Barbara Hickernell, CAE, Engineering Conferences International, New York
Do you find that your booking window (the time between starting the process of researching and booking a meeting and the actual event) is increasing or shrinking? Are you finding it harder to book rooms/meeting space in a short timeframe at hotels and other meeting facilities?
Shrinking, and yes, it is harder to book the rooms and space I need.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
Has been shrinking; people cannot leave their jobs for longer periods.
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
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?
About the same.
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2017?
Expect it will be about the same.
Are perception problems (meeting at luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.) a great concern for your organization? Do you expect any perception problems in 2017?
Definitely! Need to be careful of beach properties, five-star, “resort” and the like.
Are you exploring the possibility, or have you already held, a “hybrid” meeting (meetings that combine live events with an Internet/digital component? If so, what are your observations?
No, right now we are still face to face.
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 have always been intense in our technical sessions.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
Less free time.
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
Not really.
What are your thoughts on the use of drones at meetings? Have you considered this?
Not appropriate for our conferences.
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
Of course.
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
More strictly and this is a problem for us as we guestimate the number of participants when we sign a contract.
How important is Internet bandwidth to your programs (i.e., Wi-Fi), and do you think hotels are being more or less flexible with their Internet bandwidth pricing? Any tips to share with your fellow planners to get free or discounted Wi-Fi for your meetings?
HUGE! Why is it that I can get free wireless of good quality in Europe and need to pay big in the U.S.
Do you feel this is a buyer’s or seller’s market? Any observations on this to share?
For one on a budget, it is always a seller’s market.
Do you find that you had less leverage on room rates during the last year? What are hotels and facilities telling you when you negotiate?
About the same.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
Not really in a systematic way.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago? Why?
Less optimistic since the election, as I believe there will be fewer U.S. government grants to help assist participants at our technical conferences.
How do you think 2017 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? Why?
Food is jumping sky-high. I don’t see attendance increasing because the conference costs are increasing.
