Who Weighed In

Diana Carmenates, CMP, director, meetings & special events,
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
Mary Pat Cornett, CMP, director, meetings & exhibits,
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Foundation
Connie Eren, CMP, CMM, manager, corporate services, SAE International
Pat Hastings, director of meeting activities, Materials Research Society
Susan Katz, director of corporate events, True Value Company
Janell McGill, director of global strategy, Milligan Events
Kristin Mirabal, CMP, senior meeting manager, Optical Society of America
Ronald Moen, CEO, American Dietetic Association
Timothy A. Moses, director, meetings & conventions, American Academy of Dermatology
Louise Pochelski, CMP, former director of meeting services, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (now strategic industry liaison, Wyndham Jade)
Susan Rawlins, CMP, international and knowledge development manager,
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Inc.
Tracy Riggan, director, meetings & events, IPC
Gary Schirmacher, CMP, senior vice president/Western region, Experient
Dale Shuter, CMP, meetings and expositions manager, Electrical Apparatus Service Association
Sara Torrence, CMP, Sara Torrence & Associates

1.  During periods of economic softness, what change of events (e.g., reductions) in meetings/staff, consideration of lower cost destinations, F&B savings, etc., does your organization go through, if any?

Thus far, we are not planning to make any major changes in commitments for any of our meetings. However, we will be looking carefully at future meetings and support for those in terms of sponsors and attendance. -Moen

Closer attention to all expenses, more creativity in cutting back through negotiations, elimination of lesser-valued services. Changing to lower-cost destinations is more of a long-term response, as it cannot usually be done in the short run. -Cornett

We have been looking at second- and third-tier cities to keep our guest-room costs down for our members in hopes this will help in attendance. We are also looking at cities that offer to offset some of our direct expenses for our events. -Rawlins

The only consideration made is that we need to provide the same level of meeting/event (facility, education, F&B, etc.) that we always have. The challenge is that because the economy is sluggish, we need to partner more closely to provide the same level of event but spend fewer dollars to do it! -Pochelski

We have been looking at shortening meetings (outside of our annual), looking at cheaper destinations to fly into, and trying to obtain cost savings with F&B, AV, and other meeting logistics. We are also seeing some meetings being combined with others/held jointly, and looking at holding more meetings in the Chicago area, where our headquarters is located (thus less expense for staff travel) and is a cheaper airfare market. -Moses

We are reviewing all meeting spend to see where we can cut back without impacting the meeting outcome. -Katz

We may bring less staff on-site or reduce the number of days they are on site. Since most of our meetings are booked years in advance, it is difficult to change location. -Shuter

Travel is reduced, and open positions are not filled. We will try to use more local resources instead of having staff travel long distances. Try to negotiate better discounts for rooms paid by the organization. -Schirmacher We have reduced the number of on-site staff, we ask for confirmed F&B prices further out from the conference, and we look closely at all costs associated with meeting in all destinations. -Mirabal

Last year, we had an attendance of 3,100 at our annual meeting. This year, we had 2,600. -Carmenates

Our exhibit support of the meeting is smaller, and we must consider reduced staffing and F&B events.
-Hastings

Tightened budgets are universal and show our competitive value in times of economic softening. -McGill

During a past economic downturn, we experienced some cuts in staff, but that is the least- preferable option. When we began to experience lower attendance at training sessions, we moved to short-term booking only once a minimum attendance figure is met. We offer partnerships with member organizations to allow them to host training sessions. The short-term booking process and the member partnerships are things we have kept in place. In addition, we keep costs down by booking within set expenditure limits on cost per room night, F&B expenses, and meeting-room rental. -Riggan

2. Recalling the last economic pullbacks in the 1990s and early 2000s, what lessons have you learned that will affect the way you plan or adjust your meetings?

We were very fortunate in the early 2000s not to have to make any drastic changes. We did scale back expectations of net revenues from our meetings area, but other events, such as teleseminars and Webinars, have increased over the past six years. -Moen

To be relentless about looking for cost savings and to eliminate things that do not add sufficient value - in good times and in bad. We always begin with a zero-based budget to ensure there is no padding or accidental pots of money. -Cornett

Our organization did fine in the '90s. It was in 2000 that it began to affect us. We used to have 105 staff members and are now down to 26. We outsource most of what we used to do in-house, including our meeting management. This has not only been economical, but has provided flexibility that we did not have before with so many full-time staff. We also have combined some of our group conferences - we used to have 12 conferences and eight trade shows, and now we have four combined conferences and two trade shows serving the same segments, but in a group. -Rawlins

Look at potential savings earlier. Be proactive in identifying potential savings rather then reactive. -Katz

We learned that while we are cutting back, so are our customers, and therefore we need to be realistic about proposed attendance counts when we cut our expense budget. -Eren

Contract clauses on attrition; smaller blocks with opportunity to book overflow closer in; periodic review of contracts. -Torrence

Not to act too quickly. Staff resources are most important, and keeping staff motivated during these difficult economic times is most important. -Mirabal

