Stay on Top of Meetings Trends

Budget-Conscious Meeting Planners Seek Value, Heightened Service

When it comes to meetings, it's a buyer's market.

"The buyer is king. They have a lot more negotiating power, and they know it," says Pamela Johnson, CDME, director of sales for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB), which markets The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel on southwest Florida's Gulf Coast for group and leisure business.

Joan Jenkins, director of sales and marketing at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers Airport at the Bell Tower and the Homewood Suites, echoes Johnson's sentiments. "A lot of association meeting planners who have booked their meetings years out are coming back to us one year out to renegotiate their rates and space," she says. "There's definitely a lot of negotiating going on."

Like other popular meeting sites, the destination is seeing the tight economy translate into budget-conscious meeting planners who are seeking to maximize the return on their investment. "These days planners are looking for value and aren't afraid to ask about value-adds," says Joe Thompson, director of sales and marketing at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa. "They're making sure they can stretch their dollars and get more bang for their buck," agreed Cathy Ennis, director of sales at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa.

Meeting properties on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel are responding to planners' demands for value with a variety of creative value-add options, concessions, inclusive meeting packages and special promotions. Among other offers, planners are receiving rate concessions, complimentary meeting space, credits to their master accounts based upon revenue spend, restaurant credits, food and beverage credits for banquet and catering expenditures, complimentary upgrades, complimentary rooms to subsidize their room revenue, complimentary ground transportation, complimentary breakfast, attrition cancellation clauses and assistance in booking transportation.

Even the VCB is offering a booking incentive, (link to details of the VCB's Islands Incentive offer) with qualifying planners receiving a 5 percent credit – up to a maximum of $5,000 -- of their total actualized room revenue to be used toward any meeting or conference taking place in the area between May 1, 2010 and December 15, 2010. In addition, meetings booked in 2009 or 2010 that occur between May 1, 2011 and December 12, 2012, excluding February through April, will receive a 2.5 percent credit.

"Our meetings incentive has been well-received in this time of great struggle," says Johnson. "Planners are using all of the incentives they can to their benefit."

Emphasis on Quality, Service

The destination also is responding with a heightened emphasis on quality and service. "We make sure planners know about our VCB's complimentary services," says Johnson. "It's the small things that really make a difference in their decision-making. When planners find out we provide on-site registration assistance or welcome bags with no cost to them, that goes a long way in securing their business."

Ellis Etter, director of sales and marketing for the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa, agrees. "Even though planners want discounts and reduced rates, they're still seeking top-end service and amenities regardless of the rate they receive." He says some are trading up to four- and five-star properties because of lower rates.

Similarly, Ennis sees some planners are even able to meet in larger market cities like Miami that they may not have been able to afford in the past because of current pricing structures. "They want to be sure to get a good location for a good price, and they're always seeking service."

Program Changes

At the same time, Ennis sees meetings intensifying with smaller meetings, less expenditures for food and beverage, and less extravagant receptions. "Planners have condensed programs and are more focused on the meeting, so there's no extra free time for the spa, fishing, or golf. Planners basically are sticking to the basic breakfast, lunch and dinner and spending less in the restaurants and spa."

Jenkins agrees. "Corporate meeting planners are cutting way back from what they used to do a couple of years ago."

Thompson adds that planners are having to justify their meetings more than ever before, so they are meeting for longer hours with full schedules and heavy content. "They're either curtailing the social aspect of their meetings such as a golf or tennis tournament or they're offering them at the end of the meeting as an option."

Narrower Booking Window

In their budget-conscious quest for value, planners also are booking meetings in a narrower timeframe. Thompson says they are not planning farther out because they know there are deals to be had. While Thompson is seeing them book within a six months window, it's not unusual for clients of SunStream Hotels & Resorts to book within two to three months of the meeting date. "We're seeing heightened last-minute bookings," says Jennifer Seaborn, director of sales and marketing for the properties. "It's escalated to a point that we're sometimes seeing RFPs in the month for the month."

Jenkins and Ennis verified this more aggressive trend. "Planners are putting off decision-making until the last minute to see what their budgets will be. Many are booking just 30 days out," said Jenkins. "They don't want to commit and be held for monies when they don't know if the meetings will take place, so they're waiting until the last minute to sign contracts," added Ennis.

Besides last-minute bookings, Thompson points to smaller, more regional meetings as a way for planners to manage costs. "There are a lot more regional meetings versus national meetings. To save travel costs, companies are breaking their meetings into smaller, regional events; so we're seeing smaller meetings that are more regionally focused."

And Seaborn says groups are seeking sponsorships through their vendors as well as local vendors to stretch their budgets. "They're looking for others to help sponsor cocktail receptions and mid-day breaks."

Customized Response to Planners' Needs

But regardless of the meeting and when it is booked, the destination's properties increasingly are customizing their response to planners' needs. "When we are talking to a perspective client for a group meeting," says Etter, "we have to treat each one on a case-by-case basis because all of them have different needs and desires when they're booking a meeting. We work hard to find out what a client is looking for and to work within their budget parameters. We'll do whatever it takes within reason."

He stresses the importance of relationship-building with clients to better understand their needs and to stay top-of-mind in the consideration set. "We strive to be creative and to change the way we think and react to our clients." He adds that clients are tending to stay with the tried-and-true meeting options where they know they will receive value for their money. They're not taking any chances on new meeting options, and they're looking more in their own backyard.

Etter also stresses the importance of maintaining a working relationship with competitive properties in the destination so that, if his property cannot meet a planner's needs, he can refer them to a nearby property that can. That way, he has a better chance of addressing his client's desires.

Johnson says the destination is particularly stepping up support for planners who are new to the business. "We're receiving more inquiries from people for whom meeting planning is not their primary job. A lot of planners are multi-tasking. Some planners are even losing their jobs because their employers are outsourcing meetings to a third party."

Thompson validates this trend. "A lot of meeting planners have gone to an outside third-party to plan their meetings or they're having someone in their office do it. A lot of dedicated meeting planners have been laid off and someone else in the company is doing it as a side job. We have to ask more probing questions to determine their needs."

Advice for Planners

Like many other destination property representatives, Ennis predicts a turnaround in the meetings business in late 2010 or sometime in 2011. In the meantime, what advice does she and others have for planners in these challenging times?

• If at all possible, conduct a site visit of any meeting property you are seriously considering to be sure you are receiving the quality and value you need. Don't buy without a test drive.

• Talk with property representatives before eliminating them solely on price. They may offer superior value that justifies the cost, and their terms usually are negotiable.

• Plan meetings as far out as possible to take advantage of lower rates and concessions and be flexible with meeting dates. In this buyers' market, hotels are making deals they weren't making three to four years ago. Plus, waiting until the last minute to book meeting space can backfire, since hotels normally release their meeting space for local catering events 90 days out. In that case, planners could be left scrambling to find appropriate space and may have to book a property that would not be their first choice.

• Share your bottom line with properties you are shopping to permit them to determine the best way to respond to your needs within your budget parameters and to allow them the opportunity to offer options you may not have considered.

• Consider smaller properties that can deliver superior personal service and generally a higher level of attentiveness than larger meeting venues.