Philadelphia, PA � (July 10, 2002) � With the advent of the Internet and the seemingly endless access to information, word of mouth remains the most powerful promotional tool in corporate meeting planning. Feedback from an industry round table released today revealed that the majority of meeting planners consider word of mouth recommendations to be more �trustworthy� than any other source for information on planning corporate meetings.  The forum, hosted by the Philadelphia Doubletree Hotel, asked respondents to give their input on a range of meeting planning issues including the challenges, expectations and available resources.  

A group of top national meeting planners were asked what they considered the �most trustworthy source of information for planning corporate meetings.�  Word of mouth was overwhelmingly the most frequent answer followed by hotel sales representatives and Industry Trade Publications as the next most trusted sources of information.  

�This feedback now confirms what we�ve long suspected -- every client interaction is a moment of truth, a make or break for a venue�s reputation,� said Bill Fitzgerald, General Manager of Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia.  �The experience of one meeting planner, good or bad, can have a very big impact on a hotel�s future meeting business. At Doubletree we�re committed to making every encounter as enjoyable and satisfying as possible.�

Commonly accepted marketing research shows that negative word of mouth is much more likely to be passed on than positive experiences.  The pass-on rate associated with this  �negative talk factor� rate is generally accepted as three to ten times that of positive word of mouth.

The importance of personal interaction was further supported by other findings from Doubletree�s forum. Another area that the meeting planners stressed in the session was the importance of �soft skills,� such as a friendly greeting or asking if guests need assistance.  Respondents said hotel staffs need to know that �relationships and personal attention are key� especially given the �high pressure on planners from their meeting clients.� 

One other interesting piece of information that surfaced during the roundtable was the importance of first impressions. Virtually every meeting planner stressed the appearance of the lobby area as a critical element for setting a positive tone for meetings by creating an atmosphere of prestige and professionalism.