Increase Seen In Overseas Mtgs.

As more and more companies push for globalization, corporate planners are heading abroad for many of their meetings.

More than 44 percent of respondents to Meetings Today's Meetings Monitor survey plan international meetings, and more than 38 percent said their companies have increased the number of international sites that they've used in the last year.

Many buyers make such arrangements on a regular basis. In doing so, they face the obstacles of cultural differences, language barriers, foreign currencies and differing time zones.

Still, planners are managing overseas meetings with aplomb and are realizing that a bit of extra preparation and creativity can squelch any brushfires before they take the forest.

What the numbers can't convey are the adjustments that planners have made to ensure their programs' success. Roseanne Hoban, account executive for the Association of Management Systems, Inc.--a company that manages the activities of several manufacturing trade organizations in Naperville, Ill.-- develops meetings related to NAFTA agreement issues.

"Because we're dealing with NAFTA, we're typically in Mexico or Central America," she said. "I've planned meetings in Cancun and I also did a meeting in Puerto Rico, which is kind of a gateway destination to South America even though it's technically part of the U.S."

Because Hoban worked with a hotel chain, she didn't have a problem negotiating a good room rate and other favorable terms. And budgeting with different currencies wasn't always an issue because Mexico is eager to take U.S. dollars.

But finding and working with a destination management company required some creative problem solving on Hoban's part to overcome cultural differences and communications breakdowns.

"What I've found is that different cultures have a different sense of time," Hoban said. "In Mexico, for example, what you tend to hear in one way or another is 'mañana': There isn't our sense of urgency about maintaining schedules. If you tell them you need transportation at 1 p.m., you might get it at 1:30 or 2."

Hoban would therefore schedule something 30 to 45 minutes ahead of when she needed it. "If I wanted a car at noon, I'd tell them I absolutely needed it at 11:30. I'd get it at noon."

Hoban also noticed that when she asked a question for the purposes of information gathering, it was interpreted as a command.

"I'd be price shopping, and would say, 'how much does it cost to have 12 boats for an incentive event?' and the next thing I knew, I had committed myself to 12 boats," she said. "It was crazy."

To compensate, she spoke as literally and plainly as possible. "You can't assume a common framework of references anymore," she said. "With international vendors that are based here, you might get that. But when dealing with an office based elsewhere, it's best to assess the ground rules and make sure everybody is on the same page."

Paramount Pictures' special events coordinator, Joel Howard, also experienced what he called "the mañana phenomenon" in Mexico. To keep things on time, he used the same techniqe as Hoban did, ordering ground transportation, props, audiovisual equipment and even food and beverage hours in advance of his actual schedule. He also wrote everything down--and referred his international partners to the written document--at every phase of the planning process, from RFP to contracting to implementation.

Although Paramount has held international meetings a few times a year, Howard expects that number to increase. "Paramount has just signed a marketing agreement with an internationally based agency, and I've been told that this will result in more product rollout events abroad, particularly in Europe," he said. "What I've learned is that you succeed if you can partner with someone local who knows the ropes and if you adapt somewhat to the culture you're in. You're certainly not going to change them--you're their guest."

Still, planners must know their limitations. If they know only a few phrases of the host country's language, they should get an English-speaking representative months in advance. "Only in France and Mexico was this request ignored--outright," Howard said.

In addition, because audiovisual and computer equipment tends to be "radically different" abroad, a planner will have to factor the cost of shipping U.S.-based equipment to the international meeting destination. "Sometimes, you can also rent equipment in London and ship it from there," Howard said.

Working with different cultures often offers an unexpected boon. Linda Griepentrog, a planner for a publishing firm that produces Sew, Needle and Craft magazine, among others, plans two tours annually in Hong Kong, and one in London for Sew readers. "I love working with the Japanese; I find them to be very efficient and hardworking," she said. "They work to maintain the relationship, which makes things easier."

Griepentrog has worked with the same destination management firms for the past few years. The time differences actually work to her advantage, allowing the Japanese to give her a next-day response.