Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Meeting market picks up steam

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

Americans are meeting again on the road.
Hotels are reporting a rebound in business from group customers, a key segment that includes companies, associations, sports teams, religious groups, social organizations and the military.
The U.S. Travel Association forecasts a 7% increase in meeting and convention spending this year, to $90.7 billion. That follows a 15% decline in 2009, when organizations canceled meetings, sent fewer employees to trade shows and insisted on bare-minimum amenities.
Hotels and convention bureaus responded with aggressive deals and packages, such as providing free coffee breaks or discounts on audiovisual equipment. Groups are responding now, spurring an optimistic mood in the meeting planning and convention industry.
"It's been crazy, great crazy," says Andrea Strauss, owner of the meeting planning firm Classic Conferences. "It's coming back quick and strong."
In a June survey of members by Meeting Professionals International, which represents meeting planners, 61% responded that they're seeing more favorable business conditions, including attendance, budgets and number of meetings. In August last year, only 15% responded the same way. Others reporting a rebound:
InterContinental Hotels Group says its group and corporate business rose 10% in the first half of this year vs. 2009.

•Eight New York City hotels run by Denihan Hospitality Group, including Affinia Manhattan and The Benjamin, are reporting a 26% increase in revenue from a year ago from group customers.
•JW Marriott in Grand Rapids, Mich., has sold 1,500 more group nights this year, a 20% increase from 2009, resulting from a resurgence in meeting bookings tied to the city's medical industry, says George Aquino, hotel general manager.

•Revenue from group customers is 30% higher so far this year than a year ago at Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale. While corporate business is still trailing last year, associations and other groups are booking more meetings and rooms, says Jay Marsella, the hotel's sales director.
Still, it remains a buyer's market. At JW Marriott Grand Rapids, group room rates are down about 5%, while Harbor Beach Marriott's rates are flat from a year ago.

"The message we're told is, 'Continue to be aggressive.' Everyone's felt the turmoil of 2009. We don't want that to happen again," Aquino says

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