The London Convention Centre.

London Convention Centre events that draw out-of-town delegates and exhibitors to London, Ont., generate an estimated $14.1-million in total direct spending.

This, according to the London Convention Centre Economic Impact Study.

According to the study, the total direct spend on events attracting out-of-province delegates and exhibitors is an estimated $6.8-million.

Of that $14.1-million spend by out-of-town delegates and exhibitors, $9.4-million resulted from delegate spending, $2.4-million from exhibit spending and $2.3-million in convention-centre production costs.

Conducted by Synovate, the study surveyed non-local delegates/attendees and exhibitors attending qualifying LCC events from July, 2008, to June, 2009.

Economic Benefits to London, Province

Additionally, the $14.1-million in direct spending resulting from events attracting out-of-town delegates and exhibitors generates $9.6-million in GDP for London ($6.3-million directly from companies providing goods and services; $1.8-million indirectly from related supplier industries and $1.5-million induced from employees spending their earnings).

As for the economic benefit to Ontario, the $6.8-million in direct spending due to events drawing non-Ontario delegates and exhibitors generates $4.5-million in GDP ($2.5-million directly, $1.1-million indirectly and $0.8-million induced).

Delegate Spending

The average non-local delegate/attendee party spent roughly $301 per show day as a result of attending a LCC event.

Ontarian delegates spent roughly one-half as much, per delegate day, as those travelling from further distances. However, total spending across regions of origin outside of Ontario was fairly comparable.

Exhibit Spending

The average exhibit (includes all staff and travel companions) spent approximately $2,481 as a result of exhibiting at a LCC event, including $433 on production and $2,048 on non-production spending.

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While the H1N1 virus continues to garner headlines, it doesn’t seem to have any impact on the Canadian meetings and incentive market.

There’s a saying on Wall Street that when America coughs, the rest of the world catches cold. That’s the ugly side to globalization. The great irony is that Canadians who have long embraced ROI and meaning to meetings paid a price for the cavalier behaviour south of the border.

It’s reminiscent of politicians who run on a platform of reducing expenses. Well, when did anyone say, ‘send me to Ottawa so I can spend more?’ When was this mythical time when budgets didn’t matter? Some have called it the ‘AIG effect,’ other simply refer to optics — a word we have come to hate. But while criticized for not acting business-like, the events sector has been pressured to make decisions not based on business and value, but optics. It doesn’t make sense, but the only option is to ride it out.

So where are we, what’s happening and where are we going? Much of what has happened is less trend and more reactionary fad — a do-something scenario to address the short-term optics versus the client’s long-term business objectives. Never mind that Canadians were still making money. We suffered because of the optics.

Happily, the one principle planners, hoteliers, suppliers and destinations agree on is that nothing will replace face-to-face meetings in terms of productivity, creativity and results. If there was a case for holding your event before this downturn in the economy, there is still a case for holding it during and after.

H1N1 Virus

While the H1N1 virus continues to garner headlines, it doesn’t seem to have any impact on the Canadian meetings and incentive market. Where the virus has had an impact is the leisure market, especially in Mexico. Airlines cancelled over 2,000 inbound flights in the first half of 2009. This led to a near collapse of hotel occupancy rates in Mexico City (in April and May, it reached a low of 10 per cent). Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines credits the virus with a $119.8-million downturn in its final picture (a second quarter loss of $35.1-million versus an $84.7-million profit) due to cancelled cruises. In Canada, no planner, hotel, or destination reported cancellations due to flu fear. The only impact was a year’s postponement of a conference for front-line health care workers.

Destinations

It ’s no surprise that Am erican business has all but disappeared, while the international market has softened. However, associations are keeping many places and suppliers and partners alive. And tiertwo cities haven’t yet faced any significant downturn. Calgary lost only one U.S. booking in 2009; otherwise, 2010 looks strong and the city has bookings to 2016. At the Québec City Convention Centre, which didn’t count on a big 2009 after its blow-out 2008 400th anniversary year, says the last half of 2009 is about the same as previous years; 2010 looks good and 2011 is when business returns to normal levels.

Montreal, which has a $3-billion-a-year meetings industry, says 2009 is ahead of 2008. However, its 2011 to 2013 bookings are a little soft, so it’s counting on the new shorter lead times to mine for as-yet unclaimed business.

Dave Gazley, vice-president for Tourism Vancouver, admits 2009 has been a tough year, but post-Olympics, “2010 will be a very strong year for us on the convention side and 2011 is shaping up to be one of the largest convention years ever in Vancouver.”

One bright spot for this year and the future is Newfoundland and Labrador. Brenda Walsh, meetings specialist for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, says, “Everybody is talking about what a dismal year it is and I’m sitting there and I’m afraid to open my mouth.

This is going to be a great year for Newfoundland in all sectors. It’s frightening. Our May-June was amazing.

