Online Event Management

For more than a year now, whenever I've done media interviews and spoken with procurement and corporate executives, I've been mentioning how there's a "new baseline" in business travel and meetings management spend. Recently, more and more I've been seeing the term the "new normal" being used by folks in the business travel and meetings industry to describe the purchasing environment we're all dealing with these days: strict compliance to purchasing rules, ultra-loyalty to preferred suppliers, migration to more virtual meetings and, seems to me, keeping meetings plain and simple.

Perfect example: the new normal is when resorts -- even though most are super-equipped to host large conferences and meetings of every stripe and often give great negotiated rates -- are removing the word "resort" from their names. They're doing this because they know how sensitive the public, the government and top executives are about perceptions of lavish spending. That's a pretty dismaying reality about the "new normal."  

But not all of the "new normal" is about simpler, more bare-bones meetings. Some of the "new normal" is good, too. I use the term a lot, when talking with customers or perspective clients about what CEOs today commonly expect in return for allocating precious funds for meetings programs, including mandates to measure ROI of meetings and proof that a strategic meetings management program is producing savings and efficiencies.

Recently, I ran across an online 18-question quiz by American Express Business Travel that may help you assess if you're operating in the "new normal," and if your travel and meetings programs reflect the current environment. The quiz is introduced by Charles Petruccelli, President of Global Travel Services at American Express, and features benchmarking insights from a research study conducted by ProMedia and American Express.

I recommend taking the quiz; you might find out that you've overlooked a "new normal" best practice to implement in your SMMP.

Check out this whitepaper, too, to find out if there are hidden liabilities in your meetings program that are blocking you from operating in the "new normal."

A new report out on commercial card spending notes that 2009 is the first year since purchasing cards were introduced to see a drop in overall spending. In fact, it was a year of decline for the commercial card industry on the whole, which, for more than a decade has posted double-digit spending growth figures.

According to the report, "this explosive growth was driven mainly by the administrative cost savings that card programs were able to deliver. Throughout the decade, as complementary technologies such as program management systems improved, card programs delivered still greater costs savings by improving transparency of spend, particularly in the area of MRO and T&E related purchasing. Taken together, these benefits sparked a secular movement away from costlier paper-based purchasing to more efficient electronic purchasing."

After reading this, I can't help but think how meeting cards -- as part of a comprehensive strategic meetings management program (SMMP) -- have helped countless numbers of companies:

a) discover the scope of their meetings spend separate from T&E,
b) use the data to create policies and rules around purchasing to implement more control,
c) apply what they've learned to increase bargaining power with their meetings suppliers.

Further, meeting cards linked to SMMP technology are powerful tools to help reduce administrative processes, such as budgeting and reconciliation of supplier bills.  Card data is pretty solid in the eyes of the CFO, too, and auditors also like the ability to track spend that is documented.

I'm afraid the report, published in the online publication Commercial Payments International  doesn't offer too rosy a picture of recovery for spending. It says spend won't keep pace with GDP growth. Not great news for card companies.

But T&E restrictions and purchasing policies that companies have implemented and strengthened won't be abandoned, either. And as I've said many times before, that's good news. The focus -- even when good times return -- will remain on strategic management of spend, whether it's on T&E, meetings or widgets. 

Ultimately, I think the power of cards as spend management tools will once again drive up spending levels. Yet, it's surprising that, even today, many companies ignore the benefits of using a meeting card. A new Aberdeen benchmark study due out soon says that over 60% of enterprises have integrated a corporate card into their expense management programs. Yet only 14% are using a meeting card in conjunction with strategic management of their meetings, events and conferences. For more details on that study, click here.

Commercial cards are the instruments of purchasing power that employees hold in their hands -- the first line of defense in spend control. And, when the transaction is complete, cards are the great provider of data that companies need to manage costs. And, in the case of meeting cards, companies can add extra power to the cards by integrating them into their overall SMMP. 

The best news about all of this is that if you are in danger of paying a claw back to your credit card provider, due to travel freezes negatively impacting your card spend thresholds for an annual incentive pay out, then issuing meeting cards and funneling their spend volume through your card program may actually help you to meet your basis point hurdles and earn an annual incentive, or at minimum, pay less of a claw back to your card provider. Having managed a very large multinational card program prior to my new life at StarCite, this is an area that you can definitely leverage to your company’s advantage.

When I first wrote about using social media tools, such as Twitter at meetings, attendees were using the technology to tweet back and forth during event sessions about how the presentation was going, exchanging opinions and then collaborating to propose questions to the panelists or presenter. How industrious and efficient!

Now, social media tools are taking on greater importance in overall strategic meetings management, according to an article in MeetingNews. While planners have been busy using social media to do things like 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.

That's a smart move because you'll want to make sure planners and their attendees are using social media to support your SMMP goals and increase your program value -- as well as adhere to corporate guidelines and policies around internal and external communications.

