Airline Clubs Add Amenities To Attract Airport Meetings

<B> Airline Clubs Add Amenities To Attract Airport Meetings</B>

By Chris Davis

With a consistent clientele of small corporate meetings and job interviews, conference rooms at airline clubs continue to post solid business. But even so, major airlines are looking to increase the amenities the rooms offer and to push their usage even higher, particularly at hub airports.

The rental fees that airlines earn on club rooms "is definitely a critical part of our business--and it's critical because customers are demanding it," said Betty Hollan, Delta Air Lines' general manager of hospitality services. "All major companies require travel these days and anybody who's traveling a lot is using airport clubs. We have people who are interviewing and meeting clients, people who are meeting other members of their team, sales forces, etc. The trend is less meeting with clients and more meeting with other people who work for the same company."

The smaller size of club conference rooms lends itself to quickly arranged short meetings, usually involving employees of one company. It's a solid core of customers that, combined with low ground transportation costs, gives airlines a consistent base of business. The airlines, though are looking to upgrade the amenities the rooms offer to attract more businesses into considering the clubs as a meetings option.

"We just started charging our customers for the rooms in September 1997," said Julie Woods, manager of Continental Airlines' Presidents Clubs. "Prior to that, we didn't track their usage and we didn't provide the amenities that we think are necessary when the customer is paying. Since then, we have seen the usage increase significantly and we are continuing to provide increased amenities."

In addition to the televisions, video cassette recorders, faxes and copy machines most clubs already offer, some now are installing or plan to install catered food service, Internet access and personal computers, too.

Throughout the industry, there is a wide disparity between conference rooms at hub and those in non-hub cities, most notably in the size of the rooms themselves. While room size in non-hub airports tends to range between six and 12 seats, hub rooms can be much larger.

It's no secret why: It's a lot easier to bring all meeting participants into hub airports, with their higher flight frequencies and number of destinations served--whether they are the hub of the same airline whose club is being used or not. Northwest Airlines officials note heavy usage of the carrier's WorldClub at O'Hare Airport, for example, while LaGuardia Airport's Admiral's Club in New York does a brisk business for American Airlines.

"LaGuardia does well even though it's not our hub. There still are a lot of flights coming in from up and down the eastern seaboard," said American spokesman Bill Dreslin. "It makes it a very convenient place for people to get together and if there are participants from the local city, they can get to the airport easily. It has been quite popular."

Not all amenities are aimed at large groups, however. "A lot of corporate recruiters and headhunters are using these rooms for interviews, and attorneys are using them to take depositions," said Northwest spokesperson Kathy Peach. "In fact, in some of our newer clubs we've added smaller, three- and four-member rooms just for that purpose. It's a growing trend."

Still, there are clouds on the horizon, and insiders said the changing economy may well impact the clubs' future.

If there is an economic slowdown, businesses may look to cut meetings costs, making the fees the clubs charge, generally $35 per hour, an attractively low expense. On the other hand, if the hotel seller's market begins to ease somewhat, the airlines may find corporations opting more often to hold their meetings at airport hotels, where they can take advantage of potentially depressed rates.