July was a little soft, but July is not traditionally a convention month. In August, we had some really large groups in; September and October is looking healthy. We may be up a couple per cent.” Here is where optics and perception have paid off for Newfoundland — which has traditionally been under the radar to be both exotic and safe for the optics du jour.

Planners

Chuck Schouwerwou, CMP, president of Ottawa-based ConferSense Planners Inc., says some of his clients “are cutting back drastically and that, for independents, often means they’re moving their events
in-house again.”

Even the larger shops have had to cut back. Dean Dacko, vice-president, travel solutions for Carlson Marketing, based in Mississauga, Ont., says Carlson reassigned staff or placed some on temporary layoff status for the summer, so they could keep access to the talent pool for when business returned — which could be soon, since clients are looking at 2010 and 2011. Both years are, according to Dacko, “much brighter.”

Nicola Kastner, CMM, CMP, business manager, Motivational Events, for Maritz Canada, says one of the new challenges the industry is facing is the greater involvement of Procurement in issuing RFPs and selecting vendors. The cost pressures companies are facing encourage them to want to take event budgets into the same costing sheets they use when they buy “widgets.” Additionally, there are often no budget ranges provided in advance, just some very loose parameters.

Winnipeg’s Jonathan Strauss, of Strauss Event & Association Management

One planner who isn’t facing the same pressures is Winnipeg’s Jonathan Strauss, of Strauss Event & Association Management. While 2009 won’t be the best year for his nine-person shop, he’s confident about 2010. In one week in August, he signed two new clients and resigned an existing client, all for 2010. “It seems that now that we’re getting into the last quarter of the year, people are now making commitments for 2010.”

Strauss adds, “Our association clients are actually all growing. For our largest association client, we’re in the process of creating new professional-development opportunities. So our largest association client will have more meetings in 2010 than they have ever had.”

Many of his health care clients have travel budgets, but, because of optics, don’t have permission to travel. This creates a need for small, regional meetings.

Airlines

Airlines, which are usually covered in the business press under headlines that sprout descriptions of “grim,” “bleak” and “gloomy,” are expected to lose over $11-billion in 2009, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA). Nonetheless, Canadian airlines aren’t yet down and out. Porter Airlines is cherry-picking routes and growing. WestJet says charters are still very much in demand. Air Canada is offering greater flexibility via its convention-booking feature that allows Tango fares to be included in groupqualifying counts. The company has also expanded pre- and post-conference travel windows (up to seven days, from three). And Cathy Pacific, which operates daily service between Toronto and Vancouver to Hong Kong and is one of the few airlines with black ink on its books, plans to be “less conservative” in courting Canadian group business.

Hotels

Hoteliers started the year defending the integrity of their rate card. However, as the year progressed, desperate properties in the U.S., Caribbean and Europe discounted deeply. Guido Kerpel, Canadian vicepresident for Newcastle Hotels, says, “We see, in need periods, it’s all about cash flow. It is no longer about what is good business, it’s about making sure you can pay your bills and keep your employees employed and keep the bank away.”

Glenn Bowie, Newcastle’s area director of sales and marketing, says, “Associations are still meeting; there’s not a big change in anything that associations are doing. Corporations — that’s where the trick is. They’re combining two meetings into one. Groups that had five meetings a year will have three now and just try to cover more. They’ll cancel the final gala night, so that they save the price of that and the extra night’s accommodations. They are not meeting at resorts, even if it’s less expensive, because of the optics.”

Among the trends Kerpel and other hoteliers are seeing is a shift from high-end luxury brands to the next tier down, from five-star to 4.5 or four.

Where the two are concerned is the long-term harm these desperate short-term actions will have. Bowie says, “people are willing to offer contracts with little or no attrition, just to have a signed piece of paper. And they’re also offering very lucrative cancellation out clauses.”

Kerpel says, “The industry will get through 2009, but what we — as an industry — have to be careful with is the meeting planner who wants to book something for the end of 2010, 2011 and 2012 and expect us to price in a panic and provide them with rates that three years from now we cannot live with.”

That said, they, like their colleagues, are looking at a solid 2010/11. Mark Sergot, Toronto-based global sales vice-president for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, says North American clients are sticking closer to home, favouring city-based properties. However, over the summer, the reluctance to commit for 2010 loosened up and they are starting to see “pent-up demand in a lot of organizations to bring their people together.”

Loren Christie, director of sales at the 1,377-room Sheraton Centre Toronto, says his biggest trend is the new, non-nonsense approach by clients. Given the lost booking time, planners, he says, “are getting down to brass tracks right off the bat. Clients want your best offer on the table right from the beginning.”

To paraphrase the Queen, 2009 has been our annus horribilis. And 2010, 11 and 12 can only be better.

— Allan Lynch is a New-Minas, N.S.-based freelance writer and regular contributor to M&IT.

Calgary TELUS Convention Centre.