The article quoted a meetings tech consultant who said that companies are formulating policies on who will be responsible for the technology, which tools to implement and how to attract users. I work with some of our customers to accomplish the same thing, encouraging them to own this space as part of their travel and meetings programs; it’s all about enterprise mobility remember?

Understandably, there's a certain degree of cautiousness out there to implement an organization-wide tool. In the story, one association executive which used Twitter to satisfy members' needs to communicate in real-time and distribute conference material, acknowledged that "there is a fear of lack of control, and you don't have control over social media. It is an open forum, people can say what they want to say, and that makes people nervous. Our strategy is definitely cautious, but we are getting there."

In the meantime, social media continues to revolutionize how people and organizations communicate. Consider some of these statistics I found on the blog Socialnomics:

- 96% of "Generation Y" members have joined a social network;
- It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million listeners, but Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months;
- 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations, but only 14% trust advertising.

Yes, social media is cool, and it can streamline planning processes, enrich content, facilitate instant feedback to help you measure ROI -- and even attract new event sponsorship opportunities. But be careful to choose tools that match your SMMP goals and company policies, and make it a priority to appoint a watchdog who monitors how your employees or association members use -- or abuse -- the tools.

I'd call it exercising "enthusiastic caution." 

Because Technology sits in the middle of the NBTA's SMMP Model, I think some people in the business travel and meetings industry confuse it with the term "strategic meetings management." Often, in conversations with folks at conferences or even meeting with some prospective clients, I find myself explaining that SMM is way more than just the technology that allows companies to streamline meeting planning and budgeting, search competitively for suppliers, take care of attendees, enforce policy, analyze spend data and other important meeting management tasks.

To build a true, comprehensive end-to-end SMMP, you need to construct a meetings management strategy that reflects your company's values and ethics and lays out goals for areas as varied as cost-savings and preferred supplier relationships. And of course, you want to make sure that you have a policy in place that supports and enforces your meetings management program and is endorsed by senior executives.

My point in mentioning this is that it disturbs me to see very well-intentioned corporate meetings and procurement executives -- especially those just getting started centralizing meetings procurement and planning -- place so much emphasis on putting automation in place that they forget about the very challenging strategic tasks involved in building an SMMP.

That's why when considering implementing a meetings technology platform, it makes sense to expand the breadth of your efforts and make sure that you have the knowledge and know-how to implement a true SMMP:

- Do you need help implementing best-practices, such as strategies for optimal sourcing?
- What are the best policies, processes, usage goals, communication plans to get the word out about the SMMP to employees and elicit participation?
- How do you track and monitor spending?

In my travels, I've met with many executives that have rolled out failed technology initiatives without doing due diligence on how to roll them out effectively. There is always some degree of regret, and often those companies have to go through more change management by changing suppliers mid-contract.  A technology provider has an obligation to their customers to provide consultative expertise, best practices, and a range of services.  If you are just buying technology focusing only on price, you’re missing the bigger picture and sacrificing enterprise adoption -- your proverbial penny-wise and pound foolish scenario.  Your technology supplier needs to partner with you and understand your business objectives, challenges and work hand-in-hand with you to ensure that training, adoption, risk mitigation, data reporting and all of those other important functions and processes are properly in place and operating efficiently.

If you're considering strategic meetings management technology, the best advice I can give is be thorough and consider the back-end support and guidance you'll need as well as the front-end of how the online solution will work. It'll make all the difference in creating a comprehensive end-to-end program, or what I call a true SMMP.

We've just witnessed an important positive indicator in the convention and exhibition business and thankfully it benefited Las Vegas, a destination hurt by a double whammy of negative public perception and the economy.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which closed on January 10th in Las Vegas, is the largest annual trade show in North America, and it attracted more than 120,000 attendees this year – which is significantly up from 113,000 attendees last year, according to an article in The Economist.

While that's certainly good news, even better is an assessment by The Economist that CES's success bodes well for face-to-face meetings. The article quotes Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association, noting that there is little demand for virtual shows even in the consumer-electronics industry, folks you would think should be pretty comfortable with interacting online. Yet, "people still want hands-on experience of the gadgets they might soon be buying, and like to press the flesh with customers and suppliers," says the article.  It is at CES where the latest and greatest future technology is unveiled.  The advance buzz of future products has historically boosted sales in a very profitable way for the companies who invested in attending and showcasing their wares.

But how green are these giant exhibitions?  Isn't it better to save at least some of that expended energy and CO2 emissions and move towards more online showcasing?  I'm all for creating green meetings, and that can be done in many ways, for example, e-sourcing for hotels and convention centers that practice recycling. And, yes, virtual events are sometimes good green options.

But it turns out that CES attendees have an average of 12 different meetings with customers, suppliers and partners while at the show, according to Shapiro's data. And if attendees had to make those trips separately, it would amount to 1 billion miles of travel -- which translates to a lot of CO2 emissions.

My point is this, sometimes, in order to make the right decision about whether to go virtual or face-to-face, you have to consider metrics like these.

