Ken Dunham, Executive Director, West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association, Folsom, 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?
Not really. We generally work ahead 10-12 months on meeting and event locations.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
Shrinking. Members are too busy to be gone more than one or two days. Our meetings are also Wednesday-Friday, and not going into weekends as people want to be home
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
Shrinking a little bit. Much depends on program, location, and just how busy the industry is.
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?
No significant change in budget.
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2017?
Slight increase as membership continues to grow.
Do you expect your attendance to increase or decrease in 2017?
Increase slightly.
Are perception problems (meeting at luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.) a great concern for your organization? Do you expect any perception problems in 2017?
Not really. We tend to rotate major meetings and convention from Central California to Southern California to the desert (Palm Springs area) each year.
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?
Not considered--yet.
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?
Members are asking for more industry-related programs at meetings so we are adding one to two programs to a day that otherwise would have included more recreation.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
Golf still continues to be popular, but there is increased interest in other outside activities.
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
No. But this industry is generally environmentally conscious as a normal business practice.
What are your thoughts on the use of drones at meetings? Have you considered this?
Not yet!
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
There are a lot of “less-than-valid” green/sustainable marketing schemes going on. This industry is very aware of what is environmentally sound as a general business practice.
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
Yes. Increasingly hotel/resorts are not waiving attrition clauses even when it is very close. We look at the cooperation of the facility in such circumstances when we are asked to book a meeting in the future.
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?
Not an issue yet.
Do you feel this is a buyer’s or seller’s market? Any observations on this to share?
Still a buyer’s market here in California.
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 generally are seeing only minor changes in room rates and meal costs.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
Very little yet.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago? Why?
Yes. There seem to be more options for smaller associations like ours that have the flexibility to utilize a variety of venues.
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?
Not much change from what we are seeing.
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?
People just do not attend conventions that way they did years ago and that is a fact of life for most associations. Social events appear to be less important and such meetings are not viewed by this industry as a vacation, or a meeting that turns into a vacation add-on.
