“Even in the face of economic uncertainty, meeting industry stakeholders appear to be cautiously optimistic as they report an increase in services and property demand from clients,” said Issa Jouaneh, vice president and general manager, American Express Meetings and Events. “We hope that the trends and forecast report we created helps meeting professionals and executives navigate this landscape to strategically direct and make effective use of their meeting investment.”

With increased demand comes higher costs for travel and meetings, continuing the trend for companies and organizations seeking value in site selection and planning. Planners and hoteliers worldwide said companies will increase overall meeting budgets, but expect spending for individual meetings to decrease or stay flat compared to 2011. Because of limited budgets per meeting, respondents expect next year’s meetings to be shorter, smaller and more frequent, closer to home, more focused on content and more eco-friendly. A trend away from meeting at luxury properties is expected to continue except in Asia Pacific and Latin America regions.

Read more about trends for international meetings in “All Abroad” in the December issue of Rejuvenate magazine.

We introduced Jeff Shinabarger to readers in the last issue as one of our under 40 influencers. The young (31) founder of Plywood People, an Atlanta nonprofit that organizes conferences around social issues, and former creative director of the Catalyst conferences, has run 23 events so far and continues to come up with new initiatives. When we talked with him for our young leaders issue, he had plenty to say about how events should be organized. We decided we had to include some of his comments here.

Yeah, related to event planning, I believe everything is going toward more collaboration and more sustainable practices. It’s why TEDx is so popular…because of its collaborative nature and local learning.

Now, the question is with all the opportunities there are, how do you choose what to do? It’s kind of an oversaturated market right now; there are a lot of events. If you’re going to do a new event, there has to be a reason. Before you try to create something new, join with others.

The hardest thing in the world is to get people to show up. With events, a lot of people try to over hype things. I would rather err on the side of under-promising and over-delivering—and add surprise from the backside.

The greatest limitation is me…my time. The more I can get involved in with others, the more I can help them make it happen. Some of the projects we’ve begun can get bigger. Ten years from now there will be 20 to 30 issues we’ve resolved with others [Plywood People’s slogan is “We will be known by the problems we solve.”]

How do you focus on something in your local community? I see more and more localization of those processes [giveback events and opportunities associated with conferences]. Global charity water projects will come back to localized solutions.

My favorite quote is “Influence is gained by doing something.” That’s what we’re looking for at these conferences.

< Return to The Challenge of Change

What would I kick to the curb and flush down the toilet? I have to be honest, there are so many things I would change it took me the better part of a week to come up with an answer, but I looked into the abyss and came up with one thing that we all suffer from in the meetings industry. The one thing that holds us back as a community. The one thing we must change. Fear. As an industry, we need to abandon our fear of anything and everything.

Fear is paralyzing. Fear is overwhelming and fear has brought down civilizations and I fear (pun intended) that fear is slowly eating away at our industry and making our skills and services nothing more than a commodity that can be done by a trained monkey or an online “meeting planning program.”

Our services used to be special; our services used to be desired and considered essential. However, through our fear of losing that position, we have painted ourselves into a corner.

Our fear takes many shapes. We are afraid of budgets. We are afraid of what the boss thinks. We are afraid of the attendee reaction and we are afraid of our own shadows. Because of this, we are producing meetings that are the same year after year after year because we will only do what has worked in the past. We will only do what is the tried and true. We will no longer take risks and make stakeholders and attendees understand why our talents are necessary.

There is no desire to shake things up because we make a mistake, choose something that one person does not like or have a session that is a bomb. The heavens will tumble if we have one attendee who is unhappy; we fail to realize that is actually what we need to be doing.

Instead of recognizing that it is fear holding us back as an industry, we make excuses. We cannot try Pecha Kucha for our session because our speakers are not prepared for that. We cannot engage through social media—our attendees are not ready for that. We cannot have sponsored lanyards; it would upset the other sponsors. We cannot go from four days to three because it has always been four and it would confuse the attendees. These are all excuses that I hear from the meetings and events community everyday. The true reason is fear; fear of change.

Meeting and event planners need to abandon fear and let go. We, as an industry, need to take the time to learn and grow and not make excuses. Yes, you can have a hybrid event and stream your sessions; technology like WordPress and Livestream has made it affordable and doable so the only reason not too is fear. You are afraid of failing.

You can take the time to learn social media because your attendees are on all of those platforms. The excuse that “our attendees do not do that kind of thing” is a fear reaction. If we abandon fear, we open ourselves to trying new session styles, trying new venues, new programs and new platforms. We open ourselves to running hybrid events and online campaigns. We can be special again. We can be the driving force in face-to-face interaction instead of backseat drivers letting fear rule the road.

References to meeting formats can be found here.

