Meeting News - February 25, 2008 - (Page 3)

Perspectives Think Fast I feel like I’ve seen this before. Like many of you, I was working in the meetings industry in 2001 and 2002, when the U.S. economy was struggling to rebound from the shock of 9/11. Travel suffered immensely, and organizations were loath to plan many off-site meetings for several reasons: r They were uncertain about business conditions r Budgets were very tight r No one wanted to travel While Americans have become comfortable traveling again, a softening economy—and many say a recession—is once more threatening to derail meeting plans. Our online straw poll (see What’s Up, p. 4) indicates that planners are beginning to feel the effects. Our cover story, however, paints a different picture, with analysts predicting that the supply side of the hospitality industry will see little disruption on the whole, and that meetings business won’t drop off dramatically. This may all be true. But analysts tend to see the big picture. I would suggest that planners may see many changes in their day-to-day work patterns as a result of tough economic conditions. After several years of last-minute meetings after 9/11, high hotel occupancy levels in the last two years necessitated longer planning times. If the economy really takes a nosedive, we may see a return to shorterterm planning—especially on the corporate side—as businesses rethink the expense of annu- Elizabeth West, al programs and move toward smaller meetings Editor-In-Chief that are prompted by urgent business needs. For 2008, planners may be pushed to move more quickly than ever and they’ll need to use their relationships to locate good deals, as analysts don’t see a decline in room rates on the horizon. Be aggressive about looking for meeting properties that may have lost some group business. Filling sudden gaps in hotel occupancy will get you the best rates, which come in handy when overall budgets are getting reduced. According to MeetingNews’ online poll, 28 percent of planners surveyed are grappling with this already. r Editorial F e b r u a r y 2 5 , 2 0 0 8 Vo l u m e 3 2 , N u m b e r 4 Corporate/Sales Scott Pierce, Vice President Travel Group Phone: (646) 654-7325 Editor-In-Chief, Elizabeth West (646) 654-7360; elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Executive Editor/Hotels, Rayna Katz (646) 654-4421; rayna.katz@nielsen.com Managing Editor/International, William Ng (646) 654-4451; william.ng@nielsen.com Senior Editor/CVBs/Technology, Marshall Krantz (510) 530-3776; marshall.krantz@nielsen.com Senior Associate Editor, Lori Morris (646) 654-7329; lori.morris@nielsen.com Online Editor, Jennifer Levey (646) 654-7356; jennifer.levey@nielsen.com Research Director, Nancy Lazarus (646) 654-7272; nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com Editorial Fax: (646) 654-4428 Editorial Address: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595 Southeast/Mid-Atlantic/Ohio Larry Mischik, Ad Director/Account Manager 3054 Four Oaks Drive, Atlanta, GA 30360 Phone: (770) 604-9641 NYC/NJ/New England/Bermuda/Caribbean Diane DiMaggio, International Advertising Director 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-7332 Florida/Cruise Arthur Hyman, Associate Publisher/Account Manager 1267 Via Fiume, Boynton Beach, FL 33436 Phone: (561) 736-5374 Midwest/Texas/Louisiana Patrice Carman, Account Manager 200 West Jackson Blvd., 27th floor, Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: (312) 583-5522 Contributing Editors Christopher Hosford, Emily Carrus, Heidi Waldrop Bay Phillip Hennessey, Kinley Levack Suzie Amer, Terri Hardin, Robert Carey (Editor-At-Large) California/Hawaii/Nevada Sharon Freeark, Account Manager 2950 31st Street, Suite 100, Santa Monica, CA 904053037; Phone: (626) 578-0700; Fax: (626) 578-0720 Art Group Creative Director, Amy Bothwell Art Director, Richard Prestia (646) 654-4424; richard.prestia@nielsen.com Asia/Pacific/Southwest/Colorado Edie Garfinkle, International Advertising Director 2510 G Las Posas Road, #505, Camarillo, CA 93010 Phone: (805) 383-1326; Fax: (646) 654-4456 Marketing Marketing Manager, John Toler (703) 488-2739; john.toler@nielsen.com Promotions Associate, Jennifer Ginsberg (646) 654-7210; jennifer.ginsberg@nielsen.com E-Media Jared Smith, National Account Manager 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-5520 Production Production Manager, Adam Schaffer (646) 654-7295; Fax (646) 654-7318 adam.schaffer@nielsen.com Subscription Information: (847) 763-9050 Subscription Fax: (847) 763-9037 Single Copy Sales: (847) 763-9050 Marketing Services Peter Hirschhorn, Director of Marketing Services 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-7556 Steve Moore, Account Manager 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003; Phone: (646) 654-5533 Reprints The YGS Group Kristi Fulkerson (800) 290-5460 x144 MN@theYGSgroup.com International CANADA: Wayne St. John, President; Penny Dickenson, VP Sales; Alex Kinninmont, VP Sales/Admin.; Francoise Chalifour, Cyndy Fleming, American Publishers Canada Phone: (416) 363-1388; Rosalind Genge, Western office, Phone: (604) 988-0730; MEXICO & LATIN AMERICA: Veronica Castro; CASS Media; Phone: 52-55/5605-1757 EUROPE/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Diane DiMaggio, International Advertising Director, Successful Meetings/MeetingNews; Phone: 646-654-7332; Fax: 646-328-0218; Cell 914-299-4394 ASIA/PACIFIC: Singapore Lavendar Tan, Al Media, 733 Bukit timah Road #03-05, Singapore 269748; Phone: (65) 469-9321; Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines Annie Blanchard & Associates, Tel/Fax (632) 645-7296; Korea Mr. Jung-Won Suh, President, Singesi Media Inc., Phone: +82 2 3275 5969; Japan Etsuko Ichinohe, Pacific Business, Inc.; Phone 81-3-3661-6138; Fax: 81-3-3661-6139; Macau, Hong Kong, China Stephen Hutton, Hutton Media Limited, International Media Representatives, Suite 2102 Fook Lee Commercial Centre, 33 Lockhart Road, Wanchai Hong Kong; Phone: 852 2528 9135; Fax: 852 2528 9281 List Rentals For postal mailings: Julius Single, (845) 731-2731 For emailings: Nicole Guarascio, (845) 731-3828 Group President William J. Cooke VP Finance Rhonda Linovitz elizabeth.west@nielsen.com IN THIS ISSUE ® ® ® ® ® ® ® ® What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Convention Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 MN Webcast Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Successful Meetings University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 People Making News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 New NBTA Trustees Leader & Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Live from the Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 President, Greg Farrar Senior Vice President/Human Resources: Michael Alicea Senior Vice President, Finance: Derek Irwin Senior Vice President, Travel, Performance, Life Sciences & Marketing Services: William J. Cooke Senior Vice President, Marketing & Media: Sabrina Crow Senior Vice President, Film & Performing Arts: John Kilcullen Senior Vice President, Music & Literary: John Kilcullen Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Planning: Thomas Kuczynski Senior Vice President, Retail: David Loechner Senior Vice President, OnlineMedia: Linda McCutcheon Senior Vice President, Building Design: Joe Randall Senior Vice President, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek Vice President, Licensing & Events: Howard Appelbaum Vice President, Marketing Services: Drew DeSarle Vice President, Manufacturing and Distribution: Jennifer Grego Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley www.meetingnews.com February 25, 2008 MeetingNews 3 http://www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - February 25, 2008

Meeting News - February 25, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Convention Centers
Technology
MN Webcast Report
Successful Meetings University
People Making News
New NBTA Trustees Leader & Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - February 25, 2008