Julie Mangione, Travel & Event Administrative Manager, Corporate Planner, Northbrook, Ill.
Is the duration of your meetings either shrinking or expanding? Why?
Shrinking, budget cuts.
Is the attendance at your meetings shrinking or expanding? Why?
Shrinking, budget cuts.
Did you have a smaller or larger budget to work with last year? If so, how much do you estimate it was decreased or increased?
Larger budget last year. Decreased by 20 percent.
Do you expect your budget to increase or decrease in 2017?
Increase.
Do you expect your attendance to increase or decrease in 2017?
Increase.
Are perception problems (meeting at luxurious properties, resort destinations, etc.) a great concern for your organization? Do you expect any perception problems in 2017?
No.
Are you exploring the possibility, or have you already held, a “hybrid” meeting (meetings that combine live events with an Internet/digital component)? If so, what are your observations?
No.
Are you finding that you are scheduling more meeting sessions per day, and if so, is it at the expense of entertainment or events that are more social in nature?
Yes.
Are you incorporating more, or less, activities into your agenda? If so, what types of activities are being added or cut?
Less. Cutting bar time and less off-site activities.
Have you offered, or do you think you will offer, a CSR (corporate social responsibility) component to your meetings?
No.
What are your thoughts on the use of drones at meetings? Have you considered this?
No, no need.
Are sustainable (green) meetings something your organization has moved toward? If not, do you expect to implement more-sustainable meetings in the future?
No.
Are you finding that attrition clauses are being enforced more or less strictly recently? Can you share any comments/observations about this?
It was harder to maintain my 70 percent F&B and room night attrition number, but I still have through 2019.
How important is Internet bandwidth to your programs (i.e., Wi-Fi), and do you think hotels are being more or less flexible with their Internet bandwidth pricing? Any tips to share with your fellow planners to get free or discounted Wi-Fi for your meetings?
It is very important. Hotels are more flexible but it still costs a lot.
Do you feel this is a buyer’s or seller’s market? Any observations on this to share?
City: hotels seller’s market. Suburbs: buyer’s market.
Do you find that you had less leverage on room rates during the last year? What are hotels and facilities telling you when you negotiate?
I mostly use the same properties, so they feel compelled to raise my rate by 5 percent every year.
Are you using social networking websites for business purposes? If so, which ones and why?
No.
Are you more optimistic, or less, about the meetings industry and the economy than a year ago? Why?
I would like to think that I can be optimistic. Time will tell.
How do you think 2017 will shape up for the meetings industry? Where do you see costs (hotel, restaurant, venue prices, etc.) going? Do you think your budget and/or attendance will increase or decrease? Why?
I truly believe my budget is as low as it can go. Hopefully, pricing will remain the same and hopefully my attendance will increase.
