Meeting News - March 9, 2009 - (Page 22)

Planners Guide to Florida By Rowland Stiteler For groups fortunate enough to still be convening right now, deals for meetings and incentives in Florida for this year have reached historic proportions. That is largely due to a stark reality: Not only are far fewer groups booking in the Sunshine State compared with last year— and Florida is currently in its traditional high season—but many are pulling out, as well. “Not only have I had cancellations and postponements during the past 60 days, I don’t know any peers who haven’t had the same experience,” said Patty Klein, president and CEO of A-Plus Meetings & Incentives, in Coral Gables. In fact, a cross-section of a dozen independent planners from all around Florida suffered cancellations in January or February, and all of them said meetings demand in the state is at the lowest point they’ve seen in a decade. Several of those planners have been in business for 20 years or more and said they have never seen demand so low in their entire careers. “To say this is a buyer’s market is not just the understatement of the year, it’s the understatement of the century—at very least this century,” said CMP Lynn Griffith, president of Fort Lauderdale-based Welcome Florida Inc., a destinaDisplays about corporate social responsibility replaced lavish floral centerpieces at a recent awards banquet in Florida. 22 MeetingNews March 9, 2009 Edited by William Ng and Rayna Katz william.ng@nielsen.com, rayna.katz@nielsen.com piece of the same business for later in the year or replace a booking with another that’s within the year. She said HelmsBriscoe is using its network of clients to “swap out” events on already-set dates, replacing canceled groups with others needing to meet. But she said it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find replacement incentive groups. “Demand is weak, and hotels are willing to be very creative and are open to negotiation on just about anything,” said Corder. However, beachfront hotels across South Florida are holding firm on peak dates—the time around Spring Break. “The rates are holding firm for that time period, but most groups don’t want to meet in Florida during those historically high-rate periods anyway,” Corder added. Perception issue hurts market Florida planners say their interaction with clients is pointing to the perception of cavalier spending as partly to blame for the decline in meetings. At press time, Chicagobased bank Northern Trust Corp. was the latest organization to become embroiled, because of a big golf event it sponsored in Los Angeles. “In all honesty, for a lot of our clients it is not so much about the cash as it is about the perception,” said Klein. “If they had layoffs, they don’t feel they will be perceived favorably by their stakeholders for taking a meeting or an incentive group to Florida. And that has been fueled by a lot of coverage in the national media that has paintcontinued on page 40 Meetings Chill Creates White-Hot Bargains As demand scales back, those still gathering in state embrace cornucopia of deals tion management company. As a result of weak demand, every RFP attracts a crowd of suitors and meetings deals are widespread and generous. “The deals we are able to get from hotels right now, on things like abatement of attrition fees, inclusion of value-added services, and room rates, are just phenomenal,” Klein said. Over the past couple of months, Klein worked out a deal with a hotel to charge last year’s price for a repeat incentive, but with a 20percent bigger group this year. “The group will consume 20 percent more room nights and 20 percent more meals and hotel services for the same expenditure,” she said. “And because airfares have finally begun to drop in Florida, we were able to put an incredible deal together for the group.” CMP Vickie Corder, national accounts manager for the Jacksonville office of HelmsBriscoe, said Florida hotels have been willing to waive cancellation fees for groups that either book another www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 9, 2009

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