Colleen Goodin, Membership Director, Events Manager, Publications Editor
National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), Oakland, Calif.
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?
We try to book our annual convention five to six years out, our smaller seminars one to two years out, our board meetings six months out. It’s always a little more challenging to negotiate a favorable contract for us when the timeline is shorter.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
They’re the same.
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
Shrinking. Could be many factors: cost, location, time away from their office they can’t afford.
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?
Same budgets
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2017?
Stay the same.
Do you expect your attendance to increase or decrease in 2017?
Fingers crossed–increase!
Are perception problems (meeting at luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.) a great concern for your organization? Do you expect any perception problems in 2017?
We can never please everyone. Our evaluations always say: the best hotel ever!; and the worst hotel!
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?
We’ve stopped printing our convention and seminar manuals and only offer them online for download.
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?
No; sessions remain the same.
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
We did one time in New Orleans. We worked with Habitat for Humanity.
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
We appreciate when a venue offers, but it doesn’t make or break a contract negotiation.
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
More! And we’re finding that hotels will not allow guests who use their points to be counted in our room block.
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?
We always ask for comp’d Wi-Fi in the meeting space when negotiating our contracts. For our smaller events, we’ll get it but not for our convention. We usually get a discount. It’s a money maker they don’t want to give up.
Do you feel this is a buyer’s or seller’s market? Any observations on this to share?
Sellers.
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?
We always ask for a lower room rate and/or 50 percent off staff rooms--it’s getting harder. They just tell us what they’re going to charge.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
I don’t personally. NELA uses Facebook and Twitter minimally.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago? Why?
About the same.
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?
Costs on the rise. We’re budgeting for an increase.
What other trends are you seeing in the meetings world, such as changing attendee demographics (i.e., Millennials), or any other trends that are impacting your programs?
We get a good mix of young and old. Although more and more Baby Boomers are starting to retire and we need to “replace” them with the next generation.
