By Nicole Millman-Falk
Two top-notch professional development sessions opened NYSAE’s one-of-a-kind MeetNY held February 29. Meet NY is a one-of-a-kind supplier-hosted event for meeting planners. The day includes education, networking, professional development, and entertainment. The Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau is one of the supporters of the event. This year’s education sessions focused on trends in the meeting industry.
The first program focused on Green Standards: Events and Convention Centers. Lawrence Leonard, CMP, chief operating officer of the Convention Industry Council, moderated a panel presentation that included Mark J. Leahy, general manager, David L. Lawrence (Pittsburgh) Convention Center, and Jeff Wood, senior meetings manager, American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
At left: Speaking at MeetNY on Green Standards: Events and Convention Centers were (left to right): Mark J. Leahy, general manager, David L. Lawrence (Pittsburgh) Convention Center; Lawrence Leonard, CMP, chief operating officer, Convention Industry Council; and Jeff Wood, senior meetings manager, American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
The meeting industry, noted Leonard, employs 1.7 million people, accounts for $263 billion in annual spending, is larger than the auto industry, contributes $25.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. There are 1.8 million meetings held annually in the United States.
“That being said, we should be greatly concerned about the environmental impact of our events,” Leonard added. During a typical three-day meeting, the average attendee uses 843 gallons of water, generates 61 pounds of water (the size of a small elephant), and emits 1410 pounds of greenhouse gases, enough to power 25 cars for one year.
“Reducing the environmental impact of our meetings is a collaborative effort with all our contractors and meeting planners,” said Leahy, who outlined the steps taken at the Pittsburgh Convention Center to reduce its environmental footprint. The Center, whose motto is “built green, working green every day,” was the first green convention center in the world and was awarded the Gold LEED® certification by the US Green Building Council. To operate green, the Convention Center recycles, composts, reduces toxic emissions, reduces energy use, operates a grey water reclamation plant, uses natural cool air, grows vegetables and herbs on its roof, uses natural resources, purchases green, and donates unused food to local food banks and unwanted supplies.
Wood described some of the measures that the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has undertaken to reduce its environmental impact, including moving from printed to electronic signage, using reusable dishes, providing better meal guarantees to reduce food and beverage waste. “Before the organization did anything, we needed to agree that sustainability was one of our core values,” he said. Getting member input and involvement was extremely important, he added. “At some point, I’m sure our policies will require that our meetings can only be held at a facility that has sustainability initiatives.”
Moving to sustainable meetings may feel overwhelming to some association’s APEX/ASTM’s Environmentally Sustainable Event Standards is one place to start. “The Standards provide best practices, which are measurable, precise, and represent the ongoing maturation of the meeting planning profession,” said Leonard. The standards are comprised of nine individual standards that address the scope of the meeting planning process. They include protocols for: audiovisual; accommodations; communications; destinations; exhibits; food and beverage; meeting venues; on-site offices; and transportation. “The best way to start is to pick something; measure what you do; then change it; and measure the results,” he said.
Education sessions at MeetNY played to a standing-room only crowd. The programs, on Green Standards: Events and Convention Centers and Trends & Challenges in Meetings and Travel, were held at the New York Society of Security Analysts.
“Ultimately, it is important that meeting planners collaborate with the facilities where they have their meetings,” said Leonard. “Tell them your goals and objectives regarding sustainability, work them into your RFPs, make sure where your meetings reflect your association’s values.”
The second panel presentation focused on Trends & Challenges in Meetings and Travel. Gregg Talley, FASAE, CAE, president & CEO, Talley Management Group, moderated a lively conversation with: Johnnie White, CMP, director, meetings/educational services, Cardiovascular Research Foundation; Dorothy Belshaw, senior vice president, George Little Management; Barbara Duwe, director, specialty sales, United Airlines; Mark Theis, director, group sales for North America, Starwood Hotels & Resorts; and Tammy Routh, vice president, global sales, Marriott International.
Perhaps the most important trend is that “meeting attendance seems to be coming back but exhibit space is still scaled back,” noted White.
Routh echoed the return of the meeting attendee. “I have been amazed that the group is back,” she said. “Marriott has so much demand and is forecasting a five to seven percent increase in rate and occupancy for the year. What is not back yet, however, is the rate.”
“Starwood is also cautiously optimistic,” said Theis. “Groups are smaller in size and meetings are shorter.”
“The length of meetings are shorter whether we plan it or not, “ said White. “Domestically, people are leaving early, though our international attendees are coming for the length of the meeting.”
The airlines, too, are noticing “cautious advancement,” said Duwe. “We are planning for controlled growth. But unlike the hotels, we can move our assets [planes] from one location to another to meet demand.”
While the representatives from Marriott, Starwood and United Airlines all agreed that, “associations are critical to the success of our business,” none addressed what they concessions they were making to ensure associations remained loyal to them.
Another trend is that attendees are making their travel arrangements later and later. Because of that, association meeting planners are looking for room cut-offs closer to the meeting date. “My role is to reduce risk for my organization,” said Talley, “and room blocks present an ongoing debate.”
White agreed. “Why does a convention center hold you to a certain number of contracted rooms to book the center rather than by the total value my meeting brings to a location?” Ultimately, said Talley, the traditional way of valuing our meetings need to change. “We need to determine what our meeting is really worth and come up with a new set of metrics. Access to data is essential to all of us.”
The neon lights of Broadway featured NYSAE on the Hard Rock Café!
“Dialogue of this kind is critical,” said Routh. “In absence of that, we will panic or our rooms will sit empty. We need to make intelligent decisions.”
Meeting planners also noted that hotel sales seem to be getting a lot less personal than in the past. “It is harder to do business with some hotels because there is no relationship. New people come in and just don’t understand my business. There needs to be a connection.”
“One of our core values is customer orientation and ease of doing business,” said Theis of Starwood. “Hopefully our sellers are equipped, understand an organization’s core needs, and are able to satisfy them. We want to make the sales process as seamless as possible.
Routh admitted that Marriott’s sales transformation has been disruptive. “Like Starwood, there is nothing we take more seriously than our customer relationships. However, we took too many people off property and are trying to address that.”
All panelists agreed that continuing dialogue at forums such as MeetNY were essential for both meeting planners and suppliers to have better relationships.
NYSAE and the Hawaii Convention Center were up in lights on the marquis of the Hard Rock Café. Hosts of the MeetNY included more than 85 convention and visitors bureaus, hotels, and meeting and destination sites and suppliers. During the cocktail reception at the Hard Rock Café, invited association executives and meeting planners had the opportunity to network, socialize, and visit tabletop exhibits, while dining on tasty hors d’oerves and listening to great music. Money raised during a silent auction held during the reception benefited New York City’s Meals on Wheels.
The evening was topped off when attendees were treated to a Broadway show. Anything Goes, a Cole Porter classic, featured Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey and Sutton Foster, who received the 2011 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Fred Astaire Award for her portrayal of Reno Sweeney. The play takes place aboard the S.S. American. As the ship heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love, proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail.
Nicole Millman-Falk is president of Millman-Falk Communications, LLC, a public relations and editorial services firm. Millman-Falk serves as managing editor for InView. She can be reached at 201-652-1687 or mfc32@optonline.net.