Putting trends to work

Find the positives in economic concerns, the electronic culture, and going green.

By Christine Born

Besides resolutions, the start of a new year means endless predictions, most of which were rather dark and gloomy this January with economies around the world going downhill. Fortunately, we talk meetings here, and while we know faith-based planners have to be mindful of budgets and have serious issues to discuss at their conferences, there’s still plenty of joy to be found in putting together a creative, inspiring program.

Listening to the speakers at the 2008 Rejuvenate Marketplace last November revealed much of what planners can expect in the future—more technology, multigenerational challenges, tighter budgets, and travel hassles.

In general, most planners and meeting suppliers agree that we face a volatile economic environment that will continue at least until the end of this year and into 2010. With budgets tightening, meeting planners must be resourceful about how to attract their prospective attendees. Already challenged by changing demographics, more planners are turning to electronic invitations, event websites, and search engine marketing. Travel-savvy attendees, used to making flight and hotel reservations online, also expect to be able to register for an event electronically. Easy and accessible registration is an important key to fulfilling attendance goals.

Going green is an increasingly important strategy for reducing the cost of producing an event. Online registration forms, document downloads, e-mailed bar-coded receipts that can be printed and presented at the door, and post-conference electronic surveys all save paper, costs, and time. The trend not only helps the environment, it appeals to attendees, especially younger groups.

Nobody knows exactly what’s ahead for the rest of 2009, but everyone seems to agree that cost savings, value, flexibility, and innovation will be the major components of meetings success. Those factors were identified in FutureWatch 2009, a survey of the meetings and event industry released at the beginning of February by Meeting Professionals International and American Express.

Meeting and event budgets are expected to fall by 6 percent this year, based on responses from the survey of 2,740 meeting professionals. Respondents anticipated a 9 percent decrease in the number of meetings their organizations would hold in 2009. Meeting attendance is expected to decline by 5 percent in the U.S.

Planners and suppliers responding to the survey agreed that an increase in creativity and innovation is increasingly important this year as volume drops. An increase in the use of technology to access meetings and content remotely was cited as one way planners expected to lower overall costs; the technology that more professionals plan to use is “on-
site” related.

Face-to-face meetings are still considered to have the highest ROI of all marketing tools, with the satisfaction of the meeting attendees being the primary measure of ROI.

So, what does this mean to you and what can you do when you are being asked to scale-back your group’s meeting but still deliver a memorable event? Here are some trends and ideas to help you reduce costs and kick-start your creative thinking—from the variety of special offers floating around to concepts that will get you thinking.

Savings and Flexibility

The relationship between planners and suppliers has become a buyer’s market, where planners can expect to negotiate more generous concessions, incentives, rates, and other contract provisions.

New deals are popping up everywhere; for example, both Wyndham and Omni Hotels recently unveiled zero attrition programs for new contracts booked and consumed in 2009. “In today’s economic climate, many organizations are uncertain of their meeting attendance, driving Omni to develop a program with more flexibility than the industry norm,” says Tom Faust, vice president of sales for Omni Hotels.

Hotels are also offering improved service and special treatment, such as free upgrades to suites or club floors.
Convention and visitors bureaus have gotten more aggressive in an effort to shore up business for their cities, offering incentives from cash (Louisville CVB) to a free food and beverage function (Fort Worth CVB). Others are extending services, such as airport greetings, free site visits, and an event for the organization’s stakeholders. “I’ll get the mayor or governor if that’s what we need [to get your business],” says Ann Clemons, director of multicultural sales for the Montgomery CVB.

Trends that are expected to continue are an increased use of airport hotels, a small decline for city hotels, and a sharper drop for meetings in resort hotels, reflecting a preference for shorter meetings with lower costs, more straightforward logistics, and fewer perks and amenities.

With hotels hungry for business, planners who have the flexibility to shop around for dates will have more negotiating power. Planners also report that they are shortening programs by a day, and cutting back on speakers to meet budgets.
Current predictions are that in 2010 they’ll be a swing back to a seller’s market, at least in the hotel sector. The lending crunch has curtailed development, meaning there will be fewer hotel rooms and less availability if travel picks up. So, while you’re negotiating with the host city, hotel, and local vendors, you might want to consider taking advantage of your buying power by booking your next event there also.

