You've got to be happy that demand is rising once again for corporate and meetings travel, but the effect of higher demand, of course, is higher prices. That's exactly what's going to happen next year, and this is a good time to prepare for it.
This week, Carlson Wagonlit Travel released its annual forecast, and in its look ahead for 2011 sees a rise in per-attendee, per-day cost for corporate meetings between 7% and 11%. Of course, I didn't know how much, but I knew the hike in meeting costs was coming.
According to CWT, higher meeting costs will come from:
- a 3% to 5% hike in domestic economy airfares and a 2% to 7% rise in international economy and business class tickets,
- a 6.4% to 7.4% rise in U.S. average daily rates (and as high as 12%
in the Northeast).
If you're a meetings, travel or procurement manager, now is the time to review budgets and make sure that you're covered for these expected hikes in costs. If you find the numbers are falling short, take action! One way might be to gather data, such as CWT's forecast numbers (American Express usually comes out with a forecast around this time of the year, too, and I'll keep you posted on that one!), and present them to your VP or boss as proof that you need an injection of funds.
But if there's no budging on your budget, use your e-rfp tool to easily expand the hunt for more moderately priced hotels, such as airport or lower-star properties. And, when dealing with suppliers, don't forget about the negotiating ability you already yield.
You’ve got the power; use it!
This week, Carlson Wagonlit Travel released its annual forecast, and in its look ahead for 2011 sees a rise in per-attendee, per-day cost for corporate meetings between 7% and 11%. Of course, I didn't know how much, but I knew the hike in meeting costs was coming.
According to CWT, higher meeting costs will come from:- a 3% to 5% hike in domestic economy airfares and a 2% to 7% rise in international economy and business class tickets,
- a 6.4% to 7.4% rise in U.S. average daily rates (and as high as 12%
in the Northeast).
If you're a meetings, travel or procurement manager, now is the time to review budgets and make sure that you're covered for these expected hikes in costs. If you find the numbers are falling short, take action! One way might be to gather data, such as CWT's forecast numbers (American Express usually comes out with a forecast around this time of the year, too, and I'll keep you posted on that one!), and present them to your VP or boss as proof that you need an injection of funds.
But if there's no budging on your budget, use your e-rfp tool to easily expand the hunt for more moderately priced hotels, such as airport or lower-star properties. And, when dealing with suppliers, don't forget about the negotiating ability you already yield.
You’ve got the power; use it!
While I'm here in Asia-Pacific, it's interesting to see that this region had the largest increases in revenues, rates and occupancies than all others globally, according to STR, which I read about in
Yesterday was the last day of our Global Leadership Symposium in Boca Raton, Florida, and I have to say I enjoyed myself thoroughly -- mixing with clients from around the world, our valued supplier partners and other industry executives and friends. 
Bravo to these strategic-thinking meetings managers and planners. Perhaps the best of the article comes in a quote from former MPI chairwoman and independent planner
Now, however, after adopting SMMP technology, she sends RFPs "with the push of a button" and in 24 to 48 hours she receives replies in a centralized format, enabling her customers to make important decisions about meetings costs and services. "It makes it easier on our budgets and saves companies money because they get the best deal,"
nt me and others in the industry a note to say she's decided to go solo and open her own consulting practice. Debi is someone that I have tremendous respect for and admiration. At PwC, Debi became a sought-after industry expert on both SMM and virtual meetings, and she emphasized the difference between SMM and meeting planning management (SMM takes an enterprise-wide approach to managing meetings). Many of you know her as an industry thought leader, and she was recently recognized by
eetings in the last six months -- as I've been seeing a lot of anecdotal evidence of more activity at companies I talk to. Our
ike integrate the tools into their online registration and conference sites and send out speaker and logistical information, organizations are making broader decisions about how and why to use the tools in their meetings programs.
with hotels and other suppliers. Our CEO Greg Dukat kicked off the meeting by sharing that StarCite had a record number of customer renewals and expansions (many with multi-year contracts). And we signed on a dozen or so new enterprise accounts, the names of which I can't reveal. One of them, however, is among the largest global companies on the planet.
hy. I guess they don't like the idea that whatever they say has the potential to be published. And so they go to great pains to set up interviews at ideal times of the day, with lots of quiet around them and a prepared script in front of them.