A new study says it establishes “for the first time” a clear link between business travel and corporate performance and growth.

Conducted by global research firm Oxford Economics, the study, titled “The Return on Investment of U.S. Business Travel,” found:

• Economic analysis and executive surveys both confirmed a high delivery of ROI: for every dollar invested in business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue.

• Curbing business travel can reduce a company’s profits for years. The average U.S. business would forfeit 17 per cent of its profits in the first year of eliminating business travel. It would take more than three years for profits to recover.

• Both executives and business travellers estimate that 28 per cent of current business would be lost without in-person meetings.

• Both executives and business travellers estimate that roughly 40 per cent of their prospective customers are converted to new buyers with an in-person meeting, compared to 16 per cent without such a meeting.

• Executives stated that in order to achieve the same effect of incentive travel, an employee’s total base compensation would need to be increased 8.5 per cent.

• An increase in government travel spending of $1-million will increase government worker productivity and therefore output by between $4.6-million and $6.3-million.

The study was commissioned by the US Travel Association.

For more info, visit TravelMole’s site

In 2009 we saw exponential growth of social media. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter alone grew 1,283 per cent, year-over-year, in February, registering a total of just more than 7-million unique visitors in the US for the month. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to outpace MySpace.

So what could social media look like in 2010? In 2010, social media will get even more popular, more mobile, and more exclusive. What are the near-term trends we could see as soon as next year? In no particular order:

1. Social media begins to look less social
With groups, lists and niche networks becoming more popular, networks could begin to feel more “exclusive.” Not everyone can fit on someone’s newly created Twitter list and as networks begin to fill with noise, it’s likely that user behavior such as “hiding” the hyperactive updaters that appear in your Facebook news feed may become more common. Perhaps it’s not actually less social, but it might seem that way as we all come to terms with getting value out of our networks—while filtering out the clutter.

For the full article, visit Business Week’s site

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
Budget restraints, company cutbacks, reducing expenses – callit what you will, but the overarching concern for meeting andincentive travel planners this year is costs. It doesn’t really matterif your niche is in the corporate arena, a not-for-profit associationor fulfilling third-party contracts, the state of the world economy hasthrown a spanner into what has been, for the last five years at least, therelatively stable sector of meeting, event and incentive travel planning.

The economic downturn and its impact across the Canadian industrial landscape mean planners have to manage expectations of quality programmes on a much tighter budget.

And the issues related to the downturn in the economy are affecting every facet of the planning experience. Hotel room, travel and F&B costs start off the long list of planner concerns, followed by fewer attendees at trade shows, fewer meetings to plan or the outright cancellation of events. Coupled to that are reduced sponsorship spending and less participation from suppliers at shows. “With the economy the way it is, will we be able to recruit as many delegates to our annual conference?”

Many planners are clearly worried about the affordability of meetings and events. “As economic conditions worsen, there is a need in our industry (financial) to meet more with employees and provide more training opportunities, and to do client appreciation events. But of course, the budgets have decreased – and the commodity prices have increased. The planners get stuck in the middle, trying to manage upset clients and maintain relationships with our vendors with impossible budget restrictions. We need more economical options.” Planners are concerned about attrition and cancellation clauses in contracts, the instability of airlift and lack of seat space, and hotel requirements for getting adequate meeting space. “What concerns me is short turnaround – based on the economy, I think clients decide, last minute, if they are going to host a meeting or event.”

And to top it all off, with fewer events to execute, planners are concerned about their jobs. “If I can’t communicate the value and ROI of meetings and events to the senior management team, will I still have my job?”

DEMONSTRATING ROI
Diane Whittington, CMP, is one busy event planner, doing serious road-warrior time as the corporate events manager for Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.

She will be chalking up over 20 events in 2009, which segues into the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Samsung has been a global TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games since 1997. If Whittington thinks she is busy now, in 2010, she won’t stop moving.

Whittington says, “the focus on business, going forward, is extremely tight. If you can’t present a business case for an event, it’s not going to get done. The belt-tightening has begun and the return on investment (ROI) is very important. We are focusing on economies of scale and we have to look at every dollar before it’s spent. We do corporate marketing around our four departments: consumer electronics, home appliances, IT and wireless terminals. So if I’m doing an event, let’s say a consumer show, we have to make sure the focus is on driving sales and ROI measurement. We have to be able to show why doing that event was good for business.”

According to the annual Global Business Travel Forecast and Trends Report, published by American Express Business Travel, released in the last quarter of 2008, senior management will be taking a closer look at meetings spending and will want to measure the return on investment of meetings and events for their companies. The report says there will be a movement towards shorter events in more local destinations, which should help corporationsachieve the best ROI. The report also states that implementing and managing a meetings policy is expected to provide companies the ability to drive certain cost-saving practices. Based on a recent survey of American Express clients, over 70 per cent do not have a stand-alone meetings policy. Finally, technology developments, such as teleconference and social networkingsites, are gaining popularity as tools to strengthen the interpersonal relationships created through traditional meetings.