While CES is only one show, its size makes it important because our industry tends to sit up and take notice of it. I'm glad to see that attendance was higher this year and that it continues to be a visible example of the value of face-to-face meetings as well as a rebounding economy.

If video or web conferencing is a significant portion of your meetings program, perhaps it's time to consider creating or fine tuning guidelines around how attendees show up for these events -- meaning how they dress and present themselves when they get on camera.

Currently there’s laptop and home computer built-in web cams that allow for visual participation, and I’ve already heard stories of people who were unaware that their images were being viewed during a meeting. Oh, yes, total embarrassment!

It used to be that you could take part in a WebEx or teleconference from home; you could hang out in your robe, pajamas (and accompanying bed head) with no problem, while participating and taking care of business.  Soon, however, it will be a whole different story. Technology will soon require your attendees to be professionally attired for virtual meetings.

I thought about this as I was reading a piece in The San Francisco Gate. Apparently, Skype voice and video calling technology, which can be downloaded free from the web and allows subscribers to call and video conference each other at no cost, will be embedded in high-definition LG and Panasonic televisions with Internet capabilities. And LG and Panasonic will sell webcams that support 720-p high-def pictures.
 
This will all be available later this year. So, I wonder how many home-based meeting attendees will be turning to their 46-inch flat screens -- to see and be seen in virtual meetings? If you haven't done it already, this might be a good time to prepare for this next generation of virtual technology by updating your policy on virtual meetings to set some ground rules on how home-based attendees should dress. Allow me to make some suggestions:

- business casual attire for virtual meetings among fellow employees, meetings with suppliers, and any non-customer facing activity
- suit or coat and tie for gentlemen, business suits for ladies for all meetings that connect employees with clients and business partners
- combed hair, a shave, makeup (for women) – you can make it a gender neutral policy by asking employees for “visually professional appearance” during virtual technology meetings.

If you're thinking that this is a trivial matter. I beg to disagree. Employees representing your company, whether at an in-person event or virtual meeting, need to present themselves professionally for maximum impact. Besides, every day...seems more like every minute...technology is changing the way companies meet and manage meetings. So isn't it a good idea to be pro-active and prepare for these technological developments to better adapt and use them to your company’s benefit?

Have you created meetings policy rules on how virtual attendees should appear on camera? If so, please tell me about them here!

According to Smith Travel Research, several cities and regions around the world have emerged as focal points of hotel development and growth at the close of 2009.

National Occupancy & RevPAR

Nationally, the hotel industry overall experienced increases in occupancy and RevPAR in year-over-year measurements.  Hotels around the country rung in the new year with occupancy increases to 45.5% and RevPAR rising to $45.37 by week’s close on January 2.  Leading the growth in occupancy and RevPAR was the St.Louis, Missouri-Illinois market, followed by the Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey and Boston markets, respectively. 

Global Development Pipeline

Hotel markets across the globe are experiencing active hotel construction projects, with the Asia-Pacific region leading as the largest pipeline underway.  Specifically, Shanghai, Mexico, Brazil, London, and United Arab Emirates boasted the largest hotel development pipelines in their respective regions at the end of 2009.  On the other end of the pipeline, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean and Mexican markets were the regions with the smallest active hotel development pipelines. The breakdown of development is as follows:

• Asia-Pacific: 232,680 rooms>Shanghai with 13,057 rooms
• Europe: 97,266 rooms>London with 5,154 rooms
• Middle East and Africa>119,560 rooms/United Arab Emirates with about 48,000 rooms
• Central/South America>19,292 rooms/Brazil with about 7,700 rooms
• Caribbean/Mexico>18,291 rooms/Mexico with about 11,000 rooms

These numbers all bode well for the global hotel industry, indicating that a slow but steady recovery is on the way.  Find more updates on hotel industry numbers and performance at Smith Travel Research online.

As we begin 2010, I want to take a moment to mention some of the tremendous accomplishments of some very exceptional meetings managers during 2009.

Last year was truly the 'Year of the Meeting!' as our own business travel industry, the major media and the government all put a huge focus on corporate events and strategic meetings management. Some of it was positive, like the launch of NBTA's Strategic Meetings Management Certification (SMMC) program. And some of the attention was negative, like the misguided focus by the press and in government circles on corporate events as extravagant investments in recessionary times (when in fact it's been proven that meetings contribute enormously to a company's bottom line.

But aside from these major trends last year, were stories of some very hard-working and talented people who created or improved upon innovative strategic meetings management programs (SMMPs) at their companies. While I don't have large enough space in this format to mention them all, I want to draw your attention to some highlights:

Many were featured in Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine's "20 Changemakers,” including:

- Louann Cashill, Meeting Services Manager at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. (Louann significantly expanded centralized and automated hotel sourcing throughout her organization and worked pro-actively with hotels to re-book contracted space that planners had canceled for future meetings and re-negotiate credits.

