because of the contracture of Federal meetings, no food and beverage, fewer lodging rooms. Meeting duration is shrinking because of the U.S. Government regulations and downplay of meetings. If they have meetings at all, they are for shorter duration and many fewer services than even 18 months ago.
— Patricia Francoise, Senior Associate. PSA, Inc., Watertown, WI (works remotely for a company in Reston, VA)
The duration of our meetings has stayed pretty consistent over the years, with our business programs (non-incentive) typically running three nights, and 2.5 days of programming.
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
We are working very hard with all of our associations to get them booking further ahead so for the most part we are searching out options sooner than in the past. The decision making time frame from RFP distribution to contract signing is about the same. We normally try to manage this process quickly and keep it under three months.
— Katie K Riggs, CMP, Director of Client & Conference Services, CMP, Raybourn Group Int. (association management company), Indianapolis, Ind.
I would say staying the same – maybe ever so slightly increasing – by ½ day or day. Where a meeting might have previously ended on a Wed now ends mid-day Thursday. I attribute it mostly to lift. If attendees cannot get flights out on Wednesday night and have to stay over to fly out on Thursday the client figures then why not “meet” on Thursday.
— Kerri l. Wawrin, CMP, BCD M&I, Virtual Employee-Home based in Akron, Ohio, employed out of the Chicago BCD M&I Office
Expanding. Attendees are asking for more educational content and networking opportunities. Since travel is increasingly expensive, they want the most bang for their buck and are willing to stay longer.
— Kelsey Anderson, Events and Communications Coordinator, John Wiley & Sons Publishing, Minneapolis
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding?
It has increased to our previous “normal” attendance which had come down slightly following the economic issues of the past few years. Our attendees are state government personnel and it seems that for the majority of states travel restrictions are lifted. However, that often can fluctuate due to election years, etc. too.
— Beth Botsis, Director of Programs, Interstate Mining Compact Commission, Herndon, Va.
My attendance is steady. We are a national program and we move to different areas of the country. Because of this the individuals who attend are varied based upon the number of members in that region. However, we expect the attendance to increase because we will be using different marketing tools then before in an effort to reach both members and non-members.
— Nicole Malcom, Director of Operations, American Holistic Nurses Association, Topeka, Kan.PageBreak
Did you have a smaller or larger budget to work with last year?
Budgets are increasing. The per-person cost is the basis, and it has gone up from 2.5 percent to 4 percent.
— Jan Willbanks, Owner, Connections!, Menlo Park, Calif.
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2014?
We expect our budgets to remain the same in 2014 as they have been for the past few years, requiring us to get increasingly creative at managing increasing cost factors with events for the same number of people!
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
For the most part, the budgets will hold at the same level; however we have increased our room rate ceilings to accommodate the changing selling environment.
— Katie K. Riggs, CMP, Director of Client & Conference Services, CMP, Raybourn Group Int. (association management company), Indianapolis
Are there any destinations or facility types that are considered “off-limits” due to perception problems or the current economic climate?
If I could, I would steer away from any kind of casino, but the contenders for our meeting in Reno next spring were ALL casino hotels so there wasn’t really a choice about that. We’ll see if that causes any issues once registrations start coming in.
— Beth Botsis, Director of Programs, Interstate Mining Compact Commission, Herndon, Va.
Are you exploring the possibility, or have you already held, a “hybrid” meeting component?
We are exploring the possibility of recording some of the workshops to give as an option to purchase online at a later date.
— Nicole Malcom, Director of Operations, American Holistic Nurses Association, Topeka, Kan.
We do have a few meetings that we are experimenting with this. The biggest setback for us as associations is budget constraints to offer hybrid options so there has been very slow growth in this area. I do think that hybrid meetings offer a great way to allow more employees/members to benefit from the meeting content and that as an industry this trend isn’t going anywhere but forward!