MEMBERSHIP SQUEEZE
For associations, who usually are already operating on tight budgets, the squeeze on membership attendees is its own particular headache.

Wendy Walton is the conference and professional development officer of the Canadian Library Association (CLA).

Its largest event is the annual general meeting held in late May. The event rotates across the country, returning every three years to its home base in Ottawa. This is Walton’s largest event, as about 1,200 members either attend for all four days or take advantage of the single-day passes the association offers.

Walton says there hasn’t been time to see the effects of the last-quarter financials on the CLA. “It takes time to filter down and for us to see what type of effect it will have on our annual meeting and tradeshow. We’re about 80-per-cent sold-out for this year, but next year will be interesting. We have a new executive director who comes to us with a lot of experience.She may be planning to utilize podcasts and webcasts to our membership, to control costs.”

Another area in which Walton sees definite cost savings is signing a multiple-year contract at convention centres for her annual AGM. “One centre has offered us a fixed rate for the first year that we signed for 2011, and will give us a ceiling for the second year, and if we sign on for a third, they’ll give us even more. They are prepared to offer us discounts on services as well.” Walton says there are not many Canadian convention centres that she hasn’t used in her 20-year stint in the industry. “Knowing the centre I’m going to use makes it easier to plan and execute an event. You have a solid perspective on what you’re dealing with and how things work. You become familiar with the building and its quirks and you know how to deal with its staff and procedures. We are fortunate that we are able to book so far out.” Walton is booked straight through to 2015.

While Walton has an advantage of a national group for members, Brenda Caplan, is the executive assistant to the president of the regulatory body for professional engineers in the province of Ontario. “We’re a not-for-profit group, so we pay for all of our members’ expenses. We are keeping a tight watch on our budgets this year.” Caplan spends about 50 per cent of her time planning meetings and working on special-event projects. Her biggest event is the AGM that includes a gala that recognizes the association volunteers and committee members. “For 2009, our AGM budget is okay, but I may see a 10-per-cent-drop in my budget for 2010. Right now, I am reviewing hotel contracts that we negotiate. Room rates are coming down, because we’re giving them F&B.”

MEETING SPEND
But despite the doom and gloom of the nightly newscasts and daily papers, and the concerns of individual planners, for this year at least, the spend in meeting planning in Canada is expected to dip by only about 1 per cent, although the spend in incentive travel will take a bigger hit. According to our corporate survey respondents, the average meeting spend in 2008 was $679,900, while they expect the average in 2009 to be $669,500.

Canadian planners are about evenly split as to the increase or decrease in the number of events to be held in Canada. One quarter (24 per cent) say they expect meetings held in Canada to increase, while 22 per cent expect the number of Canadian meetings to decrease. Fifty-two per cent expect the number of meetings held in the country to remain the same. “As we are dependent on donors for our funding, we will definitely not be increasing the number of meetings in 2009. I do not expect a decrease; however, some smaller meetings may be accomplished by videoconferencing.”

U.S. and international destinations are expected to be hit with a much sharper decrease of 37 per cent in the number of meetings held in the U.S. and a 32 per cent decrease in the number of meetings held internationally. “Because of the economy, I think we will find more companies looking for that extra edge in Canada. This is where planners need to be more creative and come up with ideas that are “firsts” for the clients. Whether it is canoeing in the Yukon, kayaking in the Queen Charlottes, fishing off the East Coast or golfing in Saskatchewan, we have to ensure our clients still get the “wow” factor, but keep costs down for their programmes. Staying in Canada for Canadians makes sense.” Planners are concerned about optics, and the idea of staying close to home and supporting the Canadian economy just makes more sense. “It would be best to hold as many related meetings/events on home turf to stimlate the economy and retain active partners in our industry.” With shrinking budgets, planners are worried about maintaining marketing initiatives and are concerned that sponsorship budgets will dry up. “I don’t know that we’ll see a drop-off just yet, but I am certain [meetings] will not increase. I believe rather than the number of events fluctuating, the financial crisis will cause events to struggle attendence-wise and in obtaining sponsorships. Another corporate respondent
writes “Corporations are afraid to spend before they know more about the future of the economy and the implications on their business, employees and clients.”

INCENTIVES
According to our corporate respondents, incentive-travel plans will still be on the books, with 57 per cent of companies taking at least one group. Third-party planners anticipate a slight decline, from an average of just over six group trips planned (6.3) to just under six (5.7) this year. Group trips still account for 21 per cent of all incentives used, with the year-end cash-bonus incentive jumping from 37 per cent in 2007 to 55 per cent this year. This year, we asked some questions about incentive-trip demographics.

