Successful Meetings - February 2009 - (Page 12)

NEWS UPDATE 14 Report Reveals Mood of the Market 16 Sustainable Meetings Report Debuts 17 Industry Events Calendar Meetings Associations Band Together Hotels Lower Rates in ‘09 A L CEO of the American Society of eaders for many of the major Association Executives (ASAE), meetings industry associations congregated in New Orleans last Gregg Talley, president and CEO of Talley Management Group, which month at the annual meeting of the manages the Convention Industry Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) for Council (CIC), Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel an unprecedented strategy session to develop an initiative aimed at making Association, and Christine Duffy, president and the governCEO of Maritz ment and the Travel. public more Organizations aware of the that were not value of the present, but are meetings and part of the iniincentive tiative are the industries. National This initiative Business Travel will include a Association sustained lob(NBTA), Site bying effort (formerly the on Capitol PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton Society of Hill by the U.S. Incentive & Travel Executives), the Travel Association (formerly the International Association of Travel Industry Association) and a comprehensive study of the impact of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the the meetings and incentive industries. Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), and the In attendance at the meeting were Destination Marketing Association Deborah Sexton, president and CEO International (DMAI). of PCMA, Bruce MacMillan, presi“A united effort by the entire indusdent and CEO of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), John H. Graham IV, president and continued on page 17 fter a year of raising rates, three-, four-, and five-star hotels will trend toward lowering rates in 2009, predicts New York-based corporate travel management company Ovation Travel Group, which recently released the results of a hotel rate survey in which more than 400 properties worldwide participated. On average, the survey revealed, hotels have lowered their 2009 rates by 4.31 percent compared to their 2008 rates. OTHER FINDINGS: Domestically, 37.1 percent of properties have lowered their 2009 rates by an average of 10.2 percent, while 38 percent have maintained the same rates as 2008. • Average domestic rates fell by 3.2 percent in 2009. Internationally, 35.6 percent of properties have lowered their 2009 rates—an average of 11 percent—while 27.1 percent have maintained the same rates as 2008. • Average international rates fell by 4.67 percent in 2009. Ovation Travel Group Chairman and CEO Paul Metselaar said in a statement: “Hospitality industry research groups have long been predicting a decrease in 2009 hotel rates. We surveyed over 400 properties worldwide with whom we have strong vendor relationships and put real numbers to the trend.” —Matt Alderton 12 I SM I February 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - February 2009

Successful Meetings - February 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
News Update: Meetings Associations Band Together
Education
Planner Spotlight
Technology Talk
Food & Beverage
Making Cents of It All
Meanwhile, Back at Headquarters
Seal of Approval
Come Sail Away
Making Tracks
Places & Spaces
Florida’s East Coast
Aruba
Maui
3 Days in Philadelphia

Successful Meetings - February 2009