Anonymous meeting planner for a corporation in New York
Do you find that security has become much more of an issue for your meetings? Do you have a security plan for your meetings, and if not, are you discussing or planning to implement one?
Security is a huge issue right now and we are in the midst of revising/strengthening a formal policy around how that will look going forward—i.e., number of security personnel per number of attendees, location, etc.—as well as emergency planning, chain of command, etc.
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?
[Our booking window has stayed the same]. We’ve consistently operated on a fairly short booking window (unfortunately). It has recently been more difficult to locate the space we need at the price we want.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
[Our meetings duration has stayed the same].
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
[Our meetings attendance has stayed 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?
Budget has remained steady but oversight has gotten stricter—i.e., we need to provide more explanation around the spend—the money is there as long as we can justify [it].
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2018?
[We expect our budget to remain the same].
Do you expect your attendance to increase or decrease in 2018?
[We expect attendance to remain 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 2018?
For a while this was a huge issue, but recently not as much. However, we continue to avoid Las Vegas and the Caribbean for the most part, due in part to perception. We have also been avoiding the Trump-branded properties to stay politically neutral.
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 haven’t done this 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?
Our meetings gradually increased the content sessions and decreased the “fun” aspects over the past 5-7 years. Attendees are now complaining about how tiring the event is—it’s a long day—and I think we will see the pendulum swing back. It’s hard to travel somewhere, sit in a dark room for nine hours of content and then go back to your guest room and answer emails all night! Everyone needs a little break ... and sometimes a fun activity can inspire creativity and provide a greater benefit in the sessions that follow.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
Most of my programs are now content-driven, with breaks for meals. A few larger groups have started to incorporate a teambuilding or fun, interactive activity into the program, which we used to do more regularly but cut back severely in the past few years
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
Depends on the group. We have offered [a CSR component] in the past, but not very recently and never consistently.
What are your thoughts on the use of drones at meetings? Have you considered this?
I believe that our security will not allow this at our events.
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
This is not an official initiative for us, although we continue to [request] green elements for the meeting where possible.
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
Attrition has definitely gotten stricter.
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?
This is huge for us. Everyone has multiple devices, and we use a mobile app, we need to ensure that everything works flawlessly. I work with the hotel and AV company, clearly outlining my (small) budget, and ask for creative solutions wherever possible. I am not above throwing myself on their mercy, crying, begging … kidding! I remain professional.
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?
They've definitely gotten stricter on the ratio of meeting space—sleeping rooms. Hotels have other customers waiting in the wings, and they know that if we don’t go to contract, they will sell the space to someone else, so my leverage has decreased as a planner.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
We use it at meetings, encouraging attendees to tweet, but I don’t use it for the planning.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago? Why?
If the economy stays strong, I am not worried about the meetings industry, but if things destabilize politically or economically, I think meetings will be hit hard.
How do you think 2018 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?
Hotel, restaurant and venue pricing continues to rise. I think that if things remain stable, budgets and attendance will as well. But as budgets tighten across the board, attendees will find it harder and harder to justify traveling to meetings—and our meeting budgets will tighten along with everything else. It also depends what industry you are working in and how strong that industry is.
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?
Millennials have a different set of meeting expectations and needs, and we’ve had to make shifts in agenda, technology and timing to accommodate that.