The average age group for an incentive trip is the 35-to-55-year-olds (average 45.8 per cent). Planners told us that almost half of you (48 per cent) are influenced by the age group in your decision-making process, and that exotic destinations (42 per cent), family involvement (37 per cent), physical activities (36 per cent), and a shorter duration (35 per cent) are important for this age group.
On the destination-management-company (DMC) side of the equation, Global Events Partners’ annual survey of its partner DMCs worldwide indicate that overall revenues seem likely to decrease; some larger meetings may end up being cancelled; reductions in spend and size are likely, but, at the same time, DMCs are amenable to short-term bookings, which are expected to increase this year.

A key challenge cited by respondents included the ongoing threat of planners ‘going direct,’ bypassing DMCs to carry out programmes either directly with hotels or with vendors outside the DMC sphere.

DEEPER SHADES OF GREEN

Going green is gaining momentum, and the imperative to ‘think green’ continues to be top-of-mind for many Canadian planners. Yet, as our 2009 Market Report Survey indicates, when it comes to eco-friendly meetings, planners still face challenges.

All told, 248 planners participated in this year’s survey, of which 39 per cent report never having done any ‘green’ activities, such as planning a green meeting or event, including ‘green’ clauses in RFPs, etc. When asked, “What are the main reasons that you have not participated in any green initiatives?,” 22 per cent said ‘costs may be too high.’ That number rises to 24 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, for third-party and government/association planners. Indeed, a scan of the verbatim answers reveals that cost is an obstacle.

“Companies want to say they are being green, but are scared of the cost associated with it,” noted one respondent.

“You have to look at the diversity of practices possible and how the overall cost is balanced,” says Shawna McKinley, Vancouver-based project manager for Portland, Ore.-based Meeting Strategies Worldwide. “If you save by not printing, avoiding bottled water or reducing shuttles, you might be able to divert funds to invest in organic food options, or more sustainable and reusable signage. For every meeting, there should be a basic, minimum set of green measures that can be provided at no additional cost.”

Despite cost concerns, however, planners continue to forge ahead with green meetings. Fully 59 per cent of survey respondents either planned or tried to plan a green meeting or event; breaking it down, those percentages translate to 44 per cent (corporate planners), 62 per cent (government/association) and 77 per cent (third party). Wendy Walton, conference & professional development officer of the Canadian Library Association, says the CLA did a carbon offset at the last AGM, by adding $10 to the cost of registration and donated the funds to Tree Canada. Even though they are not doing that this year, Walton maintains that, “our membership is focused on green, we don’t provide handouts, we post all sessions on our website, we use water coolers instead of bottled water and we recycle containers. The less material you organize before the conference, the less you’ll have to deal with after the conference. We are also partnering with VIA Rail to get people to our conference in Montreal this spring. They’ve been wonderfully supportive, offering an extra 10-per-cent discount off of the lowest priced fare. It also helps to be at Le Palais des Congrès de Montreal, they’re one of the top green organizations in Canada, and they have the awards to prove it.”

And in terms of planning another green event, 54 per cent of total respondents said they “already have” or “would definitely” do so, with virtually identical numbers (56 per cent, 56 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively) reported among corporate, government/association and third-party respondents. South of the border, ‘green’ continues to gain traction. Meeting Strategies Worldwide’s State of the 2009 Sustainable Meeting Industry white paper quotes The MPI Business Barometer, November 2008, which reports that, “Many meeting professionals continue to expect a trend toward ‘green’ meetings. This will continue to positively impact the providers of products and services designed for that market. Technology providers and regional destinations may specifically prosper from current trends.” Furthermore, the report identifies ‘green meetings’ as a top-ten trend planners see most affecting meetings and events business over the next six months.

The Meeting Strategies white paper also reports that a recent survey of corporate travel managers by the National Business Travel Association indicates
nearly 30 per cent incorporate green issues into their travel policies and that nearly 25 per cent prefer green meeting suppliers. Moreover, in the future, another 30 per cent will use hotels that feature environmentally friendly amenities and practices, according to the survey.

Closer to home, other stumbling blocks hamper planners’ efforts to go green, as between 5 per cent and 9 per cent of respondents (across the three planner groups; average 7 per cent) said they haven’t participated in any eco-friendly ventures because “no green initiatives are available.”

And commenting on the biggest challenge to planning green meetings, one respondent said, “ensuring that all vendors and suppliers complied with greening policy.”

“On-site oversight is a critical part of follow-through,” says McKinley. “There are two ways to help address the challenge. First, make sure reporting measures are included in contracts with vendors. Having this kind of agreement in writing gives planners a leg to stand on when going back and requesting verification of green practices through things like trash-hauling reports. Second, engage your event team in on-site verification. If you work with a host or volunteer committee, see if someone might champion the task of overseeing compliance. Set clear parameters for them to follow, to ensure they get you the information you need.”

