Senior management wants six facts when evaluating a meetings management program, most notably the amount spent on events, how much money can be saved and what it will take to achieve those savings, according to senior meeting managers at National Business Travel Association's annual International Convention and Exposition, held last month in Chicago.
Senior financial executives also need to know what the company can lose by maintaining the status quo, baseline measurements and targets and plans for change management and building compliance, said Debi Scholar, director of meeting and event services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, during an educational session at the conference.
Scholar said that travel managers can estimate meetings-related travel expenditures as 30 percent to 40 percent of overall travel and entertainment spend, and she worked to determine a few key areas of potential savings
(see story). While the meetings department forecasted hard savings, soft savings (defined as intangibles such as risk mitigation that are difficult to quantify) and cost avoidance, Scholar said CFOs usually focus solely on hard-dollar savings.
Seven meetings management education sessions were offered at the conference, including the return of a two-part course for travel managers on the basics of strategic meeting management programs, offered by NBTA's groups and meetings committee. The track detailed seven steps in planning a meeting and offered best practices for each component. Attendees questioned the ethical implications of loyalty programs offered by vendors, which often give planners reward points for booking business. Since the business is booked on behalf of the company, panelists said meeting managers should have no qualms over reclaiming planner points.
A panel presentation on meetings management technology tools focused on the components of meetings portals, electronic requests for proposals, online booking tools and other Web-based systems.
Michele Snock, manager of global meeting services for Cisco Systems' Americas operations, said her corporation's meetings portal lays the groundwork for the eventual RFP sent to suppliers, and stakeholders can access budget estimator tools, templates, corporate policies and destination information. Snock said there also is an opportunity for corporations to alert other meeting buyers to the availability of cancelled space using online tools.
A campaign to win election to the NBTA board of directors ended successfully for former co-chair of the groups and meetings committee Kari Knoll Kesler. Kesler, who is global manager of meeting solutions for Honeywell International Inc., was elected to a three-year term on July 19.
The association's groups and meetings committee has two new co-chairs: PricewaterhouseCoopers' Scholar and Lee Ann Adams Mikeman, assistant vice president of planning and special events for Science Applications International Corp.
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A number of new partnerships were announced at the NBTA conference between technology providers and management solution providers.
Sabre's GetThere announced a partnership on July 18 with independent meetings management provider HelmsBriscoe of Scottsdale, Ariz. Under the agreement, HelmsBriscoe would offer meeting site-selection services and RFP services to corporations using the GetThere booking engine. HelmsBriscoe's services are free for GetThere DirectMeetings users, said GetThere product manager Jeremy Stubbs.
Once a meeting is created in the DirectMeetings module, HelmsBriscoe offers site selection, contract execution and follow-up services.
"In today's global economy, multinational firms embracing online booking with GetThere represent a perfect match for us as we expand our reach in Asia, Europe and Latin America," said Greg Malark, executive vice president of HelmsBriscoe, in a company release.
GetThere said online meeting registrations through its tools grew by 63 percent in 2005.
Twinsburg, Ohio-based Conferon Global Services announced it has formed a partnership to provide Web-based attendee management tools with meetings technology provider StarCite Inc. CGS will implement and resell StarCite products, according to a company release.
Conferon also announced it has become a reseller of Ntag Interactive products. Ntag's attendee badges are equipped with radio frequency identification chips for onsite attendee management and surveys.
"Our customers are searching for proven methods to elevate their meetings and events. They view events as a key platform to strengthen customer relationships, promote networking and provide educational opportunities. They need to know that these objectives have been met," said Rick Binford, chief marketing officer for Conferon.
McLean, Va.-based Cvent Inc. at NBTA showed buyers a new budgeting module it said was first of a trio of upcoming product releases, designed to enhance communications, electronic marketing, event management and performance measurement for meeting buyers.
"When we surveyed our client base, the response was overwhelming that there is high demand for event budgeting tools. Tracking and reporting event costs was a major pain point with significant financial implications for our clients," said Thomas Kramer, Cvent's CFO.
At the conference, BCD Travel released its sixth annual client survey, taken in May of 181 corporate customers. The agency's meetings arm, WorldTravel Meetings & Incentives, based in Chicago, has been rebranded as BCD Meetings & Incentives
(Meetings Today, July 17).According to the survey, 40 percent of respondent clients manage meetings through the corporate travel department. Only 10 percent of respondents said their companies leverage meeting air spend for transient travel.
BCD Meetings & Incentives global president Scott Graf said the group would act as a stand-alone operating business within BCD Travel.
"As a distinct operating unit of BCD Travel, we enjoy the strength and leverage of a $12 billion company. But as a separate business, we can maintain the intimate, customer-focused culture that made each of our legacy organizations a success," Graf said in a release.
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Selling meetings management initiatives to senior management was a central theme at NBTA's conference and also at the annual World Education Congress of Meeting Professionals International, held last month in Dallas. MPI attendees were offered a special two-day education track on how to build a strategic meetings management program. However, the SMMP tracks at NBTA were aimed at travel managers asked to take on meetings management, MPI focused on meeting managers who operate separately from corporate travel departments.
Attendees at a town hall meeting, however, complained that MPI's educational offerings were not keeping pace with the growth of the association. The association continues to search for a chief executive officer after former head Colin Rorrie left MPI in March. New MPI chair Mark Andrew, who previously worked as general manager of the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver, B.C., said members can expect a number of changes in the coming year, including the development of membership categories. The categories would enable more customized educational offerings, MPI's Andrew said.
The two-day course on strategic meetings management focused on the importance of drafting a business plan and metrics for return on investment and referred attendees to other MPI courses for more detailed information.
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During the MPI conference, Omni Hotels announced it has joined the Global Hotel Alliance, a group of small and midsize hotel companies. Omni Hotels will serve as GHA's partner in North America; Kempinski Hotels & Resorts in Europe; Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts in Asia; and Rydges Hotels & Resorts in Australia and New Zealand, according to a company release.
InterContinental Hotels Group's Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has plans to launch a new meetings portal on its Web site, according to Kevin Kowalski, vice president of brand management for Crowne Plaza. The portal, which is expected to launch by October, features a booking tool, templates and an attendee registration tool. The site would also feature third-party educational content and push the brand's marketing drive as "The Place to Meet."
Both NBTA and MPI conferences set attendance records. More than 3,600 attendees registered for MPI, with 40 percent planners and 60 percent suppliers, according to the association. At NBTA, nearly 5,500 attendees registered, with 1,300 travel buyers and 4,200 travel suppliers.