Executive Meetings Are Growing Shorter, More Intense

<B>Executive Meetings Are Growing Shorter, More Intense</B>

By Chris Davis

Executive board and other high-level executive meetings increasingly are becoming more focused on business content and results, leading many corporations to cut back on the amount of leisure time and activities often associated with these events.

This doesn't necessarily mean that these meetings cost corporations any less--as executives often opt to stay in pricey boutique properties and enjoy the commensurate amenities. However, the general trend toward increased overall business activity--be it mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs or simply to reach quarterly earnings projections--has led to the cutting back of opulent leisure and entertainment.

"These meetings are becoming significantly streamlined," said John McConahy, president of Pittsburgh-based meetings consultancy Imagination Plus. "They're being held closer to the company's home, they're shorter and the amenities are reduced." McConahy believes that questions over the domestic economy are somewhat of a contributing factor, but also said many hotels are not willing to cordon off a room block of high-end guest rooms for executive board attendees, preferring instead to reserve them for high-price transient business or leisure travelers.

"The hotels aren't really negotiating that," McConahy said. "So the meeting itself ends up cut from three to two days, and instead of working for two-thirds of the day then attending a leisure or entertainment function, they hold intense meetings the whole time, without any down time. The attendees still want high-end properties and a certain standard of service and amenities, but they prefer the location to be closer to home."

As a result, some buyers have seen their destination and site selection strategies change, if not their budgets.

"These meetings don't have to be at the swankiest properties if you have the run of the house and the rooms are adequate," said Linda McNairy, vice president of sales for the central region of Cornerstone, Navigant International's meetings and incentives arm. "The board meeting stereotype is that it has to be at a warm-weather resort with golf and a nice spa. Though golf is still important, executives are looking for a venue that offers privacy, such as a smaller, boutique property."

Although value for the corporate dollar is a consideration, McNairy said many corporations prefer to shell out money if they're convinced it will help achieve the meeting's business objectives.

"Given that so many companies have undergone structural changes, these meetings often focus on strategic integration and unifying the effectiveness of the executive-level team," McNairy said. "Corporations realize it's a critical investment and it's important that the meeting be highly effective. It's not the place to be chintzy and have mediocre results."

While boutique properties are a popular choice for regularly scheduled meetings of top executives, there often are unexpected, but urgent, needs to meet within a short timeframe to source and plan the meeting

"We have a huge amount of last-minute bookings and many of those pop-up meetings involve high-level management, particularly in the pharmaceutical and legal markets," said George Terpilowski, general manager of the Washington, D.C., Monarch Hotel. "Oftentimes, there's only two weeks to pull the whole meeting together. It can be challenging. Planners have high expectations, not only for technological capability but also that they will be able to out-do their previous meeting of this type."

Part of the increase in short-term executive board meetings can be attributed to the business climate of shifting corporate structures and alliances, which frequently require high-level decisions to be made quickly.

"There are two types of executive meetings we usually see," said Jim Steinbach, director of sales and marketing at the Hyatt Regency Beaver Creek Resort & Spa in Avon, Colo. "There are the intimate gatherings of a few top managers who are here to settle down to conduct hardcore business. There are also those that bring together executives from two companies that haven't worked together, to talk about a deal or after they've merged."

While there isn't much difference in the demands involved in staging both types of executive board meetings, planners handling the latter usually have much less lead time and can bend slightly on a normally deal-breaking contract clause or service request.

"They'll always want similar accommodations for the guests and the flexibility on our part that nothing will happen to the scheduled room block no matter what," Steinbach said. "The style of meeting room is also important, particularly its audiovisual access and the ability to use T-I Internet lines."

The key requests from executive board meeting buyers include meeting space with little or no traffic and the ability of hotel staff to quickly respond to all requests, said Monarch director of sales and marketing Frank Fredericks.

"The most important factor in negotiating these meetings is that the company must have the changes they request during a meeting met with pure cooperation," Fredericks said. "They have to be able to trust the professionalism of the hotel staff."

The preponderance of short-term executive board meetings is a gold mine for hoteliers, as they're able to turn away longer-term meetings that are more price-sensitive in anticipation of those bookings.

"It's a nice thing for us," Terpilowski said. "As opposed to going back and forth dickering over price, corporations are buying into packages for these meetings more quickly than ever."

Steinbach has found that executive board meeting buyers seek professional atmospheres that don't echo typical hotel meeting spaces--his property's boardrooms, for example, have balconies and windows--and are willing to pay for it. "Planners are acutely aware of pricing, but if they feel they're getting a high-end location with tremendous recreational amenities and everything else they want, and the value of the meeting is geared to what the company wants to accomplish, then price is not usually met with resistance," Steinbach said.

"Price is not the break point for these meetings; it's ensuring beyond a doubt that the meeting is going to be successful," said Maureen Callahan, director of sales and marketing at the Inverness Hotel & Golf Club in Englewood, Colo. "That means the property considered for an executive board meeting needs to have the proper amenities and a high degree of privacy. People want these meetings the specific way they want them, and we hope that distinguishes us between other full service products."

The amenities and services offered often are the deciding factors in executive board meeting site selection, said Cindy Shtur, site specialist for San Diego-based meetings management firm Concepts Worldwide.

"We would consider only top-rated properties that offer superior service," Shtur said. "We are seeing a big trend in extra-specialized amenities these days. The bedding is one area that is now being marketed very heavily. You now see a choice in a variety of pillows; I believe one hotel has a menu of 11 different pillows to choose from upon checkin. We are also seeing texture in sheets and the down-filled feather bed."

Shtur said a variety of technological amenities in guest rooms also is important, even for boutique hotels that don't tend to have as many state-of-the-art offerings as their large, downtown counterparts. That technology, though, often need not be cutting-edge to meet the needs of the executive board attendees.

"We like to see phone lines offering more than one line available, a speaker option for the phone, several dataports available, fax machines in rooms and working desks," Shtur said. "These amenities are important. One hotel we've worked with offers a Bentley limousine for each of the guests. It is that unique experience and superior service they will remember for a long time.