– Sandra.eagle@mtg.rogers.com, Don.douloff@mtg.rogers.com

METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE
With more than 2-million sq. ft., Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) answers planners’ needs in a myriad of ways. For instance, there’s Constitution Hall, an in-demand ballroom offering 28,000 sq. ft. of flexible, divisible space, with two operable walls. Featuring up-to-date technology, a new sound system and an expanded pre-function area on the 100 level, the space accommodates 3,400 theatre-style, 2,800 reception-style and 2,520 banquet-style. Moreover, by pioneering Zero Waste Events, MTCC takes a leadership role in ‘going green.’ Witness the MTCC’s extensive recycling programme; its partnership with Bullfrog Power to provide 100-per-cent green electricity; its 40-per-cent total-energy reduction during the past seven years; and its annual donation of more than 2,000 lbs. of leftover food to local food banks. One of our Market Report Survey respondents, in fact, singled out MTCC’s “green planning, excellent client service” and a catering staff that was “very accommodating.”

DELTA CENTRE-VILLE
Nestled in beautiful downtown Montreal, the Delta Centre-Ville hotel boasts 711 guestrooms and suites offering coffee makers and complimentary coffee; voicemail and an extra phone line for data port; and access to the on-site health club.

Additionally, the Signature Club Lounge serves a complimentary, deluxe continental breakfast and provides computer and printer access and express checkout. A revolving rooftop restaurant, the Tour de Ville, serves à la carte dinner and, on Friday and Saturday nights, themed buffets. On the meeting side, Delta Centre-Ville features 24 function and meeting rooms totaling more than 33,000 sq. ft. – including a 34-seat, classroom style auditorium and six executive boardrooms – and offers an eco-friendly ‘Meet & Green’ package. High-speed Internet is available in all function and meeting rooms and the business centre. Extolling the hotel’s virtues, a Market Report Survey respondent cited the “great, friendly staff, always wanting to make your stay pleasant and memorable.”

TORONTO CONGRESS CENTRE
It’s no surprise that Toronto Congress Centre (TCC) won a Readers’ Choice Award. The numbers tell the tale: One-million sq. ft. of exhibit space; 33 state-of-the art meeting rooms covering 60,000 sq. ft., including a ballroom with adjacent courtyard, in the South building; an additional 40 meeting rooms in the North building. And TCC is green: double the recommended air-exchange units ensure maximum air exchange; low-VOC carpeting and chemical-free paints and cleaners mean the air is virtually allergen-free. Moreover, TCC has received Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) accreditation, meeting the world’s highest standards for food-safety practices. Our readers gushed, citing “outstanding service, quality, flexibility, communication” and praising the “amazing staff and attention to details.”

THE WESTIN OTTAWA
Our planners told us that sustainable menu planning, outstanding customer service and the staff’s “can-do” spirit made the Westin Ottawa a clear winner of a Readers’ Choice award. It also didn’t hurt that recent renovations give the hotel a sleek, modern look. The lobby features 20-ft., floor-to-ceiling windows and a 14-ft.-wide gas fireplace suspended from the third floor. On the lower level, brand-new meeting space includes six executive boardrooms covering 6,300 sq. ft. The executive meeting centre features state-of-the-art technology and wheelchair access. Ottawa’s newest (and largest) ballroom, the Governor General can be divided into three function areas or one large reception room. The property is transforming its guestrooms with a contemporary new look and new rooms coming onstream from now until the end of the year.

DEERHURST RESORT
Excellent on-site service, good value and great meeting space reflect planners’ comments praising this Muskoka resort, proud to be named the host of the G8 Summit of world leaders in 2010. In spring, 2008, Deerhurst extended its meeting space with the renovated Lakeview Room on the lower level of the original, historic Lodge. It features a direct walk-out to the water, plus the ability to meet, dine and enjoy entertainment, in one compact building. The resort has also renovated its spa; expanded its on-site team-building experiences; and created new catering options at outdoor venues including the BBQ Point beach and gazebo location. Mindful of shrinking budgets and company restructuring, the resort is also offering, for the first time, a total meetings package, which includes a free team-building option with a group event.

THE FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK
Planners across the country appreciate that this iconic Toronto landmark “clearly understands the business of meetings,” making note of the superlative cuisine created by its passionate chefs and the flexibility of staff to cater to meetings. One planner remarked, “they’re so familiar with our group, that they deliver our expectations before it’s even asked.” Melanie Coates, regional director of public relations for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, says it is always wonderful to receive kudos from the meeting-planning community. Coates says, “we are continuing our green efforts by partnering with the Ocean Wise programme to offer sustainable seafood choices to banquet, catering and in-house menus.” The Royal York also offers organic options on catering menus to help planners who want to operate environmentally responsible meetings.

