Posted by Rob Carey Responses (0)

The Meeting World conference and trade show wrapped up Wednesday afternoon here in NYC, and one of the last presentations was one of the most thought-provoking.

James Surowiecki is a business columnist for The New Yorker, and he recently wrote a book entitled "The Wisdom of Crowds." He spoke at the second day's luncheon for 35 minutes, giving us an abbreviated take on the book's premise. In the book, Surowiecki contends--with many examples to back it up--that when you get a diverse group of people together to solve a problem, the consensus that can bederived from everyone's input actually creates better results than any solution that the most experieced and/or most intelligent person in that group could have come up with individually. And what he means by diversity is this: varied age, social background, educational background, and work experience.

Now, you would think that someone with much knowledge and experience would be able to outfox a group of people with no connection between them and no expertise in the area they are questioned about, but too many of Surowiecki's examples refute that hypothesis. I'm fairly sure that his speech made the 200 planners in the audience think about the ways they can better tap into the brainpower in their organizations, through the use of meetings that bring together people from unrelated parts of the company.

Posted by David McCann Responses (2)

Everyone has his own tales to tell about service glitches at hotels. I'm no exception. But the things I think about most are not whoppers like food that makes you sick or checking in to a filthy room, but rather the minutiae.

All of the following examples come from my recent hotels stays. At one hotel, pitchers placed on the tables in a meeting room spilled heaps of water almost every time they were used. Everyone's materials got drenched. This was clearly the result of a design defect. Unless it was the first time these pitchers had been used, how could the hotel staff not know about it?

At another hotel, I needed to iron my shirt but simply could not locate an electrical outlet. I looked and looked and looked. Finally I found one behind the bed. After twisting my body into a pretzel in order to plug in the iron, I soon realized that the only place I could put the ironing board was nowhere near any lights. I couldn't even see the wrinkles.

Speaking of lights, I experienced another problem recently that was only the most recent instance of a common characteristic of hotels: Lamps that defy you to figure out how to turn them on. The problem is that the switches or knobs are often in out-of-sight places; some are not even close to the lamp, but rather many feet away on a cord. With enough hunting you can eventually figure it out, but doing it in the dark isn't so easy.

I attended a day meeting at a major urban hotel, and had a bag I needed to check. The bellman asked me if I was a hotel guest. I said no. He said, then, that he couldn't check bag. I said but wait a minute, I'm attending a meeting in this hotel! He was unmoved. I had to tote my bag around all day.

At one hotel, on the morning of checkout I was running around the room in my underwear, packing, and the maid knocked once and walked right in the room. Good grief. And anyway, why is it necessary to go into a guest's room when he's going to be checking out in an hour?

It wouldn't be difficult to list many more such occurrences. Why don't you add some of your own here? Let me ask you, though, to please not mention any hotels by name.

Posted by Marshall Krantz Responses (0)

How corporate procurement programs are changing the meeting-planning landscape dominates the discussion at most every industry event these days.

So as expected, procurement, meetings data consolidation, strategic meeting planning, and return on investment were the buzzwords at this year's MeetingWorld, which wrapped up a two-day run yesterday at the Grand Hyatt New York.

At one session, Jack Phillips, chairman of the ROI Institute and the industry's current ROI guru, presented his method for quantifying the return on investment in meetings.

At another, Corporate planner Camille Paluscio, and independent planners Elizabeth Zielinski and Christy Lamagna talked about ways independent planners can forge preferred-supplier relationships with companies.

Procurement and strategic meetings management also played front and center at the keynote general session, with high-powered panelists Fred Shea, sales VP of Hyatt Hotels; Carol Lynch, sales veep for Starwood Hotels; Colin Rorrie Jr., CEO of Meeting Professionals International; Rich Del Colle, a meetings supplier (read: procurement) manager for Hewlett-Packard; and Jay Roseman, VP in charge of managing meetings for the clients of American Express Business Travel.