- Lee Ann Adams Mikeman, VP, Conference Planning & Special Events, Science Applications International Corp. (Lee Ann and her team are streamlining the meetings payment process to track payments and reconciliations via their meetings technology system. She's also integrating her firm's online booking tool for air ticketing with the meetings technology platform.

- Other "Changemakers" who created outstanding meetings solutions for their firms included: Debbie Andersen, Senior Manager, Americas, Meetings & Conventions at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics; Jeff Calmus, AVP, Conference & Event Planning at MetLife; Susan Lichtenstein, Director of Travel and Global Meeting Solutions at Cisco Systems Inc.; Donna Foppoli-Patrick, Manager, Group Meetings, Events, and Travel, Medtronic Inc.; Marybeth Roberts, Director of Global Meeting Management, Amgen; Tom Tolvé, Senior Manager, Meeting Operations, Novo Nordisk; Tracey Wilt, Manager, Global Travel & Meeting Management for Xerox; Alice Woychik, Director of Meeting Solutions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Learn the full details of how these meetings executives enhanced their management programs by reading the full article in Corporate Meetings & Incentives!

And then there were others, singled out elsewhere, such as in Business Travel News, both for their outstanding contributions to their own companies and the industry at large, including:

- Debbie Dayton, Global Head of Travel Related Services at Deutsche Bank, who was named BTN's 2009 International Travel Manager of the Year. Debbie, along with VP and meetings program project leader Shawn Radek, made great strides last year consolidating and automating business and meetings travel processes worldwide. The bank, automated budgeting, requests for proposals  (RFPs), reporting, reconciliation and data modules. In just one improvement, Deutsche Bank's automated budgeting now projects the total cost of an event, including transportation spending -- before the meeting is approved. Further, the bank stays on top of things by pre-loading average negotiated hotel rates, airfares, F&B costs and other metrics biannually.

-  Cynthia Shumate, Executive Director of Global Travel and Meeting Services, Estee Lauder, who was featured in BTN's 2009 Large Market Benchmarking Report for creating a new SMMP. Cynthia's program now covers U.S. meetings -- about 12 large, annual gatherings of up to 350 attendees, plus thousands of smaller meetings for employee training and product launches. Expanding internationally is on the horizon. Among accomplishments, Shumate has centralized registration and sourcing of meetings, deployed a single meetings technology platform, created a central policy and  launched a meetings charge card.

There are so many other meeting, procurement and travel executives that brought strategic meetings management improvements to their firms in 2009. In doing so, they elevated our whole industry. It's unfortunate that I can't mention them all -- because you'd be reading this post all day. But my sincerest appreciation for being leaders in our industry goes out to you all, even if you're not singled out here. You know who you are!

Let's continue the progress we're making in creating new, higher standards in indirect expense management for corporate meetings and events, and let's make 2010 another  'Year of the Meeting!'

 

Ever see yourself conducting business meetings on a cloud, yes, a cloud?

The growing trend of cloud computing, which enables companies to stop pouring resources into internal servers and instead run applications and databases on the web (accessible virtually from any computer), is helping organizations cut down on the need to travel. According to a recent article I came across, 34,000 municipal employees of the city of Los Angeles will now be using cloud-based Google Apps (e.g., Gmail, Google Docs and other collaborative programs) in place of software previously loaded on their internal servers.

If this sounds like it's getting too techie for a strategic meetings management post, let me quickly make the link to how this is going to affect the city's need for meetings. In the story, Randi Levin, Chief Technology Officer for the city, said that, by going with Google's suite, she "expects L.A. employees to benefit from instant messaging, video conferencing, and simultaneous review and editing of documents by multiple people."  

Let's face it; the money tap is still twisted tight in this recession, and companies are looking every which way to avoid expenditures on "unnecessary" meetings, while still spending for critical face-to-face time with potential and current customers. So, now, in addition to virtual technology such as video conferencing, teleconferencing and TelePresence, organizations are turning to cloud-based apps, such as Google's, to help cut down on the need to travel for meetings.

OK, so now you can meet on the cloud, but regardless of the technology you use, meetings managers need to make sure they're incorporating these types of events into policy, for instance, addressing the circumstances for which they're appropriate. And, as I've said before here, like all events, it would be wise to have the strategy in place to measure a cloud conference's ROI.

Getting a bit confused by mixed signals on the seriousness of the H1N1 flu virus (aka swine flu)? On the one hand, President Obama has declared a national emergency over the current rate of outbreaks, and more than 1,000 people in the U.S. have died from the virus.

Yet, so far, it doesn't seem like businesses are letting the threat affect travel.

From Prague, where I'm attending ACTE's Global Education Conference, the organization has released findings of a survey of 109 international companies. It found that 91% were not delaying planning meetings or conferences. Further, 96% said business travelers had not asked to put off trips during the flu season.

But this isn't to say that companies, meeting managers and event attendees, themselves, aren't concerned about the spread of the virus.