REGIONAL FAVOURITES
West
Pan Pacific – Vancouver
Delta Lodge at Kananaskis

The Westin Bayshore
The Banff Centre

Central
Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham
Conference Centre & Spa
White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa
University of Toronto Downtown Campus
The Westin Harbour Castle Toronto
Inn at the Forks – Winnipeg

East
Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel
The Fairmont Newfoundland
The Fairmont Chateau Laurier
Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu

Bob Macdonald
President & CEO, Maritz Canada Inc.
Mississauga, Ont.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
Over-communicate. We are having lots more interaction, with lively discussions, at our monthly All Employee Meeting. In addition to encouraging openness, we have given a number of avenues for our employees to have a voice. “Ask Bob” –  employees send input and questions anonymously to me and I address each one. “Bob Asks” – I ask questions online, to encourage employee’s input and active discussions. Even with 430 employees, we come together like a family, particularly with our charitable work, and this year, even in such difficult times – we are more united now than ever.

For the past 12 years, Maritz Canada and its employees have donated over $250,000 to Parents for Better Beginnings (PFBB), through various fundraising activities and payroll deductions. With donations and volunteer work, we purchased a bus for transportation, sponsored lots of educational field trips and summer camps, sporting events with kids in Regent Park and the local police, a computer lab, furniture, food and clothing drives, holiday gifts and other great volunteer services.

This year again, we were pleased with our holiday gift donations for kids enrolled in the PFBB programme and we were thrilled to donated almost 500 presents to the kids in the Regent Park community.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes, when so many new and urgent issues take priority?
Our focus is on our customers at all times. We must be relevant to their business and tie incentives to their business objectives, and incentive travel remains a key element to ensure our clients meet their business plans. We practice what we preach and we will be with them in good times and bad times. Often, missing information can be filled with negativity, so we over-communicate with our clients, to keep them informed and engaged.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?
I am pleased to say that this year was Maritz Canada’s biggest year ever. The growth we have seen in all lines of business comes from our client’s need for solutions to selling their own products and services – which require effective incentives for their employees to stay focused.

Where do you expect to see some compromise in the marketplace: Hotels? Space? Transportation?  What area of your business do you see the biggest downturn?  Is there any area of your business that you expect to maintain or see growth in?
We see a compromise with hotels – absolutely, with space availability and more concessions for sure and shorter haul programmes.
 
Our events product continues to show growth: sales and marketing events, road shows, product launches, meetings and events. Creative incentives.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years?  What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over?  
There is, of course, price pressure. We will continue to look for ways to sell value. We will continue to hire, develop and nurture new talent. We have increased our employee base from 375 to 430 this year, with new positions created in sales and marketing, instructional design and experiential marketing. We recognize that our people are the key to our success. With the changes and diversity in the marketplace, we are committed to “re-skill” our employees to learn and do other things, to grow their careers and retain the best within our organization.

Paul Salvatore
President, HRG Worldwide North America
New York, New York. U.S.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
Consistent, realistic, yet positive internal communication. Also, we are fortunate to have many veteran professionals who understand the current turmoil in the marketplace. These people have soldiered on through many downturns – from air commissions being eliminated to the aftermath of 9/11 to name a few. They take it upon themselves to support and mentor less experienced staff in helping them to cope with the peaks and valleys – especially in a tough economy. We still conduct normal evaluations and training programmes, as well as our recognition programmes for those who meet and exceed expectations, such as the monthly “HRG CHOICE” Award.

Ours is a very self-motivated, resilient team whose focus is customer-centric. They know that within each challenge, there lies an opportunity. Nothing lasts forever; those who keep doing their best to service our clients, who help us retain those clients, are those who will enjoy the rewards when the economic environment turns around.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes when so many new and urgent issues take priority?
When you create an open and interdependent relationship with your clients, it is that relationship that sustains you through adverse times. Once again – taking a realistic approach; making your client’s objectives your objectives and not taking a “reactionary stance.” Successful companies understand that incentives are critically important to not only keeping their salesforce or clients motivated in a tough market, but also the important role these programmes play in retaining the best performers.

What we endeavor to do is to bring our client’s alternatives – “different takes” on the traditional incentive trips that will appeal to their target audience without forsaking the bottom line or losing sight of the exceptional service levels required for an incentive programme. We welcome the opportunity to be innovative and creative with a reduced budget! More times than not, non-traditional incentive trips leave the greatest lasting impressions on attendees.

It all comes back to communication, collaboration and an honest relationship between the client and the events and meetings management company. It is so important to bring clients opportunities – whether a great deal on cancelled space, a new destination that is willing to give great rates and concessions based on a multi-year contract, an “experiential-style” trip or perhaps the flexibility of individual incentive redemption. Whatever the case, the consistent sharing of what is available and what is possible is the key to keeping clients engaged.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?
One of the things that became eminently clear in the second half of 2008 is that some clients were reticent to change providers for reasons that included the time and cost involved with a new implementation. This can obviously work to one’s advantage or disadvantage, depending upon where you sit.

