Meetings and conventions are “bordellos for the brain,” according to
Wall Street Journal columnist Holly Finn, who called conferences “boondoggles” in a
March 8 column that derides the meetings industry as delivering few — if any — real business benefits.
In her column, titled “Bordellos for the Brain: The Ups and (Mostly) Downs of Conference Mania,” Finn claims that the principal benefit of meetings and conventions is escapism — allowing attendees to break free from the monotony of their daily lives.
“Travel agents, convention centers and airlines love a conference,” Finn writes. “But what are we buying when we pay for a ticket? We seem to be seeking, from ‘ideas’ conferences in particular, something that we used to get at home: mental stimulation. Only now, we feel we have to tiptoe away from our daily lives to find it.”
According to Finn, meetings are “pop-up [social] clubs” that “cater to whatever you fancy” in “exotic locales” and “lavish spaces.”
“The rise of conference culture obviously reflects our desire to connect physically in an increasingly virtual world,” Finn continues. “And who doesn’t love a life-affirming keynote. But beyond the immediate relief from the daily grind and the pleasure of being lulled by a talk about the healing powers of lint, does anything result from all this organized fun, mostly attended on work time? Or are conferences truly boondoggles, a kind of scheduled serendipity — just a way to reassure ourselves we’re not alone?”
Although she acknowledges the value of conferences for first-time attendees, who benefit from having a new experience, she argues against repeat attendance, claiming that return attendees are there for parties, not productivity.
“What we’re really looking for when we seek out a mental bordello is the chance to be new and stupid,” Finn concludes. “That’s why everyone should be allowed to go to the great conferences once — and no one twice.”
Meetings Industry Responds
In a written response to Finn’s column, Convention Industry Council CEO Karen Kotowski takes issue with the claim that meetings are all play and no work.
“People attend conferences for two primary reasons — to learn and to network,” Kotowski says. “Seasoned professionals stay current in their ever-changing marketplaces and nurture longstanding business relationships, both of which are essential for success and growth.”
According to Kotowski, meetings are “blueprints,” not “bordellos.” She concludes: “The real conference ‘take-away’ is not, as Ms. Finn suggests, that people go to meetings to seek a ‘mental bordello,’ rather, they are seeking a blueprint — concrete ways to stay current in their industries and indispensable in their jobs so that they can plan for their and their company’s futures. Our industry facilitates meetings where the exchange of ideas lead to real world solutions.”