One way to address those concerns would be to create or update your company policy addressing how to handle issues like H1N1 and other potential emergency situations and to communicate those policies effectively to your employees and meeting attendees. For example, at our company, our head of HR e-mailed all employees and advised that if they did have flu symptoms, but felt they had to work, to carry on from home in order to prevent infecting fellow employees. 

Key to making decisions about events and communicating with meeting attendees is having one meetings registration system that gives you visibility into all companywide events.  That way, you can quickly assess potential situations and make decisions.  Similarly, using one enterprise-wide online attendee management tool can give you the comprehensive data you need to locate people and make quick decisions.  

For prevention tips, you can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another forecast is out that predicts lower hotel prices in 2010. That's good news for meetings buyers. But getting to your event destination will be pricier.

A BTN story summarizes a new forecast by Advito (the travel management consulting arm of BCD Travel) that said airfares globally will rise 1-6% versus 2009 prices, including a 6% hike for North American economy-class trips.

An interesting point about the forecast, it warned that in 2010, elongated low-fare booking windows will shorten. What will that mean for meetings? Depending on how it all plays out, it may well be advisable for meeting managers to re-examine corporate policies and spell out or toughen language around allowable time windows for booking flights for events.
      
The forecast also notes that buyers will continue to see declining prices at hotels in major business travel markets, including the U.S., where average daily rates will fall just under 1% from 2009. Looks like the free-fall in rates may be close to hitting bottom. 

Pointing out another opportunity for travel and meetings buyers, Advito says that, because luxury hotels have done so much discounting, the price premium between upscale, upper upscale and luxury "is actually less now than it was 18 months ago," said the firm's vice president of business solutions Bob Brindley, in BTN. "The discounting moved all of the tiers a little bit closer together and reduced the premium clients were willing to pay when they were moving from one tier to another."

Maybe it's time to examine whether you can broaden your scope of hotels to include more luxury properties that offer moderate pricing and good value. Now, with web-based sourcing, its a snap to compare RFP responses online and the results might surprise you.

Have you been able to negotiate better deals for events at high-end properties? If so, tell me about it.

I read a story in today's Toronto Globe & Mail that captures perfectly both sides of the coin when deciding to meet virtually versus face-to-face. Seems David Suzuki, a noted Canadian environmentalist, has given up plane travel to Australia -- where he's in much demand for speaking engagements -- because the trips leave a huge carbon footprint. Instead, he's been substituting with video presentations, and he'll soon install telepresence technology at his Vancouver-based foundation.

The story also talked about the growth of desktop video conferencing, the kind that runs on the web versus proprietary bandwidith. And a Gartner analyst noted that he "increasingly sees firms making video-conferences an option" within their travel booking systems, requiring travelers to justify why a face-to-face is necessary.

A Wall Street Journal article in July said that, in this recessionary economy, of all tech, only virtual tech is growing. A lot of companies have elected to leverage virtual meetings tech  post-recession to continue saving on travel and meetings. So, if you haven’t investigated owning your company’s virtual technology strategy and/or policy creation, you should get to it. When the dust settles, you want to have virtual technology as part of your travel and meeting portfolio. Remember my concept of Enterprise Mobility? That's the new travel/meetings business you will be managing in the future.
 
I've frequently said that these virtual meeting tools are well suited for some type of events and, most importantly, should be managed within a company's overall strategic meetings management program. But I still believe that face-to-face events -- created with strong spending and policy guidelines -- are most rewarding for all involved, and good experiences at events produce great ROI. 

Apparently, a lot of Mr. Suzuki's clients feel the same. Near the end of the Globe & Mail story, Suzuki, who gets hundreds of requests for conference appearances, said that when he instead suggests a presentation over video, 19 out of 20 times the travel request persists.

I'm interested in your feedback and insights on face-to-face versus virtual meetings. Please share!

I came across a blog the other day that asked the question: "What the heck is a hybrid event? (using virtual technology at a face-to-face event)." It sparked in me the need to address a few points about the use of different virtual technologies at meetings -- because I think there is a lot of confusion these days about the tech that's out there. 

For one, there's telepresence technology, with hi-def sound and life-size images, giving virtual meetings  that "you are there" feel. It's a technology that's certainly growing. And it's enabling companies to save money by bringing people together from disparate regions globally -- via telepresence centers at places like hotels and conference centers -- without having to travel.

And then there are webcasts, a whole different animal. This is more of a collaborative presentation online, and while you can do things like ask questions to the webcast presenter, interaction is somewhat limited, depending on the size of the meeting.

And then still there are social media tools like Twitter, that enable attendees to send 140-character messages to each other, as well as presenters -- sometimes enriching the content of sessions. 

But just because something is shiny and new and hip doesn't mean it's right for your particular meeting.  Ask yourself: will this add value and increase meeting ROI? Does this automation fit the purpose and goals of the meeting, for example, do you want to invest in bringing attendees via telepresence to an internal training meeting...or will a webcast do the job?

What's certain is that establishing policy guidelines on the use of virtual meetings technology within your strategic meetings management program (SMMP) will help you and your planners make the right, most cost-effective choices.

