Kellogg's Buyer Carves Mtg. Niche

<B> Kellogg's Buyer Carves Mtg. Niche</B>

By Chris Davis

According to the incoming president of the Society of Corporate Meeting Professionals, in this tumultuous time of hotel consolidation and acquisition, uniting planners with hotel convention services managers is more crucial than ever before.

Patricia Stemple, manager of meeting planning and travel services for Kellogg Co. of Battle Creek, Mich., will begin her two-year term at the helm of the 130-member organization at its annual fall conference Nov. 10-12 in Clearwater, Fla.

Stemple said there's a niche for SCMP in the crowded field of meetings organizations, even though its membership numbers are dwarfed by those of industry heavyweights Meeting Professionals International and the Professional Convention Management Association. "We pair the planner with the convention services manager, not salespeople, and we want to keep that pure," she said.

The 1990s hasn't been the kindest decade to SCMP. Declining membership took its toll before it leveled off and even started to increase. Stemple attributed some of that erosion to an overall industry trend of corporate planners opting out of small organizations like SCMP in favor of larger ones when their corporate budgets tightened, while acknowledging that some departed members felt hamstrung by a lack of member involvement or networking opportunities. But the board of directors is continuing to change that perception, Stemple said, and increasing the roles and duties of the rank-and-file is one of the goals she's set for her term.

"We'll continue to be more in touch with our members and listen to their needs," Stemple said. SCMP member planners, she said, will be able to share information with each other and hotel convention service managers.

"There's so much instability on both sides," said Stemple. "There's so many hotel mergers and acquisitions, and with that comes new rules. Companies go in and buy a bunch of properties and soon people with whom you've negotiated with for years aren't there anymore."

The lack of consistent brand identity and a property's roster of salespeople can lead to worse deals for planners, Stemple said, especially with the general trend of properties boosting revenue from ancillary sources. "These are concerns convention service managers can take back to sales," she said.

"There's also a lot of instability about outsourcing planning functions or bringing it in-house," Stemple said. "We all have to talk with each other about what we want to do, and negotiate wisely.