The reduction in the number of available flights is expected to reshape the way meetings are planned, too, according to FutureWatch. Arrival and departure windows will be extended, and air travel will be booked further ahead whenever possible. Planners will use destinations with the most frequent, reliable air service, and locate meetings with drive times in mind.

Customization

Another buzzword is customization. Develop customized sponsorship deals and VIP services. These marketing tools can boost income from your events and create more interest and excitement. They require more work on the front end, since you need to spend more time identifying the customer’s needs and tailoring a package for them, but they pay off in the long run.

Innovation

Social networking is proving itself on the business front. You can meet and communicate with attendees and suppliers on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can build your presence and present ideas for your event by starting a blog, and you can track of what attendees are saying about your meeting. CVBs have caught on and are posting their special offers on Twitter.

Creativity

Planners at MPI’s MeetDifferent conference in Atlanta February 7-10 said frugality is the biggest trend of this economy. After years of being asked to do more with less, they say they are now being asked to do the same for even less. The tips they offered reflect the creative side of the business:

• Cut breakfast and do a more lavish dinner. Or cancel lunch and encourage attendees to experience the community or the venue’s on-site restaurants. One planner suggested talking to the behind-the-scenes hotel staff for some great, cheap eating spots. She arranged an impromptu lunch outdoors with the help of a taco-cart vendor who had been recommended by the housekeeping staff.

• If the property has a specialty coffee shop, cut out the coffee during the morning break, especially if you’re serving a continental breakfast before the program starts.

• Downsize meals. Serve lunch portions for dinner. Everyone is cutting back and calorie conscious these days anyway.

• Cut pastries and snacks in half to make them go further and cut down on waste. Carb-conscious attendees will do it anyway. At one recent event, the showy, giant cookies were broken into halves and quarters by attendees, leaving an unappetizing mess.

• Giorgi Di Lemis, vice president of corporate F&B for Gaylord Hotels, suggests planners move away from lengthy meals to more action stations, where attendees can mingle and sample. At a recent event, Gaylord Hotels showcased regional samplings from its four resorts with fried alligator sliders, portobello mushroom sliders, crab sliders, and a Kobe beef burger.

• Comfort food continues to be a crowd pleaser—creamy mac and cheese and local fare, like fried green tomatoes or Boston baked beans with brown bread.

• Chefs are moving from primary cuts to secondary cuts, creating new twists on forgotten recipes—shanks, presented with fresh herbs and root vegetables. Bold flavors at a lower cost are a winning combination.

• Use themes to stretch your meeting budget, incorporating inexpensive props and decorations. One example: Plastic mirrors were placed in envelopes and taped to the underside of chair seats as a surprise gift to reinforce the event’s message — “Look at Yourself First.” Another idea: Inexpensive, bright fabric was stretched over two chairs around the meeting room, creating a colorful atmosphere and delivering the meeting’s message — “Working Together to Stretch Budgets” — as soon as attendees entered.

• Use your theme at the table, too, says creative consultant Dianne Devitt. She works with the caterer or chef to put together a color-coordinate meal that is showy and memorable, yet inexpensive. For breakfast for a meeting of women, she suggests raspberry oatmeal, strawberry pancakes, and cranberry yogurt parfaits.

• Create multiuse settings. Instead of going to three different venues for meals or events, create three different experiences using the same room. Design the room for breakfast, turn it over for lunch, and again for dinner. Inexpensive lighting and props can create dramatic effects. If you’re meeting in a hotel, ask about plants, linens, and other items the hotel will let you use at no charge.

• Have fun again. Instead of a sit-down dinner, have a buffet dinner with games. One planner invited attendees to create their own “haute dogs,” providing a selection from turkey dogs to Polish sausages, with an array of toppings.

More than one seminar presenter at the MeetDifferent conference — talking about how planners can respond to current challenges when creating their meetings — ended their session with the following quote from poet Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”