Meeting News - April 21, 2008 - (Page 5)

Inside the Meetings Industry Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Collegiate Planners Flock to Trade Annual Las Vegas—The Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-International (ACCED-I) drew a record 540 attendees to its annual conference, held March 9-12 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. The group—made up of conference and event planners for schools and universities, outside planners who use campus facilities, and sales and service reps from campus facilities—was treated to an educational track featuring noted industry veterans. First, Joan Eisenstodt, owner of Washington, DC-based consultant Eisenstodt & Associates, led a senior-level workshop on how best to market a university setting to planners. Later, Patti Shock, professor at the Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, ran a session on F&B trends and how to deliver memorable meals on tighter 2008 budgets. Corbin Ball detailed the technology trends that are transforming conferences and events—especially RFID and mobile applications that can enhance experiences for attendees and event coordinators alike. The speed of technology change is enough that one attendee said after Ball’s session, “That was some of the most enlightening— and frightening—information I’ve ever gotten from a conference.” Deborah Blom, ACCED-I’s executive director, noted that a few other sessions were filled to capacity; one addressed the communication styles and needs of the four generations in the workplace, while another covered ways to create greener meetings and sustainable facilities. ACCED-I’s 2009 annual event will be in Boston, March 21-25. www.meetingnews.com Experts Address Biz Travel Demand, Prices for Rest of ’08 New York—At the National Business Travel Association’s (NBTA) inaugural Financial Forum in mid-March, the news for meeting planners and other business travel buyers was not especially good. While the economic downturn has forced many planners to work on shorter lead times and trim budgets, rates at meetingsheavy hotels will not drop in the way they did during the 2001-02 recession, say experts. “While there’s certainly going to be a downturn, it will affect the lodging industry differently than in the past,” said Mark Lomanno, president of Smith Travel Research. “This downturn is going to affect the most price-sensitive segments of the lodging market first, and also affect properties in the second- and third-tier markets first.” In other words, travel reductions will dent prices in the lower lodging tiers—but much less in the upscale and luxury tiers.“The cost-conscious consumer will be cutting back,” he said. What’s more, the top 25 domestic hotel markets, which represent 42 percent of domestic hotel revenue overall, are generally running at high capacity. At the same time, hotel rates in those markets have been increasing more than those in smaller destinations, unlike six years ago when there was a noticeable rate drop in even the largest markets. For the first 60 days of 2008, daily demand room growth was just 0.3 percent, and occupancy dropped by 1.7 percent versus 2007, according to Smith Travel Research. Average daily rates, however, have grown by 5.2 percent still. And, in the next few years, overall rates will continue to increase, although not at the levels of 2006 and 2007, said Bjorn Hanson, hospitality and leisure group principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers. PwC projects a 5.4-percent increase in average daily rates this year and a 4.5-percent increase in 2009, compared with 7.5 percent in 2006. Further, Hanson posited that the luxury and upscale tiers will see rate increases above the overall average in 2008 and 2009, while economy-tier lodging increases will be below average. The reason: “Availability will still be at a premium in the top markets,” he said, due in part to foreign travelers taking advantage of the weak U.S. dollar. Hotels also will continue to increase the fees and surcharges imposed on guests, Hanson added. In 2007, hotels and resorts collected $1.75 billion in fees and surcharges that included those for minibar restocking, baggage handling and storage, Internet service, and faxes. Of little consolation is the fact that such fees will not rise as much as in the past few years, he said. Despite all this, at the Financial Forum, NBTA President and CEO Kevin Maguire opened the event by saying that he “has not seen companies take drastic measures to cut travel” and that he expects “business travel will grow more slowly, but nonetheless continue to grow.” Hotel availability will still be at a premium in the top markets, due in part to foreign travelers taking advantage of the weak U.S. dollar. MPI Launches Pre-ITB Show in Asia Dallas—Coming on the heels of the announcement by show producer Messe Berlin of the new ITB Asia convention and trade show, taking place Oct. 22-24, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announced that it will host its first Asian Meetings and Events Conference from Oct. 24-26 in the same location of Singapore. Both organizations view Singapore as an ideal location to reach out to the Asia-Pacific region. The co-location and joint marketing effort is expected to lure more than 5,000 visitors to ITB Asia and 250 delegates to MPI’s show. The Asian Meetings and Events Conference will be entirely cocreated with Asia-Pacific meeting and event professionals in order to address the challenges and opportunities in the region, including how tomorrow’s workforce will shape the future of meetings, attracting and retaining talent, and increasing recognition of the meetings and events industry and its practitioners. A limited hosted buyers program will be offered. MPI has planned its other overseas conferences in 2008 to coincide with major shows in the industry to boost attendance and its profile. For example, the trade group’s European Meetings and Events Conference, taking place April 18-20 in London, ends right before the huge International Meetings Exchange (IMEX) show in Frankfurt. H —Section written by Robert Carey April 21, 2008 MeetingNews 5 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - April 21, 2008

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