Meeting Planners Intentions Survey

PRESS RELEASE

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overview

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), American Express (AMEX) and Ypartnership are committed to conducting research that provides meeting professionals with timely and actionable insights they can use to maximize the value of the contribution they make to their organizations or corporations. Accordingly, they fielded a second (annual) North American Meeting Planner Intentions Survey during the months of April and May, 2010.

Purpose

The 2010 PCMA/AMEX/Ypartnership Meeting Planner Intentions survey was a sequel to last year's survey of professional meeting planners designed to assess their near-term intentions with respect to planning and hosting off-site meetings and conventions. The primary objective of the survey was to understand and measure the impact of the current economic and media environment on:

• The type and frequency of meetings planned/hosted in 2010/2011 versus 2009;

• Current considerations in destination and hotel/resort selection;

• Influence of the current economic environment on future meeting intentions;

• Influence of the current media environment on future meeting intentions.

Methodology

This year's survey was conducted online with a representative sample of professional meeting planners drawn from PCMA and AMEX member and associate databases. Respondents' were screened to match those who participated in the 2009 study, thereby allowing comparative results as follows:

• Total of 505 professional planners, including association planners, corporate/incentive/independent planners and procurement specialists;

• Meeting planning is part of their formal job description;

• Minimum of five years planning off-site meetings;

• Booked a minimum of five off-site meetings during the past 12 months in hotels/resorts/convention centers/conference centers.

Planner Profile

Just over half (56%) of respondents were association meeting professionals, with the remainder (44%) serving as corporate, incentive and independent meeting professionals or procurement specialists. The vast majority (77%) had over ten years of professional meeting planning experience, and roughly one-half (44%) had booked more than 20 off-site meetings during the previous twelve months. Nearly half (49%) held the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation:

• The most frequently planned meetings were for 100 attendees or less (51%); more than one in ten (13%) planned off-site meetings for more than 1,000 attendees.

• Hotels were cited as the most frequently used venues (67%), followed by convention centers (13%) and resorts (12%).

• The average daily room rate paid for lodging accommodations fell between $150 and $199 (55%).


Meeting Intentions

Last year the languishing economy had a significant negative impact on the meetings and conventions industry. The results of this year's study reveal that the industry is poised for recovery, although there are still some cautionary signs on the horizon:

• One-quarter (25%) of meeting planners expect the number of meetings they book in 2010 to increase compared to 2009, and three in ten (31%) expect this trend to carry over into 2011. An average of 17 more meetings each are expected for 2010 and 2011 respectively.

• Corporate planners were more likely than association planners to expect the number of meetings they book in 2010 and 2011 to increase.

• One-third (34%) of meeting planners expect meeting attendance to increase in 2010, while more than four in ten (44%) expect this trend to continue into 2011.

Among the 26% of planners who expect their off-site meeting budget to be cut in the year ahead, fully eight in ten (80%) stated their budgets were being cut due to "general economic conditions" and approximately one-quarter cited the cost of food and beverage (28%), transportation (25%) and lodging (23%) as reasons they expect to book fewer meetings in 2010/2011:

• Meeting planners were less likely this year than last to cite image/publicity/public-policy considerations as a reason for decreasing their number of future meetings.

Nearly nine in ten (89%) meeting professionals are not planning to postpone, cancel or rebook any meetings already booked in 2010/2011. Meeting planners were less likely this year to state they planned to postpone, cancel or rebook future meetings due to "current economic conditions" (6% vs. 41%), "current downsizing/consolidation" (3% vs. 22%), or "current negative media coverage about the meetings industry" (1% v. 8%):

• On average, professional meeting planners expect to pay approximately $7,600 in cancellation/rebooking fees for meetings they intend to cancel, postpone, or rebook in 2010, and only about $3,500 in such fees in 2011. This represents a significant decrease from the amount cited in last year's survey: $81,000.

Meeting venue selection is still likely to be affected during the next two years, with resorts and cruise ships still perceived as venues to be booked with caution. Approximately two in ten meeting planners anticipate a reduction in the number of meetings they book on cruise ships (18%) and in resorts (17%) in 2010 and 2011:

• Interestingly, hotels may benefit from this trend as three in ten (30%) planners expect to increase the number of off-site meetings booked at hotels during the same period.

• Not surprisingly, "upper upscale" and "luxury" accommodations still present an issue with image, as they were cited most frequently as the types of lodging accommodations professional planners expected to use less in 2010/2011(28% and 24% respectively).

• Consistent with last year's results, professional planners intend to make greater use of alternative meeting methods in the months ahead including webinars (52%) and videoconferencing (29%) technologies. Teleconferencing still continues to be popular this year, but not to the same extent as reported last year (48% vs. 33%).

While meeting planners are less likely to be concerned about the current image of meetings portrayed in the business press/consumer media this year compared to last, still more than half (53%) express a level of uneasiness on this issue.

Conclusions

The insights revealed in this study are very encouraging:

• There is a net increase in the number of off-site meetings planners' expect to book in 2010 and 2011 versus 2009;

• There is a net increase in expected attendance at off-site meetings in 2010 and 2011 versus 2009;

• Among planners who intend to book fewer meetings next year, the main reason is the general state of the economy;

• Professional meeting planners are less concerned about the negative publicity and rhetoric associated with hosting meetings in upscale properties or destinations this year than last, although there is still a palpable level of concern about booking resorts and cruise ships.

The magnitude of the economic impact on the meetings industry underscores the importance of insuring that both governmental and corporate executives understand the considerable risks associated with a reduction in off-site meetings, and the critically important role the reinstatement of such meetings can play in revitalizing the U.S. economy:

• Although the recession is not over, meeting planners can work collaboratively with industry partners on advocacy, public relations, policy and research;

• Meeting planners have an opportunity to take a more strategic role in their business or association;

• Meeting professionals can continue to demonstrate their organizational value by positioning why face to face meetings are critical, especially in these challenging times.