Many government meeting planners and suppliers who serve them sit in some of the industry’s hottest seats of responsibility, because they spend and collect public monies. They also function under an expanding array of complex agency rules and regulations.
Add in the issues that keep most any industry professionals up at night these days—worldwide terror attacks, work strikes, and severe weather events—and you have a pot that sometimes seems to be boiling over.
Because government meetings professionals often live routinely with higher forms of accountability, other professionals in the industry can benefit from following their meetings’ MO’s, especially when it comes to risk management and financial responsibility.
Recalling the $16 Muffin
No F&B in meetings contracts for the Department of Justice events is one fallout from the 2011 “muffin gate” crisis that Elizabeth C. Perrin, chief solution officer for Federal Hospitality Solutions, says was actually an accounting error from a supplier who didn’t know how to bill the government. Media reported that government attendees were enjoying $16 muffins at a conference.
Perrin, who trains hoteliers in how to contract and service government meetings, says there is a lingering problem with some suppliers who dedicate the same sales staff to government meetings who are talking to brides and charity groups about their events.
“It’s absolutely imperative that hoteliers are properly set up to bid on government business,” Perrin says. “Unfortunately, most hotels and planners are not trained to do federal contracting. I tell people if they are trained to follow federal acquisitions regulations and travel regulations, they’re likely covered elsewhere, like state and local governments follow federal rules.”
Leslie Thornton, vice president with SmithBucklin in Washington, D.C., agrees with Perrin that suppliers who want to operate in the government sector need to train staffs to service events beyond the sales process. Thornton, who has been working with government meetings for over 40 years, says that having strong working relationships among planners, suppliers and government contracting officers is in everyone’s best interest. In a good scenario, there is trust on all sides so that when an abnormal situation arises, things go smoother, whether it’s a budgeting issue or protection of attendees in a crisis situation.
“When you are spending public money, it makes you more responsible for attendees’ welfare,” Thornton explains. “If you have a situation like we did a few years back when volcanic ash shut down air travel over about 20 countries, we had 45 people in Tanzania for a conference. We had to help them with agency approvals for items like extra per diems for up to a six-day travel delay. It really got down to the strength of our relationship with the agency, because they knew we were acting in their best interest. In a similar situation, corporate attendees would have been more independent with making their own arrangements.”
Risk Calculation
Crises come in all types and sizes, warns Bonnie Wallsh, CMP, CMM, chief strategist at Bonnie Wallsh Associates, a professional meetings management, training and consulting firm. Being prepared is not just about looking after attendees’ welfare during a conference. It might get down to troublesome optics.
“In these days of portable electronic devices and social media exposure, everyone has a camera on them,” Wallsh says, “and we as meeting planners must be very, very careful because perception is reality. You can be the best negotiator and get a great rate, but putting a government conference in a five-star hotel or resort can give people a wrong idea. They won’t drill down on what rate you paid. So whether it’s shrimp and lobster on the buffet, or your choice of entertainment, be aware that people don’t bother with the details. All they see is that your event had people enjoying a crustacean menu, some spa treatments or after-hours drinks and entertainment.”
Both Wallsh and Thornton advise their planner and supplier peers to have a risk management plan in place, one that provides a starting point for tweaking specific event needs. Such a plan could cover many scenarios, from food poisoning for hundreds and lockdown events to a heart attack that fells the general session speaker.
“Our company has a 49-page template crisis management plan that we integrate with venues and clients that we fine-tune for every meeting,” Thornton says. “We have a conversation at the front end of the planning with stakeholders about emergency situations that could arise and how they could affect attendance, travel and other issues.”
Such plans—especially for government meetings—can’t be static, and should be reviewed at regular intervals, Wallsh advises. This turns on a range of reasons, including the fact that official rules and regulations are always changing.
“Congress and government people everywhere have people who watch budgets very closely for waste so they can be heroes to their constituents,” she says. “Meetings are often a target, so just make sure you don’t get somebody’s attention. Justify every cost you incur so that you don’t see a front page story about your oversight the morning after.”
Oversight is THE issue, she contends, so assume that someone might be looking over your shoulder and be sure everything—even tipping—is above board and written down, Wallsh says. “You never want to leave yourself open for someone to think you are taking something for yourself.
“People who work in every meetings sector need a risk management plan,” Wallsh continues, who speaks on the subject at industry events. “Think about the worst that can happen, and then lay out action items like how you will communicate with clients, attendees and media. “
Wallsh also believes the success of the industry still relies on good working relationships among knowledgeable planners and suppliers, though the days of doing business on words and handshakes is no longer sufficient.
“Most surely for government meetings, but for others as well, everything these days needs to be in writing,” she says.