We need to be more aggressive in our marketing. -Hastings

I wouldn't consider it a change. We're a team of experienced event architects who are charged with procuring the maximum return on event spend, regardless of the way the overall economy is trending.
-McGill

3. Will you plan your meetings further out or more short-term, given the economic uncertainty?

Our major annual meeting is now booked through 2017, but most of the rest of our meetings are planned about a year in advance, and I don't see that changing. However, we will scale back attendance expectations and watch cancellation and attrition clauses even more closely. -Moen

We have been planning our meetings short-term for some years due to the changes in our member companies. There have been a lot of mergers, closing of businesses, etc., so we never know from one year to the other what to expect in attendance or even volunteer support from our members. -Rawlins

Short-term has been the wave of the past eight to 12 months and will continue as long as the economy is soft. This is due mostly to the fact that hotels will not go to contract unless the baby is "really pretty" these days. -Pochelski

It's sometimes better to wait to negotiate short-term, if you have the ability to do that. Sometimes you can get better deals with hotels and vendors. It depends on the type of meeting - for our larger meetings and annuals, it will probably remain the same planning process, possibly more short-term for smaller, less complicated meetings, if possible. -Moses

More short-term. We will hold off on some meetings so we don't carry the liability if we have to cancel. -Katz

Neither; our needs will dictate when we plan, not the state of the economy. -Hastings

Considering we have already created a cautious booking plan, we will likely keep this going forward. For trade shows where location is critical, we will book several years out. For larger meetings, we will continue to book less than one year out. For the small meetings, we will continue to take our chances and book only a few weeks out. -Riggan

4. What political, economic, or environmental conditions have you encountered while planning a meeting, and how did you overcome them?

In working through Sept. 11, SARS, a sniper, war … indirectly, if not directly involved, we have improved our security, stayed current with changing contract clauses and insurance issues, and are prepared to be more proactive when the next big deal hits. -Cornett

We have struggled like a lot of international associations with reduction in international meeting attendance and membership. Also, we have had less support on the volunteer side, so we, as staff, have had to take on more of the work. We have completely revamped our international development business plan in working with sister associations and for-profit companies worldwide. We now look at each venture as a business - what is in it for us? -instead of giving everything away. -Rawlins

Increases in hotel rates and airfares - increasing our budgets and/or consideration of eliminating them; trying to have "greener" meetings (including eliminating paper handouts at meetings). We have been communicating constantly and better educating our members on why we are making these changes. We are also doing more electronically. -Moses

We have had to move meetings due to increasing hotel rates in major cities. -Katz

All venues and suppliers are looking to maximize their revenue. I am seeing across-the-board increases. We work with our suppliers to confirm rates/costs for services early in the planning process and to assist with their forecasting, often guaranteeing revenue (within our budget).
-Mirabal

The huge cost of freight from our East Coast printer to a West Coast meeting destination. Investigating local options. Skyrocketing airfares and limited availability for staff travel necessitates more advance planning. -Hastings

Increased environmental consciousness has flooded the industry this past year. We will work toward measurable and sustainable practices that include both ethical sourcing and legitimate environmentally conscious spending recommendations for our clients, every time. Budgets are tighter, but it is the event owner/planner's responsibility to build events that are worth every penny of what the attendee and organization are willing to invest. People will continue to invest in events if we make them worth it. Are they economic, political, and environmental conditions … or opportunities? We have a choice with the resources available to us, as an industry, to reframe how we look at the options available. -McGill

5. What meeting-planning turn of events do you foresee as a direct impact of the weakening dollar? How has this affected your planning of meetings domestically and abroad?

We anticipate some increased international attendance as a result of the weak dollar in relation to other currencies. We will probably not support as much international travel to other meetings as we have done in the past due to the weak dollar. -Moen

We hope to draw more internationals than ever to our domestic meeting - and to keep our U.S. attendees as well since it is now a more cost-effective meeting than our non-U.S. competition.
-Cornett

We are looking for more and more sponsorship - creating unusual packages that will attract the companies who continue to support us. -Rawlins

Fewer meetings; shortened meetings, cancellation of meetings, combining meetings. This turn of events has not impacted us to any great extent yet, but in the upcoming year, we will be looking at this. -Moses

There would be significantly more travel to the United States if visa restrictions weren't so rigid and the perception of getting through customs not such a hassle. The weak dollar makes it difficult to grow U.S. attendance to meetings abroad. International attendees coming to the United States can find value with stronger International currencies. -Schirmacher

Our international conference will cost us more money than anticipated due to slippage of USD against foreign currency (we did not buy futures). -Hastings

As an international organization based in the United States, our ability to meet overseas has definitely been limited as a result of the weakening dollar. We are partnering with other organizations to help defray the cost of meeting overseas more so now than other years. We are also finding that many of the overseas suppliers/venues are recognizing U.S. organizations' difficulties in meeting abroad and they are becoming better negotiating partners. -Mirabal 

 
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