DepositPhotos.com

It was only a few years ago when corporate spending gave meeting and event professionals the proverbial blank check when it came to orchestrating a corporate meeting and event. No longer. Nowadays, businesses and their hired hands within the meetings segment of their companies are abiding by a more restrictive code of conduct and recognizing the need to get the most “bang for their event buck.”

As large corporations and small businesses within a variety of industries continue to strive for success in today’s sputtering economy, the focus on the bottom line is at the forefront as the struggling economy continues to take hold. Within the meetings and events space, airfare has increased, food and beverage costs have skyrocketed, and venue costs continue to be on the rise, yet corporate meeting and events budgets stay the same or have been reduced.

Despite the spike in dollar amounts for all elements of the food and beverage industry, many meeting planners are not willing to sacrifice on quality, even for internal events. Instead, they are doing more with less staff. And, forming important partnerships that’s keeping them on an upward climb.

From an economic perspective, all industries are impacted by the current economy and the corporate meetings and events industry is no exception. In their attempt to save money, companies are spending less money on corporate gatherings during recessionary times, which in turn can have a negative impact on the overall experience of today’s events. Companies’ tendency to spend less on meetings and events activities during a recession is also affecting the corporate travel industry, and subsequently, the meetings and events industry as a whole.

As such, today’s corporate meeting planners recognize that budgeting constraints require a level of creativity that will allow for a similar experience that attendees that have become accustomed to, while also recognizing the limitations or restrictions imposed upon meeting budgets.

In her experience, Cindy Villa, CMM, director of meetings and events at Transamerica, said budgets for events have recently remained flat year over year. Like most corporate planners, she is experiencing rising costs in air, transportation, hotel and food and beverage (F&B).

“Planners must now work smarter in how their budgets will be spent and look for ways to reduce costs that will not overly impact the way an event looks and feels,” Villa said. She points to several ways in which she and other planners are reducing costs. These may include reducing attendee lists and keeping these lists very focused and targeted.

“We are also seeing multi-year agreements with hotels so a strong concession value can be attained. And also reengineering the F&B experience at many events can save tons of money,” Villa said. “We are also looking to do more on flow of F&B events with small bites and not such large meals. Lastly, giving attendees more time on their own during evenings can again reduce costs significantly.”

Longer coffee breaks give people time to check email so they can use conference dinners better for networking. Villa suggests skipping the 72” round table and loud band where people can only talk to the one person on either side of them, and opt for smaller rectangular tables and music that is loud enough to enjoy, but quiet enough that people can have engaging conversations with multiple people at their table.

Partners in Progress

Meeting and event costs, a line item that can make a CEO cringe and raise eyebrows in board meetings, is under greater scrutiny today. As large corporations and small businesses alike continue to fight for success in a sputtering economy, the focus on the bottom line has forced companies to radically re-evaluate the way money is spent.

To further offset increasing costs, planners are now looking more than ever to work with industry partners when it comes to processes such as RFPs. As Villa explained, this can be a time-intensive process to sift through and build out a cost comparison analysis.

“Working with a partner, such as Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), for example, can save a planner numerous hours, as this partner can provide much of this information for then by becoming that link and collecting all the RFPs,” Villa said. “These types of partners have done the due diligence on properties in their portfolio so you know the source is trusted. They also have strong relationships with hotels and DMOs so negotiations can be much easier. This can free up valuable hours for the planner to focus on event strategy and other logistics.”

As part of the partnering process, Villa and her team recognize the importance of attending industry events that are focused on bringing peer-to-peer planners together. The Transamerica meetings and events planning team which speaks and shares in an open forum to discuss best practices and brainstorm is one of the best ways to streamline processes, identify what’s working and what is not.

“This allows you to come together with like minds and develop solutions for issues and barriers that all planners are likely experiencing,” Villa said.

Other Steps To Take

In addition to partnering with other constituents who can streamline meeting planning activities and provide cost-reducing options, corporate planners are also embracing additional cost-saving initiatives, such as choosing lower tier cities that may offer more charm and cool activities than international or large U.S. destinations such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Orlando, Atlantic City or Atlanta.

A company can also do more less expensive regional events. Evaluate the pipeline goals and consider not hosting large-scale, company-wide meetings for large sums of money, and instead running smaller local events to connect on a more personal level with employees, customers and prospects.

“I think a lot of that depends on the type of meeting or event you are holding. Location is, of course, one of the most important aspects of a meeting so determining air lift patterns, direct flight access, average ticket prices and room rates will most often direct budget,” Villa said. However, based upon the time of year, weather patterns will play a large role in where a meeting may be placed.”