Have you used any virtual meetings tech at f2fs (that's texting lingo for face-to-face meetings)?

This week at StarCite we announced two new agreements with some important meetings industry players that I'm sure will significantly benefit meetings managers and their strategic meetings manangement programs.

First, StarCite's partnership with the Valorem Group, which provides sales and marketing services to hotels, resorts and destination management companies globally, enables us to offer personalized service to StarCite's Destination Solutions customers. That's the service where we offer corporate and incentive meeting planners guidance through personal introductions to our Global Supplier Network -- including hotels, airlines, destination management companies and convention and visitor bureaus. Putting our RFP technology to work together with Valorem's services and companies will enable users to more comprehensively match meetings services to need, and, in the end, that means less waste, more savings and greater overall meetings management.

Our other new partnership is with Acclaim Meetings, a dynamic business community for independent meeting planners and travel agents. In this arrangement, Acclaim's meeting planners will get access to StarCite's technology to fully automate their meetings planning and procurement process, including planning, venue sourcing, audience acquisition, and attendee management. That means more efficiency: for example, the ability to automatically create and brand unique meeting registration websites. On top of that, Acclaim agents and planners can access our global online marketplace, expanding their choices for clients and in the process helping them to save money, too.

These partnerships seem to bode well for the meetings industry, especially in these challenging economic times, seeing as how we can seek out each other's strengths and form alliances to strengthen companies' ability to strategically manage their meetings.

I read in Meetings & Conventions magazine that U.S. companies who received Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from the government have posted their expense policies online this week. Those policies include rules regarding expenditures on business travel and meetings, and the Treasury Department requires the firms to make those rules available for taxpayers to see.  

M&C provided a link to Chrysler's policy on the automaker's website. And so curious me went to see what it looked like. I was glad to see that, top of the list, Chrysler summarized how its policy affected meetings and events  -- just one of the many categories of expenditures the document actually covers. Chrysler said the policy governs "hosting, sponsorship or other payment for conferences and events, and requires that the cost to the Chrysler Group company in connection with a conference or event be reasonable and commensurate with the expected benefit to the company."

The document laid out, too, the company's plans to audit expense reports for employees -- including senior executives. And it spelled out consequences of non-compliance, for example: "Confirmed instances of non-compliance shall subject the employee to such discipline, up to and including discharge from employment..." You, too, can get a look at the policy here.

While TARP recipients must post these rules to abide by Treasury requirements, once again, I have to acknowledge and give thanks to the coalition of industry groups, including the U.S. Travel Association, the NBTA and SITE, which took incredible initiative this year and produced a model business travel/meetings policy for TARP recipients (see August 13th post, hoping to head off government regulation. It heavily influenced Treasury's own rules. And it's actually a model policy that non-TARP recipients could find quite useful, too, in establishing the foundations of a strategic meetings management program (SMMP), for example, establishing a company-wide policy on "excessive or luxury" expenditures and setting up approval procedures for events.   

I'd like to hear about changes you've made to your meetings policy since the government began increasing its focus on meetings at TARP firms. Has this watch-dog environment influenced you in any way? 

A new study confirms what most of us in the business travel and meetings industry know deep in our bones: take away meetings travel and your business suffers.

The very in-depth study, commissioned by the United States Travel Association and the Destination and Travel Foundation, leaves little doubt that spending face-to-face time with clients will help your business stay profitable.  The numbers are quite compelling -- and impressive. Here are some findings:

- each greenback invested in business travel, produces $12.50 in revenue and nearly $4 in profits
- eliminating business travel slashes 17% of profits within a year for the average U.S. business.

The study also noted that business and government travel last year supported 2.3 million jobs (1 million of which are directly related to meetings).  And a 10% jump in business travel spending would contribute to a rise in the U.S. gross domestic product of between 1.5 percent and 2.8 percent (boy, could we use that right about now). With unemployment already hovering at 10%, I shudder at the thought of how further fall-offs in meetings travel could shrink the ranks of independent meeting planners, waiters/waitresses, maids, parking valets -- and the many people who rely on meetings to earn a living.

The study also provided some interesting statistics that underscored the importance of meetings. For example, sales-related meetings make up 34 percent of business travel spending, and internal meetings, conferences, and trade shows each represent about 10% of the average company's travel budget.  The study also confirmed the value of actually touching base with clients, partners or prospectives (versus talking with them virtually): 85% of executives say Web meetings and teleconferences are less effective than in-person meetings with prospective customers. And another 63% say virtual meetings are less effective than in-person meetings with current customers. (For more insight into face-to-face vs. virtual, see my Sept. 3rd post.

So what to do with this information? Personally, every time I hear someone criticize meetings as "wasteful" or "unnecessary," I'm going to make it my business to cite at least one statistic from this study. It's hard to argue with a cold, hard number, and it does wonders for backing up your point. I urge you to do the same.