All the industry talk about corporate meetings procurement programs is matched by talk in the executive suites, that is, a lot of talk and relatively little action so far, according to Dick Zeller, who at an executive-track session presented a detailed analysis about how corporate planners can leverage procurement procedures to their advantage.

"Only a small number of companies are actually doing it, but many are seriously talking about it," said Zeller, who helps companies establish enterprise-wide meetings procurement programs as vice president of consolidation for Maritz Travel Company.

More companies are turning talk into action, however, so planners better get with the procurement program before the program gets them, said Zeller.

That's a message industry leaders are preaching hard, including Zeller's boss, Christine Duffy, Maritz CEO and current MPI chairwoman. For years, Duffy has proselytized about the career benefits of strategic planning.

Zeller was very upbeat about how procurement practices can help planners win a seat at the executive table, where the early--and most important--decisions about meetings and company-wide meetings programs are made.

But when questioned about procurement's downside, Zeller acknowledged that procurement can be a pain, especially in the beginning but also if it's done poorly.

"There is some pain in the process," he said.

For example, planners may have to budget their meetings differently than they are accustomed to doing, and they may no longer be allowed to sign contracts.

Moreover, procurement can create greater bureaucracy. More levels of approval, more paperwork. And that can mean delays in signing contracts with hotels, which in turn can mean losing tentative holds.

If nothing else, delays mean a lot of hassles for the planner, who has to explain to the sales rep why she really wants to hold her company's meeting at the rep's property but hasn't yet returned the contract. It also means a chain-reaction of delays. Why arrange for destination- or property-specific services if you're not absolutely sure your group is actually going to that destination or property?

In the keynote session, Fred Shea said that Hyatt sales people were already seeing delays in companies booking meetings because the approval process has become multi-layered.

And this in a market where, as Shea pointed out, rates are rising and availability is tighter.

Posted by Kinley Levack Responses (0)

There has been much buzz lately about how to define careers in meeting planning, but most of the conversation has been esoteric and very little has dealt with the nitty-gritty. As a planner, what can you do to further your career specifically?

Cris Canning answered that very question in an afternoon session entitled “Career Climbing for Planners.” Canning, principal at Hospitality Ink, detailed how individuals can work on defining their own goals, justifying their own existence, and creating a more deliberate path to success—however you may choose to define it.

Some of Canning’s tips were common sense (networking is the best way to a new job) but many were new to the group (studies have shown that networking is not only the best way to find a new employer, but also the best way to find a new employee). She also advocates looking at hard numbers and collecting data whenever possible. C-level executives respond to numbers, so it is often the best way to promotion or salvation, depending on your position.

Because meeting planning as a career is often misunderstood, how can planners expect to explain their value to others if they haven’t sat down and thought about it themselves? Canning advises thoroughly looking at your strengths and weaknesses, as well as outside factors that may play a role in your job (industry trends, etc). She also encouraged attendees to put together a personal press kit of articles you have written or been quoted in and to develop an “elevator speech.” The elevator speech is to be used if you find yourself in an elevator with Donald Trump or whomever you may be awed to share space with. You have 30 seconds to make an impression—what do you say? Stammering your hello is unlikely to impress Trump or the CEO of your organization. Be prepared.

Posted by Terri Hardin under Current AffairsResponses (0)

I’ve just come from this year’s MeetingWorld, where Joan Eisenstodt and Kelly Franklin Bagnall, Esq. conducted the seminar, "You Are Being Watched: Privacy Implications for Meetings." The upshot of the seminar was that everyone should insert clauses defining their meetings’ expectations of privacy and confidentiality into their hotel contracts because, as Bagnall put it, "Personal expectation of privacy and legal expectation of privacy are two different things."

It seems that, although you can look up privacy, along with its fellow travelers, confidentiality and intimacy, in the dictionary, they are all pretty much elastic terms. To illustrate, Bagnall, who is a partner with Dallas-based Brown McCarroll LLP, suggests reading the privacy statements at the bottom of hotel Web sites to see how different they can be.