Ideas for cost reductions that Transamerica uses regularly include:

• Negotiating resort fees, discontinuing room drops and providing handouts at registration.
• Using water stations to reduce the cost of water bottles while meeting sustainability goals.
• Negotiating WiFi fees out of contract since most hotels are now offering free WiFi to guests and in meeting spaces.
• Looking for properties that offer it all — great outdoor and indoor space, creative venues so there is no need to leave and incur transportation costs or buy outs.
• Planning logistically smarter by doing one meeting rather than several regional or roadshows.

Considering food and beverage costs are often the largest line item for any corporate meeting or event, corporate planners are recognizing the importance of working with vendors to lower costs and produce creative solutions.

“I recommend planners team and partner with hotels and the local CVB and DMO for rebates and funding toward meeting expenses based on promotional programs available such as transportation, master rebates and staffing,” Villa said. “Also work with your hotel partners to customize menus — be intentional. Bring the chef into conversation early on to discuss banquet guarantees to reduce overages.”

Transamerica also uses menu sharing with other groups in-house. Villa recommends asking the hotel to set up a collaboration session so some meals can be designed and shared for cost savings. There are many additional ways to offset the increasing costs of today’s meetings and events. Some of these include encouraging video conferencing or hybrid approaches for additional meeting attendees to participate. Video-conferencing is a cost-effective alternative to in-person attendance. Companies may also set per diem allowance for food and beverages, and they may initiate using digital materials and event apps rather than producing and distributing printed materials for meetings, events and conferences.

“Understand the overall goals of your organization and how you can implement drivers into your events that can then be reported up,” Villa said. For example, understand your company’s sustainability goals. Ninety percent of all events have been a water bottle free event. It provides both sustainability and cost-savings.”

Also ensure any money spent on giveaways or promotional items is going toward impactful items. Don’t plan for cheap, random tradeshow giveaways.

The Role of Technology

Streamlined efficiencies. Innovative strategies. State-of-the-art engagement. Technology is a vital component of any corporate meeting or event and can offer significant cost savings to cash-strapped corporations.

As such, meeting planners are turning to technology in droves to enhance the attendee experiences while offsetting costs of meetings and events of all sizes.

“Planners should be providing an event app to be used on smartphones for their events,” Villa suggested. “Attendees will find this much easier than carrying around a printed paper agenda.  There will be an overall savings on printing costs of agendas and secondly you are working to meet clean environmental goals by going green.”

Villa points to several other technologies available to planners to make communications easier and the ones Transamerica uses are as follows:

• Spark AI/ChatGPT (Sparkit) – for session descriptions, writing assistance, and to summarize evaluations.
• EZ Text – allows you to communicate with attendees directly via text while onsite.
• Surveying – Pre- and post-event surveys to collect valuable data to measure ROI and ROO. Facets of these surveys include:
  • Survey Monkey
  • C-Vent (survey and cost avoidance module to measure savings)
  • Stova (survey and cost avoidance module to measure savings)
  • Ask only questions in surveys that you will address and use data
  • Surveys should go out within 24 hours of event conclusion
  • Reminder two to four days later, and close within seven to 10 days of the event’s conclusion

Continuous Evaluation

As a result of current economy, many companies will play defense in 2024, as they keep a tight hold on expenditures in an attempt to maintain their margins and profitability. Simply put, companies will focus on efficiencies, as well as embrace innovative strategies and techniques that will engage meetings and events attendees on a cost-conscious, yet impactful level.

From a financial perspective, demonstrating a meeting’s return on investment can be a way planners can illustrate how an event has improved the company’s standing among attendees — whether they are customers, prospects and/or employees — or how it may even improve sales figures. In fact, today’s reality is that if an event doesn’t positively affect a company’s bottom line — either in profits or productivity — future events and the money to fund them may not be a company priority.

Meeting professionals cite that many companies need to establish the potential for return on a meeting or event investment long before putting their stamp of approval on the expenditure. They need to weigh the value and make the decision based on what they consider to be a well-thought-out evaluation by the corporate event planner.

Of course, the return on any investment depends on its quality. Choreographing an effective meeting takes time and effort, not only on the part of the planner, but those participating in the event as well.

Today’s planner recognizes that effectively managing meetings and events budgeting constraints requires cost-conscious decisions, out-of-the-box thinking, careful planning, and a focus on realizing a corporate gathering’s objectives within the allocated budget.

“The key piece of advice is if you don’t ask you won’t know in terms of negotiating contract terms, so create relationships with your hotel partners,” concluded Villa. “Coordinate a master calendar of events and meetings to strategically manage resources and understand the strategic intent of the meeting.” C&IT