To read more on this study, check out The Beat, the business travel newsletter, which covered the story. Visit this link!

StarCite was recently recognized in an article on Purchasing.com entitled "Purchasing's new frontier: Managing the meetings spend."  We at StarCite pride ourselves on our expertise on this issue, and we are pleased to be able to share some insight into how meeting planners, buyers and suppliers can implement an SMMP (Strategic Meetings Management Program) into their approach to meetings spend as well as their execution of meetings and events. Kevin Iwamoto was prominently featured in the piece as an authority on best meetings management practices and strategies. From the white paper Seven Step Guide to Creating an SMMP, here are his 7 tips for how to get started on introducing an SMMP within your company:

1. Project leader and core team. For a program to succeed, it needs a project leader who "owns" the initiative. Important qualifications are knowledge and influence. A cross functional team coordinates efforts.

2. Management buy-in. An executive champion lobbies other senior personnel and removes obstacles during program execution. When upper management is aware of the program and its goals, the team has more ready access to necessary resources.

3. Situation assessment. Determine project scope through a formal process that ensures all areas are covered and everyone is on the same page. Consider whether sourcing and planning are centralized, how meetings are sourced and planned, policies currently in place and best estimate of total meetings spend.

4. Goals and prioritization. Goals may be decided at the top through a mandate for reducing costs, result from a program like Six Sigma or may be part of the travel department's objectives. Common goals include cost reduction and efficiency improvement and are realized through strategic sourcing, closer coordination with travel or establishing standard processes.

5. Technology requirements. Technology enables organizations to gather data, collaborate with stakeholders and implement processes. So, the planning process includes determining functionality that technology will deliver in order to achieve set goals.

6. Writing a business case. To present a compelling argument to management, it's essential to conduct due diligence and demonstrate the team has thoroughly analyzed the spend. A business case consists of these components: current situation, opportunity/best practices, gap analysis and best practices flow—action plan.

7. Action plan and timeline. Once the team sets goals and determines priorities, members develop a timeline and action plan.

To learn more about SMMP, visit StarCite online, or see the full article here on Purchasing.com

I suppose that as long as the economy is topic #1 in the news, we'll continue to see more evidence of the value of virtual meetings versus face-to-face gatherings. Personally, I believe that there's a place at the table for all types of corporate events and mediums to conduct meetings. Generally speaking, I think that virtual meetings--which run the gamut from new Telepresence & Halo Room events where the A/V is in real-time and it feels as if all participants are sitting together, to simple web conferencing built around a shared presentation--are useful tools for internal employee gatherings and educational sessions. Face-to-face is best for getting together with current and prospective customers (see The Face-to-Face Advantage post), and for trade shows.  That’s not to say that the above mentioned technologies haven’t been used effectively for in-person events either. 

Surfing the web recently, though, I came across a press release from a maker of telepresence equipment. There was a quote in there from a client of theirs who said that, because of the meetings technology, the company was able to cut their business travel in half and save over 25,000 British Pounds per year. That’s remarkable in these days of barrel-scraping budgets! But what struck me more was another comment from the client on how video conferencing has improved the morale of employees with hectic travel schedules -- especially those with families that they must leave behind each time they pack their bags for another road trip. Video conferencing meant they could stay home more. Boy, can I personally relate!

Perhaps because of the focus on the economic downturn and the resulting paring of travel expenditures, there's not much talk these days about how to enhance the experience of meetings attendees while away from home. Totally tongue in cheek, I can only guess why: for one, the public criticism of meetings as wasteful, especially among companies receiving bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (see post). These days, who wants to even attempt to justify golf outings, extravagant entertainment and dinners at so-called luxurious venues?

But experts and studies confirm that the most effective face-to-face meetings strike a balance between work-related and downtime activities. Meetings can and should be both fun and productive; and your main tool for building balanced face-to-face events, with happy and productive attendees, is a strong well-defined meetings policy that's flexible when it needs to be.

A policy shouldn't be so draconian that it automatically rules out the "fun" in meetings. Let's say you have created a policy that says all internal meetings of 10 or more must be done virtually. You may find that'll force you into a corner someday, especially if one of those groups happen to be your company's top salespeople who work hard to hit great sales targets so they can be recognized and participate in an exclusive incentive trip.  Putting a picture up of Pebble Beach or a fancy destination on a video conference call is just not going to cut it! It’s actually demoralizing -- not motivational and rewarding.

For your company's planners, there are other, more practical ways, too, to build attendee morale. For example, there’s an opportunity during the sourcing process when shopping for hotel amenities. They can RFP for free health clubs or spas that attendees can use during off hours. Picking reasonably priced but interesting or quirky venues for off-site entertainment is another tactic.

However, your meetings spending policy is your essential tool for creating enjoyable but fiscally responsible outings and special events. Read more here about creating an effective meetings policy that still leaves room for fun.  And, if you have an example of a well-balanced Meetings & Events policy, please share some generic examples of key features!

Picking up subtle nuances in communication. Building lasting bonds. Enjoying another person's company.