< Return to The Challenge of Change

Confession: A Roman Catholic App—Endorsed by the U.S. Bishops, the app allows users to input their age, sex and vocation into a password protected account and are then guided through the Rite of Penance. Available on iPhone and iPad for 99 cents.

Call on Faith—The video-based app has inspirational stories, sermons, devotionals and more from a wide variety of channels including United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church and Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters. Available on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry for 99 cents.

YouVersion—The most downloaded Bible app has 41 translations in 22 languages, 50 reading plans, and allows users to take notes in the application, read commentaries and contribute to community. Free on iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm.

Lanyrd Launch

TechCrunch calls it an IMDB for conferences. Lanyrd, a Twitter-fueled app for conferences, gathers lists on speakers, attendees and users following events and collects them in one place, linking to the conference’s web page. Twitter users can log in to the site or app with their Twitter accounts and see what conferences the people they’re following are involved in. It has other capabilities, too, such as the ability to save the event to iCal or Outlook. You can also view your own conference page, which tracks events you’ve been to and speakers you’ve heard. Lanyrd aims to get you off the computer to meet the people you follow on Twitter at events, says co-founder Natalie Downe.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

First came restaurants, then retail stores. Now the pop-up trend has hit the travel market. In Geneva, airport officials created a mobile passenger terminal to deal with its heavy influx of travelers during the winter skiing season. The tent-style terminal, complete with check-in desks and self-serve kiosks, was built by an Austrian company with these scenarios in mind. “The terminal can be used not only to handle surges of passengers, but also to back up airports hit by natural disasters and when major sports events are held in a catchment area,” said the development company’s Managing Director Thomas Melcher. The pop-up terminal stayed up throughout the winter and will return later during expansion work.

Information Download

Conferences are a constant stream of information for attendees bouncing from session to general session to networking. Alternative layouts and interactive sessions help attendees process information, but studies show one of the best ways to absorb information is downtime. Tony Schwartz, author of “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working,” wrote in the Harvard Business Review that short, afternoon naps can improve performance. A NASA study shows that pilots who take a 30-minute nap on long-haul flights experience a 16 percent improvement in reaction time. Experient incorporated an afternoon naptime into its e4 Conference this past year, and Drive11, a conference for church leaders hosted by North Point Community Church in Alpharetta., Ga., created Rest Stops for groups between sessions. Groups of 10 or more who registered early for the March conference could win a break room complete with drinks, snacks and couches to catch up on sleep—or e-mail and Twitter.

2011 Meeting Projections

Benchmark Hospitality International, which operates 30 hotels, conference centers and resorts, released its annual list of meeting trends.

1. Business travel is up, though travelers are still rate-conscious and value-focused.
2. Planners appreciate all-inclusive packages, but they still want to be able to customize them.
3. Occupancy is rising and hotel rates are staying consistent with last year’s.
4. More companies and organizations are booking meetings, though it’s still in shorter windows. Meetings are increasing in quantity, but not necessarily size.
5. LinkedIn and YouTube are leading the pack in social media, proving to be more beneficial than Facebook and Twitter.
6. When asked between being green or providing maximum cost savings, meeting planners still lean toward cutting costs.
7. Demand for teambuilding is returning, and the focus is on clever ideas such as culinary events or setting up mock reality-TV programs.
8. Recreation and entertainment are creeping back into meetings. Interest in theme parties, comedians and think tanks is growing.
9. The big players are back. Insurance, financial, consulting, high tech, healthcare and education organizations are all planning more meetings this year.
10. To learn more about locations, destinations and individual properties, planners are pulling up a web browser to search websites and read online magazines.

TRENDS: “When I first got here [in 2007], donuts were all the rage. It’s still a trend, but not all over the place like cupcakes that you see right now. Cake lollipops are popular, and I do a lot of ice cream—homemade ice cream bars. For a wedding trend, gourmet popsicles in between the ceremony and reception are getting popular with flavors like lemon verbena, fresh watermelon and raspberry champagne.”

PREPARING FOR GROUPS: “I like those kind of challenges. I see it as, ‘Can I conquer it?’ I work with the flavors they’re looking for, which I hope is always chocolate. It’s my favorite. Right now, I’m doing a plate-up for 100 people—all they said they wanted was chocolate, so they’re getting chocolate. I’m doing a pave with thin layer of chocolate roulade (or sponge cake), milk chocolate caramel ganache, praline mousse, chocolate glaze…and fresh berries.”

GETTING CREATIVE: “I’m going through my funnel cake stage, or my kid stage right now. We also make our own breads here, so I have a ‘grilled cheese,’ or chocolate cherry bread filled with mascarpone cheese, grilled, and served with a vanilla milkshake.”

