The expression "one size doesn't fit all" certainly fits strategic meetings management. Carlson Wagonlit Travel's annual meetings forecast which was published this week shows not just the trend in prices but just how important managing behaviour can be to successful meetings management programmes.
In the introduction to the report EVP David Moran says, "We anticipate tighter hotel cancellation policies, growing food and beverage (F&B) costs."
In other words, while meeting buyers' attention may understandably be on the high-profile costs that every meeting must bear such as room hire and DDR, there are many other ways in which hotels can make — and conversely corporate buyers can lose — money.
Tighter cancellation policies is a reminder of the need for contracts to be checked by professional buyers — or legal departments — rather than being assumed to be standard and not queried by someone not trained in purchasing. The importance of terms and conditions in the purchase of any meeting is well explained in Business Travel iQ Expert Paul Hussey's recent contribution.
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Organisers might be tempted to switch when coffee breaks are ©kasto80/iStock
But in Europe buyers may not have the leverage in this area that they once did. When discussing the market in Europe, the report points out "With the exception of Russia and Spain, suppliers in the region have become stricter with their attrition and cancellation clauses. They are insisting on their own terms, particularly in peak seasons, in destinations with reduced room night capacities and in locations with high-demand venues."
So there are all sorts of new ways that meetings costs can rise unless new solutions are found.
The case of increased F&B costs is a good example. Hotels might not be willing to change their scale of charges — if coffee is priced at €8 there might be no leeway. However, there is usually nothing in contracts that insists on when or how much food or drink is offered. For example, an early start, full-day meeting might typically mean pastries with the mid-morning coffee (the coffee might be included, the pain au chocolat probably not) before lunch at 1pm. What is to prevent the meeting planner instead organising a brunch break at 11am? Probably less money than the pastry plus a full lunch option and still enough food to carry a delegate through.
Once a date and venue are set, there might be little flexibility on the menu of prices and T&Cs but some creativity by meeting planners could save money.
The report also says that hotels are responding to higher demand and, by implication, increased pressure on their own profit margins, by tactics such "limited rebooking for future dates or the ability to resell unneeded rooms".
So this report may be about numbers but the real story is the strong message that meetings require specialised management and all those involved working together. In most companies there needs to be agreement among internal stakeholders about who buys and who manages meetings in order for company and department objectives to be met. The report rather eloquently refers to this as a "dispersed existing stakeholder base".
More than ever, forward planning, flexibility and teamwork are necessary to produce the meetings that people want at the prices that keep company budgets happy.