Meeting News - May 5, 2008 - (Page 18)

MN Exclusive Research Food and beverage events getting costlier & more complex Expensive Alternatives ith a weakening economy, the pressure on Beyond the economy, there are other food and planners to stretch their budgets in all areas beverage concerns, such as the increasing need to of meeting planning has intensiﬁed, and with food attend to special dietary needs. “I never realized and beverage playing such a large role in events, the how many people are allergic to nuts. We had sevimpact is undeniable. In fact, nearly two-thirds of eral attendees who could not even go in the room the almost 400 planners who took part in a recent where lunch was being served because of the posMeetingNews survey on the topic said that creating sible nut flour in the air,” said Yvette Remschel, successful F&B events has become more of a chal- business development director of the Dallas lenge in the past year. Human Resource Management Association, who Not surprisingly, the number one reason cited by organizes meetings for the organization. those respondents for the difﬁDietary requests have also proven difﬁcult for Gloculty—by about 90 percent of ria Williams. “Many participants are more carbboth corporate and association planners—is rising conscious now, and in an effort to accommodate that costs.“A chicken plate for lunch is now around $30, we may add boiled eggs or some other protein whereas a few years ago you could get it for around [source] to our meeting breaks,” said the Washing$18,” said Michael Allen, employee relations special- ton, DC-based conference manager of the American ist for the Newport Beach, CA-based mortgage and Public Human Services Association.“But I have seen banking company Downey Savings and Loan. boiled eggs costing $38 a dozen. Finding healthy MN “The price has skyrocketed in the last two Exclusive alternatives drives up our costs even further.” years, especially when booking events for dates Research that are close in: within six months. We really Creativity Is Key lost any negotiating ability on the last-minute The risks are tangible when cutting back on F&B, bookings.” especially for association groups who struggle to For some planners, though, the art of negotia- keep attendance high during tough economic tion has allowed them to maintain the quality of times. “Our members are mainly state and local their events. Such is the case for Valerie Moore, public servants. With many states reducing travel president of Executive Meeting Consultants in budgets and some even suspending staff travel Cedarhurst, NJ.“We try to negotiate an across-the- altogether, our challenge is providing as much F&B board discount on all F&B events in the contract as possible to offset their out-of-pocket expenses stage. I also ask upfront if the hotel would be will- while not signiﬁcantly increasing our registration ing to work with us to customize menus that are fees,” said Williams. Nevertheless, she is forced to within the client’s budget. Times are tough, and as make F&B compromises. “We have begun cutting such, I find that hotels are even more willing to back slightly. I may eliminate a mid-morning bevwork with us,” she said. erage break or scale back on reception food items, By Emily Carrus W F&B Harder to Chew In what ways have food and beverage events become more challenging? It’s more expensive so needs more attention to keep costs down More attendees have special dietary needs Attendees are more educated about food and demand more creativity Sustainability is a concern and it’s challenging to source products 9.3% 11.7% 4.6% Other 5.8% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Corporate Planners Association Planners 89.8% 92.0% 41.7% 38.0% 35.2% 27.0% Source: MeetingNews survey of 245 meeting planners Cutting the Fat lanners looking to cut down on food and beverage costs are taking several different strategies and stretching their dollars with more creative ideas. q Have fewer courses for a sit-down meal q Offer larger quantities of fewer food items q Offer box lunches or light fare that can be eaten on the go q Provide full breakfast but a light lunch q Work with the chefs for more creative ideas P Rely on heavy hors d’oeuvres instead of having sit-down meals q Do shorter or smaller receptions q Use smaller plates and glasses to control quantity q Consolidate F&B at one venue vs. doing dine-arounds q Eliminate bottled water q Serve less coffee and tea q Use venues with less expensive menus q offering more light fare than we have in past years.” Executive Meetings Consultants’ Moore emphasizes the need for greater creativity when planning, and a willingness from her clients to replace an eventlong open bar with a short cocktail reception and wine served with dinner, for example. “The last thing you want to do when organizing a program is compromise on food—that impacts the entire event.” According to the poll, about a quarter of planners have cut costs by having fewer courses at meals, limiting the variety of food available, serving box lunches, or shortening receptions. “You have to be more creative, such as offering a greater variety of food items in a reception but just not ordering enough for everyone to have their 1.5 pieces of each,” said Remschel, who has also discovered that working with outside caterers has proven cost-effective.“Last year, we used one for breakfast, and I was surprised at the amount of money that we saved.” The hope for all planners and their clients, though, is that their groups will be sympathetic to F&B cutbacks. “Everyone will surely notice the changes because we are scaling back so much,” said Downey Savings and Loan’s Allen. “However, I think our attendees will be fully aware of why we have to make these changes. I will just have to be creative to make sure it is the best it can be.” r www.meetingnews.com 18 MeetingNews May 5, 2008 http://www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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