— Katie K. Riggs, CMP, Director of Client & Conference Services, CMP, Raybourn Group Int. (association management company), IndianapolisPageBreak
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?
Yes. Our schedule is always jammed packed with presentations. Our members want to see and listen to what other members have researched. We do a few social activities that are optional items such as attend a Major League Baseball game, attend a minor league game, maybe take a bus tour around that city viewing old ballparks.
— Deborah Jayne, National Event Director, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Phoenix
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda?
Less activities, receptions, networking sessions are being cut even if there is an outside sponsor. Occasionally, we have a lunch if there is an outside sponsor.
— Patricia Francoise, Senior Associate. PSA, Inc., Watertown, WI (works remotely for a company in Reston, Va.)
We are consistently including activities in many of our meeting agenda and they run the gamut of options, depending on the objectives of the specific program. We have had some programs that include them in the daytime agenda, such as a hike or golf, and others that only include things after hours, such as a test drive in a RangeRover at the Penske Automuseum in Arizona. We’re also including CSR in some of our meetings, ranging from offsite events at a Ronald McDonald House to a lunchtime activity preparing packages for children in long term hospital stays.
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
With the duration of meetings being shorter, less activities are being offered, and as a result, the ones that are being maintained in the agenda often have some type of learning component in it. Evening functions encourage participants to mix with their lesser-known colleagues, and the one type of activity that often gets reduced is the amount of free time that is scheduled into the agenda. However, I do not feel that this is causing a huge impact in the ability to book venues and rooms.
—Audrey Esar, President, Audrey Esar Consulting Group, Montreal
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
We now find that it is essential to have some type of CSR included. Sometimes it is active, such as Habitat for Humanity, or just giving away food and donations to an organization, such as a local Food Bank.
— Millicent Evans, President/CEO, Alliance Incentives & Meetings, LLC, Boca Raton, Fla.; Kansas City
No, we are involved in “social responsibility” every day.
— Rev. Randy Bryant, Executive Director, CMP, Florida State Association of Free Will Baptists, Vero Beach, Fla. PageBreak
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently?
With the large chains they are strictly enforced, but smaller resort type properties they are still liberal. Hotels we work with a lot are less strict. We tend to lean toward hotels that will be less strict with attrition.
— Rick Rosen, President, TriStar Incentive Group, Plymouth, Minn.
I am finding that these clauses are being enforced more strictly within the past year.
— Tara Smith, Meeting Planner, Southwest Power Pool, Little Rock, Ark.
Yes, very much so. The standard 80 percent is increasingly more difficult to negotiate; more and more properties are initially offering 85 percent to 90 percent attrition and holding firm.
— Kerri l. Wawrin, CMP, BCD M&I, Virtual Employee-Home based in Akron, Ohio, employed out of the Chicago BCD M&I Office
Do you feel this is a buyer’s or seller’s market?
The market had been more of a buyer’s market but seems to be shifting as space is getting harder and harder to come by at the type of properties we want to be at.
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
Do you find that you had less leverage on room rates during the last year?
This depends when you draw up the contract. Far in advance and last-minute are still negotiable. However, in between they can be very tough.
— Millicent Evans, President/CEO, Alliance Incentives & Meetings, LLC, Boca Raton, Fla.; Kansas City
Because the hotels are filling up early, there is less negotiation leverage on our part, we have to look at other things other than room rate to negotiate.
— Rick Rosen, President, TriStar Incentive Group, Plymouth, Minn.
I think if you know how to negotiate you CAN get rates you and live with. I am sorry to hear, though, from executive admins that they do not get great rates....hotels pick up that the caller knows or doesn't know how to negotiate.
— Jan Willbanks, Owner, Connections!, Menlo Park, Calif.PageBreak
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes?
Yes, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Our Web content writer has been amazing posting pictures as well as editorial content to boost our membership numbers as well as our convention attendee numbers.
— Deborah Jayne, National Event Director, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Phoenix
Have you planned more meetings closer to your organization’s headquarters (“drive-to” meetings) recently?