ADVICE: “We like a lot of details. If [catering mangers] can get the feel of what the client is really looking for, we can give them something great. I think that catering managers needs to go out and eat more. Go to gourmet restaurants and explore and see what’s out there so their taste buds are just as experienced as the chefs they are working with.”

BEING ON TV: “I was gone for 32 weeks…but it was a great experience. I walked away with wonderful friends and met talented pastry chefs. I don’t think we got to showcase our talents as much as we wanted to. My challenge was my memory. You couldn’t use any of your recipes. The clock starts and you panic and you just figure it out. You do what you have to do to make it work.”

LAST MEAL: “In every stage of the meal, I’d have at least a little chocolate.”

> Return to “Top Chefs”

1. Business is on the move. Business travel is up, though travelers are still rate-conscious and value-focused.

2. Planners want choice. Planners appreciate all-inclusive packages, but they still want to be able to customize them.

3. Occupancy is rising. Hotels are still trying to grow occupancy while maintaining fair rates, comparable to last year. To win business, properties are negotiating added-value options, such as complimentary Internet, attrition flexibility and more.

4. The pace is positive. More companies and organizations are booking meetings, though it’s still in shorter windows. Meetings are increasing in quantity, but not necessarily size.

5. LinkedIn and YouTube are leading the pack. Social media is important in meeting planning, but it seems that LinkedIn and YouTube are proving to be most beneficial for groups rather than Facebook and Twitter.

6. Low cost is better than low waste. When asked between being green or providing maximum cost savings, meeting planners still lean toward cutting costs.

7. Teambuilding is back. Demand for teambuilding returns, and the focus is on clever ideas such as culinary events or setting up mock reality-TV programs.

8. It’s OK to have fun. Recreation and entertainment are creeping back into meetings. Interest in theme parties, comedians and think thanks is growing.

9. The big players are back. Insurance, financial, consulting, high tech, healthcare and education organizations are all planning more meetings this year.

10. Planners know how to search. To learn more about locations, destinations and individual properties, planners are pulling up a web browser to search websites and read online magazines. Reaching planners on the web and mobile devices is becoming more important for hotel properties.

2011. Sounds fresh, doesn’t it? Suddenly, we have faith, once again, that a new year brings new opportunities. We go on with recommitment and excitement, pushing away the wariness and burdens of the used-up year. It’s hard to remember the start of 2010, let alone the beginning of the last decade.

In 2000, we collectively breathed a sign of relief that Y2K didn’t result in a global technological crash as predicted, but the pace of change made us gasp. The Internet was growing faster than our capacity to absorb it. As the economy picked up at the end of 2003, the Web became more than an information vehicle; it was now a means of reaching customers and attaining new revenue streams. In 2008 and 2009, the meetings and travel industry seemed to come to maturity as it weathered its own perfect storm, a combination of the economic downturn, bad press and air travel complications. The social media craze became a universal phenomenon, opening more and more channels to reach attendees.

Innovation continues to be the word of the moment. What’s ahead? More.

Here’s a brief look at what the pundits and surveys predict.

•Mobile devices will be used more and more to reach and engage audiences before, during and after meetings. Mobile apps will be customized for individual events and programs in order to communicate with attendees, especially to deliver time-sensitive information like changes in itinerary and other announcements, and to encourage audience interaction and track audience response.

•Social media tools and networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will become an increasingly important component of any meeting plan. Trend forecasters say 2011 will bring greater use of technology to connect clients and meeting managers during the planning stages of events as well as to engage attendees year-round.

•Computer kiosks that provide meeting-goers the opportunity to Tweet during events and Twitter boards that stream live updates also will continue to grow in popularity (at least until digital tablets take over). The demand for charging stations goes along with this trend.

•Comprehensive registration tracking and reporting will become more prevalent through the use of barcode scanning and RFID, and may soon include more customized audience tracking tools.

•Green meetings are coming into full bloom with demands that go beyond LEED-certified facilities and recyclable products to include locally sourced food, water refill stations and reusable plants for centerpieces in place of cut flowers.

•Big: Hotels, casinos and convention centers are growing. Besides getting faster, the world of meetings is getting bigger, at least the arenas are. From The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas to the Palace of Versailles, slated to become a grand hotel by 2012, the venue possibilities are over the top.

•Pink. That’s the new color of 2011—more specifically Honeysuckle, according to Pantone Color Institute. Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman says, “In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits.” The uplifting hue is described as a dynamic reddish pink. Imagine the possibilities.

We’ve got lots of ideas as well as story ideas lined up for 2011, but we want to hear yours as well. Please call, e-mail and friend us on Facebook, and let us know what you’re doing that’s new and exciting this year. You’ll also find more trends and live stories about how other planners are using them in our upcoming issues.

Happy New Year,

Christine Born

Editorial Director

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.”