If you've ever had a successful face-to-face meeting, these are just some of the benefits you've probably come away with. But in these budget-crunching times, when virtual meetings are growing more popular, for example, web conferencing, there's a new study out that confirms what a lot of people already know: face-to-face meetings are most rewarding. According to a Forbes Insights study of 760 business executives, "Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face," more than 84% polled said that they still preferred in-person contact to virtual meetings. Of those, 85% said in-person meetings helped them build stronger, more meaningful relationships, while about three-quarters polled relished both the "ability to read another person" and the superior social interaction.

Also, at least 80% of executives liked face-to-face events because they felt interaction with co-workers is essential for effective teamwork, and downtime at in-person conferences built stronger client bonds.

I can personally attest to all of the above benefits. I've experienced them at my most rewarding in-person meetings -- whether they were gatherings with current or potential customers, meeting industry colleagues (such as at conferences and conventions) or sit-downs with my boss or fellow employees. Now, if you're a meetings manager that oversees hundreds of events every year, imagine the satisfaction--and the resulting productivity--you're creating for your attendees and your company.

But this survey by no means discounts the value of web-, tele- or video-conferencing. For certain types of events, these technologies are growing in usage, and I think it's very important that meetings managers should incorporate them into their overall strategic meetings management program, in order to competitively source for services and control costs, among other benefits. (Read more about this strategy here. In fact, in the Forbes survey, 59% of executives interviewed said that their use of "technology-driven meetings" increased during the recession -- in part due to lower costs and greater reliability of the technology.  Savings were important to those who like virtual meetings, as 92% cited paring event times and 88% valued trimming budgets.

The most advanced virtual technologies like Cisco’s Telepresence and HP’s Halo Room have been the only industries to grow about 30% year over year during this recession, according to media reports. That's a clear indication that companies have elected to invest in this technology to perpetuate their costs savings, and that they plan on continuing to remain fiscally responsible even after this recession is over.
 
On the downside, there are attentiveness issues to less sophisticated virtual meetings, mostly teleconferencing, for example, the insane amount of multi-tasking that goes on preventing full focus on the meeting. The Forbes survey confirms: 58% frequently surf the web, check their email, read unrelated materials and handle other ancillary work during digital meetings. Let’s be honest, how many of you are guilty of playing Solitaire, Freecell and other games during a teleconference?  I’ve even heard dishes being washed and the occasional toilet flushing for people who forgot to mute their phones, plus a variety of animal noises in the background.  None of the above would be happening in a face-to-face meeting!

But whether your company is having more virtual or face-to-face meetings these days, it's important to note that both types of events -- managed properly via enforcement of spending rules, centralized sourcing, automated attendee registration and other best practices -- can produce savings, great ROI, tighten control over costs and build better leverage with suppliers.  As all of the above are part of “Enterprise Mobility”, a concept of travel and meetings that I’ve been evangelizing around the world during speaking opportunities or customer forums, the management of all virtual technologies belong in the portfolio of company Travel & Meetings departments.    

I recommend reading more details from this survey here. Perhaps this information can help you make decisions about when to go virtual and when in-person events are best. Good reading!

You can either read this post as some more gloom and doom news for our industry, or you can see the following information as yet more proof of how much buying opportunity will continue to present itself for your company's meetings and events.

Earlier this month, at Smith Travel Research's first-ever Hotel Data Conference, more than half of attendees polled predicted that revenue per available room at hotels won't start going back into positive territory again until the latter half of 2010 or beyond. Further, more than one-third think it'll take even longer -- until 2011 or beyond. And what about rates? Of the 88 attendees polled, a little more than one-third think recovery will come in 2011 or beyond, while about 30% say rates will climb again in fourth-quarter 2010. Another 16% see third-quarter 2010 as the more likely scenario.

Apparently, the attendees waxed a bit nostalgic for January 2008 rates, as more than half said it will take three to five years to reach those levels again, and about one-quarter thought six to eight years was the more likely recovery scenario.

I certainly don't take pleasure in these predictions. Our industry is suffering, and the quicker that meetings demand picks up, the better off we'll all be -- including corporations who know the true value of meeting face-to-face with their customers, employees and business partners. But if these dark forecasts turn out to be true, it means continued buying leverage for your company's meeting planners and more opportunities for you, as a meetings or purchasing manager, to deliver bottom-line savings to your company.

That's why -- in the midst of the biggest buyer's market in years -- it's more important than ever to look at implementing or improving centralized, automated sourcing as part of an overall strategic meetings management program (SMMP). One benefit: your planners can most efficiently find the best of the abundant deals out there.  To find the good stuff, make sure you're looking at all sourcing options available, too, such as online markets, where you can buy and sell distressed meetings inventory.

In fact, the best time to build or expand an SMMP is often when travel and meetings levels are down. It's then that you can add extra effort to building support for your program company-wide, ramping up communications and focusing on compliance.

Don't let these days of opportunity pass you by!