Yes, in an effort to decrease our meetings budget for 2013 and 2014, we have encouraged more meetings to be held at our company facilities because room rental and AV is free and catering costs are much lower.
— Tara Smith, Meeting Planner, Southwest Power Pool, Little Rock, Ark.
The majority of meetings are being planned within a relatively close distance to the organization’s headquarters. In most cases, visits to the head offices are being included as part of the meeting agenda. Whether it is to see the facilities, meet colleagues or include certain types of training, there seems to be a strong desire to bring people together from all facets of a company’s organization and encourage increased unity. I think it is a great idea and inspiring to see everyone involved.
— Audrey Esar, President, Audrey Esar Consulting Group, Montreal
Yes. In 2012, we added a new SABR Analytics Conference and Case Competition. Our first year, we had 300 attendees and this year we had over 400 attendees. We hope to have well over 600 attendees in 2014. The reason for this conference is to tie in with the Spring Training that is here in Phoenix.
— Deborah Jayne, National Event Director, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Phoenix
Yes, more meetings are planned close to headquarters, so local attendees can drive. This also allows for meetings to be held at the corporate offices. This reduces the needs for some marketing materials and cuts cost on F&B.
— Julie Hiett, Meeting Coordinator, CorpTrav Management Group, Lombard, Ill.PageBreak
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago?
The economy is stagnant, in my opinion, and I expect it to depreciate due to the recent enactment of the health care law. I already know some people hit by it. The meetings industry will probably suffer as a result just as everything else will.
— Beth Botsis, Director of Programs, Interstate Mining Compact Commission, Herndon, Va.
More optimistic. There seems to be more budget money available for both meetings and incentives, and there hasn’t been any negative perception for a while. I also think internationally, people have resigned themselves to the exchange rate and know they are going to have to deal with it if they want to go internationally.
— Rick Rosen, President, TriStar Incentive Group, Plymouth, Minn.
My groups are still meeting, still meeting or exceeding their attendance goals and booking out several years. At least the smart ones are!
— Brenda Glass, Director of Sales, Site Search, Inc., New Port Richey, Fla.
Definitely optimistic! As space seems tighter that feels like a good sign that business is picking up.
— Sherri Lindenberg, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Crump Life Insurance Services, Roseland, N.J.
More optimistic! I think people are seeing the need and benefit for meeting face-to-face. We see the world more globally and see value in bringing people together.
— Kelsey Anderson, Events and Communications Coordinator, John Wiley & Sons Publishing, Minneapolis
How do you think 2014 will shape up for the meetings industry?
I see costs going up, up, up, unfortunately. That’s across the board—not just meetings. Our budget won’t decrease and out attendance is always a crap shoot these days, since most of our attendees are state government personnel.
— Beth Botsis, Director of Programs, Interstate Mining Compact Commission, Herndon, Va.
Hotel costs and airline as are increasing, mostly airlines. Some venues are willing to negotiate as there seems to be good competition as new venues are popping up in some locations.
— Rick Rosen, President, TriStar Incentive Group, Plymouth, Minn.
I think it will be a strong year for the meeting industry and costs will continue to go up and federal rates will be less likely to be accepted and negotiated by the hotels, making my job of finding viable venues more difficult. I do not anticipate a change in my budget or attendance.
— Nancy Engel, Training Coordinator, Western Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Costs will be critical to watch IN ALL areas, as they are already UP! Budgets are going up due to increase in attendance, first of all, and then costs at every corner.
— Jan Willbanks, Owner, Connections!, Menlo Park, Calif.
I think 2014 will be a slight increase over 2013. I see costs going up slightly. Occupancy rates are so high, that hotels can keep costs flat, but are still able to increase and sell rooms. I think budget and attendance is on the upswing, as companies have planned for the inflation.
— Julie Hiett, Meeting Coordinator, CorpTrav Management Group, Lombard, Ill.