Privacy does not always stretch to include the individual (for example, if I called up a hotel and asked to speak to a guest, I would be put through - in fact, I know of a girl who became a rock star's mistress this way), but some companies might get a heads-up about a federal subpoena of a hotel's guest list, if they put a first notification clause into their contracts.

In my view, it’s a funny old world, getting funnier. At first, we were amused by speculations about frequent travelers’ willingness to pay for a pre-screening program that allows them to keep their shoes on (and their computers in the briefcase) during security screenings, but our laughter trailed off when Eisenstodt informed us, "I’ve asked repeatedly what happens if you happen to fail the pre-screening for some reason [other than guilt], and I haven’t gotten a answer."

Posted by April Torrisi under WeblogsResponses (0)

This morning I sat in on Mary Ann Pierce’s session, Hooking Up: Taming the Wild World of Internet Connectivity. Pierce owns MAP Digital Inc., a provider of web casts, cyber cafes, Web sites, and networking services for the meetings industry. The session was clearly informative and after the session I asked the planners present how they felt about it and they gave it glowing reviews. One meeting planner, Tammy Maresca of Source Media Conferences & Exhibitions in NYC, said it was completely pertinent to her industry and helped her navigate and understand the Web language of T1 lines, DSL, and fiber connectivity. She also commented how great it was to get tips from an expert like Pierce on how to negotiate Internet rates at hotels, since according to Maresca, hotels definitely take advantage of planners’ lack of knowledge of the web world. Other planners would agree and have even stated that hotels play on their ignorance of the web language. Internet connection rates vary at hotels and planners have been quoted from anywhere of $9.95 a day to $1,500 a day. According to Pierce, hotels base its charges on standard rates of $795 per connection, per day. In the case of using connection in three meeting rooms, it can total up to $7,155. The hotel can then add in $100 for each of 15 or so computers accessing the Internet through the three main connections. As you can see, connectivity is complicated and using Pierce as a consultant can help ease the planning process along with how to negotiate better, more affordable rates. Get more information on how to hook up high-speed Internet access on site at a venue by e-mailing her at map@mapdigital.com.

Posted by Suzie Amer Responses (0)

Anyone who's dealt with selecting speakers for events knows that most speakers list their fee, and then also ask for travel expenses, often first class, to be added on. At this morning's MeetingWorld session, Choosing Speakers--Without Breaking the Bank, Nationwide Speakers Bureau president Marc Reede suggested a few clever ways to keep these transportation costs to a minimum.

First, Reede said, the all-inclusive speaker's fee is growing more popular. This fee structure eliminates the aforementioned division of payment by including travel expenses in one lump-sum payment. In this arrangement, the speaker is responsible for making his or her own travel arrangements. The benefit to the planner is two-fold: the fee quoted is the fee paid (rather than having to figure in the additional cost of travel on top of the fee) and there is one less job to be done (that is, booking transportation for the speaker).

If the all-inclusive fee is not an option (and Reede repeatedly reminded attendees that it's always worth it to ask), use airlines such Song, JetBlue, or Southwest; These carriers do not offer more than one class of seats.

For entertainment such as bands and other troupes, where a number of members must fly to your meeeting, consider a travel buyout, which translates into one flat fee to cover the transportation of the entire group. This not only relieves the planner of having to book the travel, but it also allows the group members themselves to manage which members travel first class and which members travel coach.

Finally, if there's a speaker you just must have, consider timing your event to coincide with that person's travel schedule. If he or she is already in your geographical area, the travel costs drop significantly. Alternatively, consider holding your meeting near that person's home base. (Reede said many speakers live in cities such as Las Vegas for this very reason--more potential local gigs.) Again, the less distance to cover, the fewer expenses to absorb.

Posted by Christopher Hosford Responses (0)

Few topics about independent meeting planning are as contentious, controversial or downright weird than figuring out -- or asking other planners -- how much to charge for your work. In the MeetingWorld session, “Independent Planner Power,” panelists tap-danced around the topic, but one intriguing benchmark did come to light: Consider pegging your billable hours to what a law firm bills for its paralegals.

