Planners Eye More Meetings, Spending
In '04.
By Christopher Hosford
Meeting News, January 2004
There's reason to be optimistic about the meetings industry's health in 2004, if planners' anticipated budgets are any indication.
In a new Meeting News survey, a dramatically greater number of meetings professionals say their budgets have been increased for this year, compared with those facing dwindling resources for 2004.
The survey of 241 subscribers, conducted in December, also indicated that the number of meetings is expected to rise. Fully twice as many planners said they'll see more meetings this year than those who say their meetings will be cut back.
When asked how their organization's meetings budget for 2004 compared with last year, 32.8 percent of respondents said it was poised to increase. Just 18.7 percent indicated their budget would shrink, while 48.5 percent said it will be about the same as in 2003.
Steve Hines, principal of Marketing Resource Management, a [marketing, communications, and] meeting management firm in Aldie, Va., near Washington, said the current serious business environment is causing additional funds to be devoted to pricier educational programming, accounting for some of the budget increase. Strictly entertainment-oriented speakers are being cut back.
"Our budgets are increasing," confirmed Hines. "In particular, we're seeing greater expenditures in the area of professional growth, workshops where we're adding a higher level of presenter."
Camille Cimino, president of The Laurel Group, an association management company in Elkridge, Md., also near Washington, said that, after enduring falloffs in membership and conference attendance, these numbers and thus projected budgets are now climbing.
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"I am cautiously optimistic," Cimino said. "Anybody who works for a trade association has to be a budget wizard. You're squeezing blood out of a penny."
While the survey's numbers reflect industry growth, it may not be time to break out the champagne. Most planners whose budgets are growing say the increase will be a modest 5 to 10 percent this year. Only one in 10 said their budget will rise more than 20 percent.
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A greater number of events was projected for this year by 26.3 percent of respondents, while just 13.4 percent said meetings would decrease in number. About 60 percent indicated they would have to be content with the status quo.
"Yes, we will be doing more meetings than we did in 2003," said Hines, "and with the same firms, so it's not that we're just adding more clients."
While things are looking up for some planners, the improvement follows one of the most horrendous years in memory.
"For 2003, nobody wrote entertainment budgets. They were non-existent," said
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M. Philip Butler, vice president of marketing and sales for major pyrotechnic company Fireworks by Grucci in Brookhaven, N.Y. "I feel reasonably confident that budgets are being put back in place. I know a lot of companies felt they made a mistake in not budgeting for events.
"We're a good barometer. Any entertainer is."
The modest rebound may be augmented by better efficiencies and negotiating skills, forged by the stringencies of the past three years.
Mary Keough-Anderson, manager of conference and meeting management with Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston, has been able for the first time to combine the buying power of her business travel and group spending. She's going to hotels with both, and hotels are responding with discounts, she said.
In addition, Keough-Anderson is asking for, and receiving, volume rebates. Hotels and other vendors are rebating a percentage of total revenue, based on a sliding scale, according to how much volume she feeds them.
"When I get that check and credit it back to our internal clients, it's a win-win for myself and our hotel partners. And I also can prove my value to my company," she said.
Similarly, Cimino is attracting higher conference attendance with better personal service for members, and improved conference programming and marketing. She's also reduced the number of offsite events.
And she continues to stretch her budget by working what remains of the evanescent buyers' market.
"The hotels were getting pretty difficult for a while, but I have noticed a little more flexibility with room rates," she said. "I don't know how long it will last. Obviously, they are flexible because travel is down, so those of us doing contracts want to do it now before the economy really takes a swing and turns around."
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