October 20, 2008
Buyers may see conflicting attitudes from hotels regarding cancellation and attrition terms, with some properties more lenient to fill space but others anticipating a more volatile meetings market and trying to hold firm on their terms.
October 06, 2008
Meeting buyers can anticipate flat budgets in the upcoming year, but should expect to spend more of their budget on airfare, and are looking to reduce hotel expenditures or cut the number of meetings planned to offset that increase, said several industry consultants.
October 06, 2008
Incentive travel buyers are trying ways to keep budgets in check, including bringing fewer attendees and being more open to alternate destinations, and increasingly are looking at external and internal return-on-investment measurements to determine the most cost-effective trip, industry consultants and executives said.
September 02, 2008
Telecommunications company Verizon has wielded the power of senior-level buy-in to further increase its remote conferencing use in an effort to reduce meetings spending and unnecessary travel and support green initiatives.
September 02, 2008
The National Business Travel Association is developing a certification course in strategic meetings management, with plans to announce course dates at the 2009 NBTA International Convention and Exposition in San Diego.
September 02, 2008
A pair of meetings industry associations separately are looking to provide a certification and standards for green meetings management.
August 11, 2008
Meetings technology firm Worktopia late last month announced a new version of its meeting space booking tool that allows clients to search and book space, audiovisual services and catering for small meetings online, along with a corporate edition of the tool that lets clients load preferred meeting suppliers and rates.
August 11, 2008
Travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel late last month announced a three-year agreement designating meetings management technology company StarCite as a global preferred technology partner for meetings. StarCite last month also announced an agreement to link to global distribution system Amadeus and capture travel information in StarCite.
July 28, 2008
Carlson Wagonlit Travel today announced a three-year agreement designating meetings management technology company StarCite, as a global preferred technology partner for meetings and events globally. The agreement with StarCite coincides with the phaseout of CWT's MeetingsLogic meetings technology solution.
July 21, 2008
Pharmaceutical company Novartis this year linked its meetings registration to its online booking system, requiring attendees to concurrently register and book air travel for meetings, increasing overall online booking adoption. As a result, only six of about 7,000 applicable meeting attendees in June did not book their air through Novartis' online booking tool.