As a meeting planner in control of what could be your company's second- or third-largest expense after salary and benefits, you are no longer viewed as only operating a cost center; you are now tasked with bringing in revenue and savings.
In a growing shift, you are a valuable player in management's perception of travel and meetings, once considered unavoidable costs of doing business, but now thought of as strategic procurement focused on your company's overall objectives. In your new role, you must:
* Provide transparency and quickly show meetings expenses and value.
* Provide an audit trail to prove the existence of adequate internal controls for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance, including policies that detail a minimum number of bids.
* Achieve speed in the pursuit of the best-value meeting venue.
The most efficient way to achieve these goals is by incorporating software and online technology into the site-selection process. David Chandler, president of Atlanta-based LearnJSF.com, which provides training to corporate software developers for banks and financial institutions, holds meetings that require a complete audiovisual setup, preferably with built-in ceiling projection, and frequently books overnight accommodations and meeting space for 10 to 20 people. Currently his company's expansion plans are being hampered by an inability to quickly locate the best-value meeting space in any location.
"Our Google ads are getting a lot of traffic from the financial centers in New England and New York," says Chandler. "I would like a website where I could see all the meeting rooms that are available in hotels, universities, or corporate centers in that geographic area. This would allow me to expand our business. Meeting space is more expensive in those areas, and I would like to know I am getting the best value."
Some savvy suppliers are responding to the need for speed to which Chandler refers. Scott Brown, vice president of information technology at San Diego's Town and Country Resort and Convention Center, noticed that new meeting planners rarely visit the property. Instead, "They will click on 12 properties and see who gets back to them fastest," says Brown.
In some corporations, buyers are required by their procurement policy to solicit a minimum number of bids for SOX compliance. To accommodate this shift, Brown implemented fast-response sales tactics using BlackBerrys for the sales team and a Web-based channel management solution. A sales lead is automatically routed to the right salesperson, by region or account. If that person does not respond within 30 minutes, the inquiry is routed to the director of sales, and, if there's still no response, the call goes directly to the chief operating officer.
Brown also conducted a beta test of a three-way interface that connected the hotel's property management, sales and catering, and online reservations systems, so Town and Country can quickly respond to meeting planners with accurate availability.
Embracing new technological advancements and procurement practices will make meeting planners increasingly essential to the success of their companies and more visible to upper management. Tech-friendly planners will also add value to suppliers who are riding the same trends toward cost containment and policy controls for SOX compliance, and who are also using online technology to help deliver the best possible return on meetings investment to the planner's executive team.
Marty Denning is the director of business development at Newmarket International, a sales, group catering, and event software solutions company for the global hospitality and entertainment industries, based in Portsmouth, NH. He is an industry expert and frequent speaker on groups and meetings, travel technology, travel distribution, and online travel. Marty may be reached at (603) 430-6718, or via e-mail at [email protected].Originally published June 01, 2008For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
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