Not that you have to be told this, but it sure is an interesting time for the economy, and for meetings. Consider this: Corporate spending on employee training declined in both 2002 and 2003, says Training magazine; this marks the first time since 1982 that such expenditures dropped two years in row. On the other hand, 2004 seems sure to break that pattern. Evidence that a recovery is coming not only in training meetings, but also in sales and other strategy-related corporate gatherings, comes from the observations of executives who run conference centers around the country.
"We're seeing an real uptick in programs from our traditional clients -- banking, accounting, brokerage, and pharmaceutical firms," says Jeff Weggeman, VP sales, North America, for Dolce International in Montvale, NJ. "Meetings are being put on the books farther out this year than last year, as companies have become more comfortable with their financial situations. The window for lead times is lengthening."
Interestingly, the business that sustained many conference centers over the past three years came from homeland-
security-related meetings, "not just for government groups but also for those companies that have government contracts in that area, including several security and technology firms," says Weggeman, who believes that such events will continue and further boost usage of conference centers this year. What's more, "Asian and Eastern European divisions of big companies are sending people over here for meetings, so our attendee demographic is changing," he says. "As firms are getting more global, people are flying here to meet with senior leadership that's based in the United States."
Another bit of good news: Long-downtrodden industries such as telecommunications and high-tech are investing in employee training again. Mike Fahner, VP of sales and marketing for ARAMARK Harrison Lodging in Philadelphia, says that "the telecom guys have been invisible for three solid years, but at the moment a few are talking with our national reps about commencing an extended series of programming in the next few months. And a software firm just had an international meeting with us for first time since 2001. We're happy to see those back on the table."
Jody Wallace, VP of sales and marketing for EMC Venues, a consortium of nearly 60 independently managed centers, says her clients realize that at this point in the economy, the opportunity cost of not holding meetings is far more than the actual cost of meeting. "The training sessions, from entry-level to executive, are really coming fast. We're hearing, 'We've postponed training and sales events for the past two years, and we just can't afford not to get together anymore.' We're seeing plenty of two-week-long sessions, and staggered waves of people from one company coming in over the course of several weeks." And for morale-boosting sales meetings, Wallace finds that some firms are housing senior executives at the host center for several weeks at a time while employees from different regions come through in succession, creating the ability for personal contact that's not possible at a global sales meeting while keeping down costs.
But as promising as these reports sound, conference center executives realize that both the planning and the execution of today's meetings are different than those held prior to 2001, when budgets were large and flexible. Here are the areas where planner needs have changed, and how centers are responding.
Complete Meeting Package (CMP) Negotiation
Weggeman says that "we have an educational program and budget models ready to help planners compare the benefits of the CMP to traditional a la carte pricing by hotels." And in simpler times, the per-person pricing at conference centers eased the minds of even the most novice planners. But as times changed, some features used by groups with increasing frequency, particularly technology, are still billed over and above the CMP, irking planners.
Barbara Cummins, senior meeting planner for accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, in Florham Park, NJ, brings several dozen meetings each year to conference centers. She says, "I understand the investment properties have had to make to keep up with changing technology, and I don't mind paying for it. But I want cost certainty up front. I don't want to hear that it's an additional $600 per day for an LCD projector or for wireless Internet access throughout the property, on top of my CMP. Build these things into the per-person rate; I just don't want to see it."
EMC's Wallace adds that "planners in focus groups are saying they don't want to be nickel-and-dimed. They want a CMP based on their specific needs, something that's fair and adds value -- not an off-the-shelf package that doesn't incorporate the specific needs of their meetings." So these days, even nontechnological elements such as business-center services, shipping, airport shuttles, and even bottled water in meeting rooms are often made part of the CMP.
In fact, centers have gone so far as to make a billing accommodation for the occasional off-site dining event. Jack Schmidt, VP of sales and marketing for Benchmark Hospitality, in The Woodlands, TX, says, "Just about every group staying three or more nights goes off site for at least one dinner. We've taken the position that it is our responsibility to assist groups with things they do both on site and off site. So however an off-site meal translates back to the bill -- we can handle the transaction with a local restaurant, give the group a master-account credit for one dinner, et cetera -- we want to make it streamlined."
Finally, one negotiating element that planners can use to squeeze a bit more into their CMP is date patterns. "We are sensitive to arrival and departure patterns, and as business picks up that will be even more important," says Weggeman. "Off-pattern events leave us with free nights during the week that we must fill with one-night programs, and that's tough. But if I can persuade a planner to move an event's dates up or back a day to prevent that, we'll add a reception or a teambuilding activity into the package at no charge, to create a win-win situation."
Teambuilding Programs
Although not common enough to merit inclusion into most conference centers' CMP packages, bonding and camaraderie activities are making a comeback. "The recent past saw everyone playing defense with their dollars, and their teams have been communicating via phone and e-mail for too long," says Weggeman. "People now realize they need to get reacquainted with one another again."
For instance, in January, Weggeman had a 100-person group that booked the outdoor ropes course for two days at a Dolce property in Dallas. On the other hand, it's the less adventurous offerings that are most common at this point. Dolce also has a two-hour program in which groups break up into teams to compete at building a model helicopter from an incomplete set of direction, forcing discussion and decision-making in a shortened time frame. "Planners rely on us to come up with ideas for the two- or three-hour programs," says Weggeman.
ARAMARK's Fahner adds that "it's not back to whitewater rafting yet, but there are physical activities we offer such as the pit-crew competition, where we bring a real race car to the property's porte cochere, and attendees in overalls rush out to change the tires, fuel the car, clean the windshield, and get the car rolling again as quickly as possible. It's fun, competitive, active learning, and you can debrief people afterwards to reinforce the business lessons you wanted to instill." In fact, PWC's Cummins used this activity recently, with good results. "It's a memorable experience to have executives kneeling alongside the people they supervise, with a wrench or a rag in hand," she says.
Fahner has also seen a rise in culinary-arts team competitions, such as a chili cookoff similar to TV's Iron Chef. "Teams are given a set of ingredients, and have an hour to create their chili, with our chefs as the judges." (See page 44 for more information on this.)
Benchmark's Schmidt notes that "while these activities now last just a few hours and not the whole afternoon, we can still deliver a good variety of activities. The nine-hole golf outing has become popular, and we too are seeing the culinary competitions, which can be really cost effective because you are merging it with a meal event. And it brings back the fun that has been lacking at meetings for a few years."
Meals and Refreshments
Speaking of culinary trends, the Atkins, South Beach, and other diet plans sweeping the country have altered the food and beverage offerings at most meetings. "The high-protein, low-carb combination has changed not only meal options but also the continuous refreshment breaks groups get a conference centers," says Schmidt. "We've had to get creative with offerings -- more nuts, cheeses, and deli meats, rather than pastries and doughnuts."
"We've had to expand the list of foods that are part of the CMP," Fahner adds. "At breaks, there are still ice-cream sandwiches, but there is also a bucket of pistachio nuts alongside it. In all food events, you simply must offer variety now."