<B>MPI Tackles ROI, Attrition Issues</B>
By Chris Davis
The concept of return on investment took center stage at Meeting Professionals International's World Education Conference in Los Angeles last month. The association's Corporate Circle of Excellence, a panel of top corporate meeting buyers, released new research showing spotty acceptance of ROI measurement thus far: 42 percent of corporate planners gage ROI for all meetings, 43 percent for some meetings and the remaining 15 percent not at all.
John Williams, former director of strategic events for Coca-Cola Co. and chair of the Circle, said effective ROI measurement--whether it's the meeting's effect on sales or content retention analysis based on post-event attendee surveys--often is based on who's doing the measuring. "You must remember who you're communicating to and stress different parts accordingly," Williams said. "Your CFO may be a number cruncher and your CEO may have a marketing background, so you have to tailor the message." <P align=center>* * *</P>
Perennial planner concerns about attrition clauses also were much discussed. Attorney Barbara Dunn of the Ballwin, Mo., branch of Howe & Hutton Ltd. recommended that buyers ask for a clause basing food and beverage attrition rates on revenue from all banquet functions rather than meal by meal. "Negotiating on the total dollar amount of food and beverage and implementing a guarantee specifically defines your exposure," Dunn said.<P align=center>* * *</P>
As for room blocks, several planners expressed concern about hotels charging attrition damages if the block isn't filled, even when the property is able to sell all remaining rooms. Dunn suggested planners include a clause requiring the hotel to document the total number of rooms in the hotel and the number in use while the group is booked. The clause should specify that the group pays attrition damages on the number of available rooms, if that number is lower than the unused rooms in the block.
"A hotel does not have to legally offer an attrition settlement even if the property is sold out, even though it's a reasonable and negotiable business item," Dunn said. "So documentation is critical, as it can make sure the number the group has to pay is accurate." <P align=center>* * *</P>
MPI released its annual Meeting Outlook Survey, which showed that many corporate planners are anticipating that their companies will hold more meetings in 2001. About 35 percent expect more, while only 8 percent expect fewer, and the remainder expect about the same. International corporate meetings, though, may decline in frequency, with a quarter of the survey's 163 respondents expecting fewer cross-border meetings.
Interestingly, MPI's respondents don't foresee a decrease in planning lead time commensurate with the expected increase in meetings. About 78 percent expect lead time to remain the same, with 12 percent foreseeing an increase and 10 percent anticipating lead times to tighten. <P align=center>* * *</P>
MPI has a new logo and a new slogan--"Defining the power of meetings"--after a 20-month review and development process designed to position the association as "the global authority and resource for the entire meeting industry," officials said. The new logo is available on MPI's Web site at www.mpiweb.org.
<B>Meeting World</B>
Hoteliers were called upon to defend their billing practices at BTN parent Miller Freeman's Meeting World show in New York last month. At a discussion panel on hotel profit structures, many planners voiced objections to the increasing scope of ancillary charges they see in hotel contracts.
One gripe concerned some hotels' exorbitant telephone charges, including those for credit card and toll-free calls.
Pamela Merle, regional director of sales for Disney's properties, said her properties do charge for phone use. "It is extremely difficult to take those charges off the folios of a group, since they have to be done by hand. We would rather find a way around it if planners have a problem and negotiate somewhere else, like in the coffee break."
"We considered adding a charge for 1-800 calls because people come in, leave their Internet access on and we only have a certain number of lines," said Bill Gilchrist, corporate director of sales for Dolce International. "But most properties conduct competitive analyses concerning what we can and can't charge for, and it's smart for planners to ask as many questions as they can up-front to cover all bases in negotiations."
Dean Altvater, director of national accounts for Wyndham International, said such telephone charges can be waived as an additional benefit for frequent guests.
As for the general increase in such charges, Gilchrist said hoteliers are preparing for a non-seller's market in the future. "In my opinion, properties are preparing for a trend like in 1993, which is why they're growing alternative sources of revenue other than room rate."<P align=center>* * *</P>
Meetings guru Joan Eisenstodt, president of Washington, D.C.-based meetings management firm Eisenstodt Associates, is envisioning future meetings with less leisure, at hotels with more technology.
"The international presence and technological needs of future meetings could lead to many more at very off-hours, in the middle of the night or very early in the morning," said Eisenstodt in a session on future meeting trends. "It means the hotel will need to offer food and meeting space at all hours."
Eisenstodt also sees such leisure activities as golf and tennis becoming less prevalent at meetings.
"People don't want leisure at meetings because they don't want to stay at meetings," Eisenstodt said. "They want to get their content and go home. In that respect, I see meetings getting shorter.