Chapter 11 Marketing to Meeting Planners The most stable and growth-oriented part of a hotel’s total guest mix is the group meetings market

The Group Meeting Markets

Benefits Additional Revenue Ease in filling slow periods. Because group meeting guests are more or less a captive audience, they tend to spend more in the hotel’s other revenue centers than do other guests. Ease in filling slow periods. Ease in employee scheduling With groups, the length of each guest’s stay is usually predetermined. Repeat business Individuals may later visit the property as business or leisure travelers

Group Meeting Market Status Studies 25 percent of U.S. hotel guests are meeting planners. Associations: $77 billion a year on meeting Corporations: $37 billion Complexes such as the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, the New York Marriott Marquis, and the Las Vegas Hilton attribute as much as 80 percent of their sales volume to convention business. A Common Misconception All group meetings and conventions are large gathering of thousands of people. In reality, there are many more small meetings than large ones (75 percent, < 100).

Associations

Associations An Association Type of Associations Is an organization of persons having a common interest or purpose. Doctors, Bankers, Lawyers, Magicians, Beekeepers, Hospital Purchasing Agents, Horseshoe Pitchers, Fruit Growers, etc. Type of Associations Trader associations Professional and scientific associations Nonprofit associations

Professional and scientific associations Trade associations Made up of individuals, companies, or corporations that have similar business needs or concerns. The most lucrative source of group meetings business because their memberships consist largely of successful executives. Hold conventions in conjunction with trade shows. Professional and scientific associations Are closely related to trade associations, but differ in regard to meeting frequency. Have regular meeting schedules. Are affiliated with national and international associations, and these groups are typically very large. The medical meeting market may be of particular interest to properties that wish to market to professional and scientific associations.

Nonprofit organizations Its makeup of social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal groups, this nonprofit segment has been given the acronym SMERF. SMERF groups are now a major market segment for many properties and share a number of characteristics: Changing yearly ,meeting schedules, Off-season, price-sensitive (see Exhibit 1).

Types of Association Meetings Annual conventions Two-thirds of all annual conventions are held in conjunction with a trade show or with exhibits. State and regional conventions Are smaller in scope than annual conventions and are further limited by geographic restrictions. Conferences Supplies information related to new developments of interest to the association’s members Seminars and workshops Similar to conferences but are smaller in scope. Board and committee meetings Are the smallest association group meetings in ternms of attendance.

Planning Factors for Association Meetings Timing Lead time: two years. Geographic pattern. Geographic restrictions. Attendance (see Exhibit 2). Site selection requirements.

Whom to Contact. Professional meeting planner Association executive Site committee chairperson Board of directors chairpersons or member Local association member

Corporations Corporations can be a highly lucrative source of group business. Average 14 meetings or conventions in a single year.

Types of corporations Corporations vary greatly in size and purpose. Local, state, national, and international corporations that sell products, services, or both. At one time or another most corporations hold group meetings that require lodging facilities.

Types of Corporate Meetings National Sales Meetings Regional or district sales meetings Training seminars New-product introductions Management meetings Stockholder meetings Incentive trips.

Planning Factors for Corporate Meetings Timing Lead time: one year or more. Geographic pattern. Geographic restrictions. Attentdance. Site selection requirements

Whom to Contact

Finding Association and Corporate Group Business Sources. Trade periodicals and directories for leads and the names of key decision-makers. Account files of previous group meeting business Local newspapers fro news of associations and corporate groups. The yellow pages of the local phone book and the phone book of the state’s capital city. The reader boards of competitors Word-of-mouth referrals.

Suppliers of products or services. Your property’s employees. Internet. Local and state chambers of commerce Convention and visitors bureaus Industrial commissions

Reaching Associations and Corporate Meeting Planners

Reaching methods Haphazard way of Reaching meeting planners. Buy a mailing list of meeting planners and send direct mail pieces to everyone on the list. Better way Thorough research and aim selling efforts at a small group of 30 to 40 “hot prospects.” Pace reports Cover every month for the next five years to track bookings and assist in pricing for cost-effective groups. Lifetime value of the account. Evaluating the total revenue potential of a group. Face-to-face selling is most effective way.

Face-to-face selling Personal sales calls Sales Blitzes The best way to sell to meeting planners. Schedule an appointment call to meet the meeting planner and learn his or her needs. Develop a tailored presentation for your sales call. Sales Blitzes An intensive survey of a given geographic area over a specified time period to gather information. Planning is the key to a successful sales blitz (see Exhibit 6).

Trade shows Attendance at trace shows can help build a client base for all types of properties. Types of trade shows Exhibit show: booths that enable exhibitors to distribute materials and talk to buyers Marketplace show: a structured environment of scheduled appointments between buyers and sellers.

Print Advertising Other sales tools See Exhibit 8. Trade journals or magazines or in the business or social section of newspapers in key feeder cities. Other sales tools Direct mail and collateral materials (see Exhibit 9). Internet. Familiarization tours and public relation activities.