Successful Meetings - January 2009 - (Page 46)

hassle; as ever, the risk of nasty weather during hurricane season makes parts of the region a risky selection for a few months every year; and with the global economic crunch, the word “resort” can carry a perception of excess. “We believe that 2009 will be a challenging year for the Caribbean,” says Hugh Riley, interim secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and co-chief operating officer for the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, based in New York. “It is difficult to assess how deep and how long those challenges will exist.” Many players in the region’s hospitality industry say that groups are still booking meetings and incentives at a rate close to what they did in recent years, but with shorter lead times. Still, it seems everyone in the Caribbean is preparing for things to get worse before they get better. And they are using every weapon in their arsenal—seasonal promotions, development of new hotel product, marketing initiatives, and lobbying—to keep their perceived value up and their meetings bookings in the black. he’s willing to cut other deals as well. “Maybe normally you’d upgrade five rooms to suites, but now you’d upgrade eight or ten,” he says. The goal is to communicate to planners that “if you choose Rio Mar, you are saving money.” going to meet our needs this time, and we’ll be back in the JW next time.’ ” Getting There’s Half the Battle With all of the belt-tightening going on, one might think the Caribbean could PUERTO RICO The sunny atrium at Wyndham’s Rio Mar in Puerto Rico, is available for group dining Economic Downturn When insurance giant AIG’s corporate meetings and incentives became frontpage scandals, resort operators in the Caribbean had to know it was not good for business. Hotel general managers interviewed for this story all acknowledged that meetings of a particular type—insurance companies, financial services firms— dropped off considerably in the fall of 2008. They are fighting back with promotions designed to help meeting planners show bean counters that they have scored a deal in the Caribbean. Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa, a Wyndham Grand Resort, in Puerto Rico is offering a 10 percent discount on the master account to groups of 10 or more. And the property’s director of sales and marketing, Jeremy Marquard, says that Chris Calabrese, vice president and general manager of the JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa and the CasaMagna Marriott, says that he has given something like a rain check to groups that couldn’t meet as planned this year. “If it’s someone we have a longstanding relationship with, and they tell us, ‘We’re just not going to be able to pull off this event this year,’ we allow them to rebook without any penalties within a one-year period,” Calabrese says. “If they rebook that piece of business in a oneyear period, we apply the deposits to the next meeting. You’re trying to form an alliance with your clients, and it’s [how you treated them in] those tough times that they remember.” He adds that the JW Marriott is hurting more in the current economic climate than its sister property: “Some groups have said, ‘The CasaMagna is benefit as a lower-cost alternative for some groups looking to meet or hold an incentive at an international destination. But with cutbacks in flight capacity to the region, the travel can be expensive and impractical. Flight capacity may be the biggest challenge that the region faces. Several key Caribbean meetings destinations get fewer flights, and Puerto Rico in particular was hurt in mid-2008, when American Airlines stopped using San Juan as a hub. The airlift cutbacks have caused some groups looking at the Caribbean to take their business somewhere else instead. “Especially due to reduction in flights to the Caribbean, clients have changed destinations for their incentives,” says Harith Wickrema, president of event planning firm Harith Productions, based in Philadelphia. Steve Collins, president of Resort 46 I SM I January 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

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Successful Meetings - January 2009

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