Plan Your Meetings

The good news: Discount airlines are adding features aimed at catering to business travelers, like “business select” rates (Southwest), assigned seating, and discounted contracts along wtih computer bookings for corporate travel managers. The carriers want a bigger share of the corporate travel business, which is good news for planners searching for the lowest rates in the current economic climate. The bad news: The airline industry (big carriers) may be shrinking again, depending upon the outcome of current merger negotiations. More consolidation most likely means fewer options and higher prices for domestic travelers.

For now, all you can do is keep an eye on what is happening while you search fares for your destinations. Or, as many planners are reporting, keep your meetings closer to home base, where attendees can drive in and avoid the aggravations of flying.

We’d like to hear about your tips for smoother flying, or about your good and bad experiences.

Location, a sense of place, a touch of culture and a club-like atmosphere are among the reasons business travelers are choosing historic hotels. While they are showing their age (an advantage), most of the best landmark hotels have had facelifts and been brought into the technological age. “Historic hotels are a better-performing niche,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Bjorn Hanson.

What are the top three issues facing the hospitality, travel and tourism industry? That was the main question in a survey sent out this month by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association Inc. (HSMAI). You only have to pay attention to recent news to know that one of the answers is air travel. Read “Battling to Get a Connection For a Flight or a Laptop” for the problems encountered by several business travelers from a single company and their battle plans. If you want to vent about your travel hassles, there’s a new online outlet brought to you, no less, by the Transportation Security Administration. The agency says it started the blog, which has a somewhat Orwellian title — Evolution of Security, “to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on innovations in security, technology and the checkpoint screening process.” Besides feel-good messages from TSA staff bloggers, there’s some fun reading from frustrated (and creative) travelers.

Whether you label it a “recession” or not, everyone is tightening their belts. Companies are scaling back on the number of meetings, and planners report that there will be more last-minute meetings. Planning time is less than two weeks to two months out now; six months would be far reaching.

What’s a planner to do? As always, deliver a well-executed meeting with some creative twists. Prove the value of face-to-face events. You may have to trim some of the frills and luxuries but make sure you cover the basics.

Optimists (including some planners we talked to) predict the mood and economy will improve in the third or fourth quarter, especially when election results are in.

What do you think?

Christine Born

Every event planner thinks about the social faux pas of double dipping when deciding on appetizers, but is the nasty little action really a health hazard? Well, the Journal of Food Safety is publishing a scientific report later this year on the communal bowl of dip, according to an article in The New York Times. The germ concerns are real, and you’ll find a solution to the problem (sort of) at the end of the story. By the way, the study was initiated as a result of an episode of “Seinfeld.”

By Christine Born

Award-winning event designers all offer the same advice: Look everywhere for fresh ideas, e.g. current movies, home décor and fashion magazines, store displays, museum exhibits, etc. A recent press release from Excitations, an online gift-giving company, suggested some new twists on top Valentine’s Day gifts and reinforced the continued emphasis on offering “experiences” as opposed to items.

Savvy planners can borrow and adapt these alternatives for meeting incentives or activities (Note: Substitute “attendee” for “loved one” below):

• Skip the box of chocolates in favor of a chocolate-making experience. Indulge your loved one’s passion for chocolate by letting her be a chocolatier for day.
• Flowers are a nice gesture, but take it one step further and let your loved one put her petal power to work with a flower arranging party.
• Bath bubbles are nice, but sipping bubbly with your loved one is even more romantic. With a champagne tasting experience, learn about champagnes while you sample distinctive bottles and food at an elegant champagne bar.
• Gift him a stock car ride-along instead of a watch. A wristwatch might be practical for keeping time, but he’ll be sure to remember clocking top speeds around an official NASCAR track with a stock car ride-along experience.
• Arrange a brewmaster’s dinner instead of a personalized beer mug. Experience a customized five-course dinner paired with a selection of innovative brews.
• How about a private ballpark tour instead of a team jersey? He’ll really cheer for the behind-the-scenes ballpark tour with a truly memorable player’s perspective.
• Consider golf lessons with a PGA Pro instead of a five iron. A brand new club might impress his foursome, but his game will really shine after a private lesson to raise his game a notch with a seasoned PGA pro.
• Skip the cheesy heart-filled boxers in favor of a wine and cheese pairing experience where a wine educator will guide you through fine artisan cheeses and award-winning wines.

“Gifting a loved one an Excitations experience – whether shared as a couple or done individually – is a unique way to create a connection and deliver lasting memories,” said Kim AuBuchon, co-founder and chief operating officer at Excitations. And isn’t that what planners want to do as well?