News for the Hospitality Executive |
Value of Face-to-Face Meetings Resonates Even More Today
I�ve been writing a lot lately about group meeting demand returning - - very good news for hoteliers and conference centers everywhere. Obviously, this much-anticipated demand increase could be stalled depending upon various economic factors and the upcoming mid-term elections. In order to give some support to my opinion, I thought now would be a good time to revisit some of my pre-recession writings along with other documents and quotes acquired over the past two years. One document that caught my attention was a report (Forbes Insights, �Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face�) published in 2009. Forbes Insights surveyed more than 750 business executives about their meeting and travel preferences. Significantly, the executives were asked about �meeting options� and what types of outcomes - - and chief benefits - - they might expect from different meeting methods. According to the Forbes Insights survey:
The survey findings - - no surprise to me - - complement some of the quotes and data I referenced in an article of mine in April 2009 (�Time for Hotel Sales Professionals to Lobby Meeting Planners�). Talking points lifted from USTA�s �Meetings Mean Business� site:
And let us not overlook that ever-important bottom line:
Hotel sales professionals have a real opportunity here to reinforce the importance of face-to-face meetings with their meeting planning clients and prospects - - remember, this anticipated uptick in meeting demand will not occur automatically. There�s little doubt some serious nudging would help a great deal. And those hotels expecting to benefit from this anticipated meeting demand would be wise to check out the results of another recent survey conducted by the International Association of Conference Centers. Here are the Top 10 most important items for Complete Meeting Packages (CMPs) - - ranked 0-10, �10� best: 9.8 Food & Beverage - - customize menus for special dietary requirementsWhile those execs surveyed preferred overwhelmingly for face-to-face v. virtual meetings, it is very apparent that technology continues to play a vital role in the success of any meeting, but only as meetings �enablers�, not total substitutes. © Copyright 2010
|
Contact:
David M. Brudney, ISHC, Principal
|
Also See: | Expect Hotels to Pare Back on Perks in 2011 While Implementing Modest Increases in Room Rates / David Brudney / September 2010 |
Good News for Meetings-Driven Resorts: Site Inspections and Bigger Group Bookings are Back! / David Brudney / August 2010 | |
Kimpton Is Bullish on Fourth Quarter 2010 / David M. Brudney / June 2010 | |
Landmark Decision by Arbitration Panel on Aviara Resort / David M. Brudney / April 2010 | |
Group Business Comeback in the Cards / David M. Brudney / March 2010 | |
Applying Five Tenets of Hotel Sales and Marketing in These Tough Times / David M. Brudney / January 2010 |