Hilton Debuts Registration Mgmt. ToolHilton Hotels Corp. this month introduced a software application that matches hotel reservations with attendee registration lists for a particular meeting, allowing planners to determine the booking method used by each attendee. The application, dubbed Group Reservations Identification Program, works with Hilton's OnQ property management system to cross-reference registration lists and room reservations. The issue is important to planners struggling with Web bookings or other bookings through channels not approved by the corporation or association hosting the event, which can undercut projected room block totals, potentially triggering contractual attrition clauses
(Meetings Today, Dec. 9, 2002). Hilton officials said planners can access the GRIP reports—which provide summaries of attendee booking activity—at any time following the booking, at no charge. The reports then can be used to create more accurate historical data for use in future negotiations, officials said. The technology has been tested at several hotels and resorts and will be rolled out to 25 properties by mid-February.
Amex: Most Cos. Manage Attendees OnlineMore than half of companies now use some type of online application to manage meeting attendees, according to an unscientific poll conducted by American Express Corporate Meeting Solutions, a division of American Express Corporate Services. The in-person poll of 45 corporate travel managers, procurement managers, meeting planners and other executives attending an Amex event in November indicated that 52 percent currently use the Web for attendee management, with an additional 7 percent "moving in that direction." Other poll results showed 33 percent of respondents use Web-based technology to manage group air bookings, and 38 percent use online technology to aggregate corporate meetings spending, supplier usage or policy compliance data. One-third created a meetings policy separate from their corporate travel policy, and 20 percent track corporate use of meeting supplier services.
MPI Panel: Procurement Is PermanentMeeting managers have no choice but to accept the role of procurement departments and philosophies in corporate meetings management as permanent and adjust their techniques accordingly, said the panelists of a Meeting Professionals International Webconference on the role of procurement and strategic sourcing held in December. As meeting expenditures have a tendency to be indirect and fragmented on corporate balance sheets, said Christine Duffy, president and COO of Maritz McGettigan, meetings management had avoided the procurement microscope, but the potential cost savings have changed that landscape. "Procurement is not going into individual departments," she said. "They're really focused on identifying activities across the corporation and looking at how they leverage across the enterprise." Panelist Craig Ardis, director of global special events at Ada, Mich.-based Amway Corp., recommended that planners measure the success of a meeting with the financial bottom line in mind. "We need to be leaders in this arena by going to procurement and trying to collect the data, seeing what the spending is around the companies and how we manage that spend," he said.
MPI Foundation Launches European EffortThe MPI Foundation has partnered with Imex, a European exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, in launching an initiative to expand educational opportunities for planners in Europe, encourage the standardization of industry practices and promote the value of European meetings. Project Europe includes marketing efforts, research, the development of student scholarships and education modules and the advancement of industry certification programs.
EmeetingsOnline, Travelweb PartnerMeeting housing management supplier EmeetingsOnline has signed a deal with Dallas-based hotel distribution company Travelweb to give the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based company's customers access to Travelweb's discount hotel inventory. Dallas-based hotel content provider Pegasus Solutions and five hotel chains own Travelweb. The companies said the deal will allow planners to search and secure last-minute hotel inventory after room block deadlines have expired, which allows them to offer attendees booking options while still capturing all event reservation details.
~Chris Davis