Did you know that 90% of meeting planners polled state that their budgets are smaller due to the over-all economic slump? What’s more, over one third of planners predict they will book fewer meetings due to public opinion. In 2009, the PCMA/AMEX/Ypartnership sent surveys to professional meeting planners in order to gauge the effect of economic conditions and media feedback on meeting planning in 2010. The survey covered a number of topics including:
• How many meetings were hosted in 2009? How many are planned for 2010?
• Geographically speaking, where are meetings held?
• How much impact does the economic downturn have on meetings planned for the future?
• Does the media have an impact on how and if meetings are scheduled?
The outcome of this survey will not surprise most meeting planners. The economic crunch has and will continue to affect the number and type of meetings scheduled for the upcoming year. Negative media attention is a factor in the decrease of meetings. Bad press has the biggest negative impact on the largest meetings. Luxury and upscale accommodations are things of the past, at least for the moment.
Meeting planners as a group must point out that face to face meetings are an important part of industry interaction and curtailing these activities has a negative effect on companies. Reinstating corporate and government meeting can have a positive impact on U.S. economy and on personnel morale.
Tags: Amex, Budgets, Economic Conditions, Economic Crunch, Economic Downturn, Economic Slump, Economy, Face Meetings, Face To Face, Industry Interaction, Many Meetings, Media Attention, Media Feedback, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Negative Impact, Pcma, Public Opinion, State Budgets, Upscale Accommodations, Ypartnership
Even though the recession brought the bailouts, which in turn brought scrutiny into meetings and conferences, emerging from the economic downturn does not guarantee that the meeting business will spring back. However, the hardships don’t not guarantee that it will stay in the toilet, either.
Fourth Quarter Cautions
Conference and business meeting planners may see a slight uptick in business with no real surge simply because companies are concerned about their images. There are articles all over–including blog posts here–about the idea of image and spending. The flip side of that is this: meetings are important to education, motivation, and technology sharing. You can be prepared for reluctant spending by having lots of alternatives to lavish accommodations, high-tech meeting environments, and expensive dinners with high-priced keynote speakers. (more…)
Tags: Bailout, Behinds, Business Meeting, Economic Downturn, Education Motivation, Flip Side, Fourth Quarter, Goldman Sachs, Hardships, Incentive Travel, Keynote Speakers, Last Quarter, Lavish Accommodations, Meeting Planners, Property Owners, Recession, Scrutiny, Strict Rules, Uptick, Warrants
For those familiar with the event planning industry, it will come as no surprise that this industry continues to grow even during times of economic crisis.
The event planning industry is one of the most profitable in the hospitality and management business domain. An event-planning career is highly coveted for the desirable perks that come along with it. With fierce competition in the market, it is not easy to start a successful career in this industry. However with perseverance and experience, one can achieve satisfying results in this highly exciting professional field.
Considering the importance of this robust industry, one wonders how it functions during an economic downturn. Like every other industry, it is bound to get affected one way or the other. All is not hunky dory for the event management industry during times of financial difficulties. Since everything in an economy is inter-related, the event planning industry is naturally inclined to get hit by the economic setbacks. (more…)
Tags: Business Domain, Business Executives, Corporate Groups, Crisis Event, Economic Crisis, Economic Downturn, Economic Setbacks, Event Planner, Event Planners, Event Planning Career, Exotic Food, Financial Difficulties, Food And Beverage Industry, Government Officers, Management Industry, Present Times, Professional Field, Quality Food, Ripples, Robust Industry