Session participant Elizabeth Zielinski, president of Meeting Horizons, in Fairfax, Va., was at least honest in admitting that “planners are resistant to answering the question” of how much to bill. “Not because we don’t want to tell you ... although I don’t.” But Zielinski did indicate that some of her early work was for law firms, and she figured then that the rate paralegal work was billed at fit somewhat into what she’d like to earn.

How much is that? The 2005 Annual Compensation Survey for Paralegals /Legal Assistants and Managers, conducted by Altman Weil Publications, Inc. in partnership with the International Paralegal Management Association, indicates that average billing rates ranged from $87 per hour for Paralegal Clerks to $136 per hour for Paralegals, topping out at $177 per hour for Litigation Support Managers. Specialists billed at an average rate of $174 per hour, with Corporate Specialists billing at $215 per hour and Environmental Specialists billing at $191 per hour.

As pointed out by session leaders, planners charge in a variety of ways, from an hourly fee to flat fee, from some income flowing in from commissions, and other income coming from bonuses for beating the budget. And you have to figure in what your client is willing to pay. But the paralegal parallel is an interesting take on how one independent meeting planner initially valued her time.

Posted by Christopher Hosford Responses (0)

The devil’s in the details, they say, and no detail is more important -- or devilish -- than staying within your speaker budget. As MeetingWorld 2.5 debuted today at New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel with a full slate of educational sessions, a ballroom full of suppliers, and a slew of enthused attendees, one well-attended session keyed on “Choosing Speakers Without Breaking the Budget.” And one of the most compelling concepts, presented by Marc Reede, president of Nationwide Speakers Bureau, was to piggyback your meeting during a big motivational seminar.

The concept: Watch for one of those monster motivational conferences, maybe taking place at a big convention center or ballroom in town. You know, those kinds of events that bring in Coach Pat Riley, cyclist Lance Armstrong, maybe Colin Powell, and a Zig Ziegler for good measure. In other words, a million-dollar lineup of speakers you’d never be able to afford on your own. Schedule your sales (or other) meeting for that period of time. Take the previous day to do all the normal things you’d do during the sales training, like team-building, role playing, postmortems of previous sales efforts, etc. Then, on the next day, attend the big motivational seminar as a group. Bus together, sit together, maybe buy tapes and books of the speakers and distribute them personally to your group of people. Sign up for a break-out room, as a group. Together.

“Make it like your meeting,” said Reede. “This is the single best way to save money, in my opinion, by customizing the big event to your own purposes.”

I like it. I think it makes sense. Especially since Lance Armstrong is now in the $200,000 range for a speech plus a small VIP reception. You can get Lance, and the others, by latching onto the bigger event, and all for the cost of a slew of individual tickets.

Posted by Rayna Katz Responses (0)

On Friday morning, I interviewed Stephanie Sonnabend, president and CEO of Sonesta Hotels, Resorts & Nile Cruises for an upcoming feature in Successful Meetings (Look for the “On the Record” piece in the September issue), and she talked about the company's hotels and cruises in Egypt.

American groups are not frequent visitors, she said, mostly because of unfounded fears and geographic confusion. Egypt, she assured me, is a wonderful and safe place.

And then came Saturday. That day's tragic bombing in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort area, killed at least 64 and possibly as many as 88 people. American groups will now likely stay away in droves, which is a shame.

Not because, as we've all heard one too many times by now, “if we change our plans because of terrorism, then the attackers win.” Rather, what I believe is at issue is this: anything can happen anywhere, anytime.

Sobering thought, I know, and I don't mean to be an alarmist. But ultimately, canceling plans, searching bags and walking through metal detectors are all efforts to exert control over our lives. And while we like to believe to the contrary, we don't have full control of all that happens to us.

That's not always bad, by the way, but it's a reason to stop all of the pre-cautions and keep living our lives. Besides, the odds of being the victim of a terrorist act are incredibly low.

So I say, surrender to the fates. Not everything they have planned will lead to misfortune.