Strategically, we need to continue to be both competitive in pricing and aligned with our client’s objectives. We can never rest on our laurels. To retain our clients, we must continue to focus on customer intimacy, to listen to what is important to them and then provide sound ideas and reasonable solutions in response to them.

Where do you expect to see some compromise in the marketplace: Hotels?  Space? Transportation?  What area of your business do you see the biggest downturn?  Is there any area of your business that you expect to maintain or see growth in?
We believe that 2009 will be a year of compromise for all parties involved. Someof the pie is better than none of the pie. We will need to work together to manage costs and expectations. We do see growth in the area of training, especially in cross-training programmes, where client companies have been forced to reduce staff.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years?  What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over?
In our experience, business, in and of itself is fluid and thus ever-changing. Over the last decades, we have been witness to many changes, and certainly, there will be profound changes yet to come. While we do not believe that face-to face meetings, incentives and events will ever go away, we believe that there will be a marked increase in virtual meetings and other alternatives to extensive travel.

We are in a global marketplace and organizations are looking for solutions that will enhance their own quality of service, reduce their costs as well provide innovative solutions that will transcend borders and nations. Technology connects organizations globally and it is what will eventually connect them in their meetings and event management in a more effective and robust way. Changes in this area are inevitable over the next three to five years.

As corporate travel has been consolidated over the last 20 years, there will be meeting and event travel consolidation in varying degrees. This is the foremost emerging trend that we see happening. We believe that meetings consolidation will eventually increase, as companies find a way to get their arms around capturing the information that is needed to effect this change, and to also be in a position to mandate compliance and set stricter events and meetings policies.

As for outsourced events and meetings management, we find that to be as cyclical as, and contingent upon, the economy and changes in client management personnel and styles. Companies go through periods of centralization of control and decentralization, which has an impact on the decision to keep an internal meeting planning staff or outsource the function.

In the long run, there isn’t much we haven’t encountered in over four decades of experience in events and meetings management. HRG will, as always, evolve with the times, reinvest in the right people and technologies and retool its products and services as warranted by the needs and expectations of our clients.

Bernie Koth
Deb Niven
Presidents, Wynford Motivates
Toronto, Ont.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
Truthfully, we have to say that the people working at Wynford are intrinsically motivated.  Ours is an organization that offers a true understanding that people do have lives outside of work combined with commanding an extremely high standard of customer service. Our culture is an attractive one that makes coming to work fun and enjoyable. 

We interact and communicate in organized monthly town halls and bi-annual meetings, but more than that, Bernie and I walk the halls and work in the trenches constantly, conversing with our team. We obviously walk our talk with our own Reward and Recognition programme and we recognize our peers on a daily basis in what we call “The Living our Values” awards.

What we did notice, however, was that a renewed sense of enthusiasm and excitement was created quite unwittingly and definitely unplanned. We had refocused our charity work this year, to concentrate in “our own backyard” and have partnered with a school in Flemingdon Park. We decided to raise funds to help them raise a new gym floor and invited all of our Resource Centres to participate. It was amazing! The creativity and effort that arose from this was exhilarating, proving unequivocally the best RX for self motivation is in being of service to others.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes when so many new and urgent issues take priority?
On the contrary, motivational programs are a priority. The incentive programme and the corporate meeting in the current reality of ESAT (Employee Satisfaction) = CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) are not really disposable items. More than ever, corporate Canada understands that motivating their people through education, reward, recognition and celebration is as necessary as the products they provide. We all better understand that motivating people and ensuring employee engagement is tantamount to success.  

Our business is about designing effective motivation in good times and in bad. The look and feel may vary, but the concept and execution remain.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?
For Wynford, it is business as usual. Our solutions to client needs will vary. We may need to buy Aldo over Manolo, but the work to motivate and engage will continue.

We must continue to pursue new opportunities in sales. We must continue to create new ideas and products and introduce these new ideas and products to our clients as we would have in less tumultuous times. Tune out the bad press. Our reality is what we make it, not what we read it is.

We know that the need for physical human interaction will never go away, no matter what technological solutions exist. We will need to be deft enough to be able to offer solutions that combine both, that help to mitigate budget, but continue to promote effective communication and interaction.

Where do you expect to see some compromise in the marketplace: Hotels? Space? Transportation?  What area of your business do you see the biggest downturn?  Is there any area of your business that you expect to maintain or see growth in?
We think there will be compromise across the industry. This will not only be on the part of hotels, transportation, etc. but the expectations from our clients on the size and scope of their meetings. More time will be spent developing our client’s message in a simple and effective format and less on the bells and whistles or ‘nice to haves’ that are present in better times.

We expect to see downturn in the area of “exotic” travel. We anticipate that most of our clients will continue to travel, but will bring those events closer to home. We will see a downturn in Asia, South Pacific, Africa and some European destinations. Canada and the U.S. will see an upswing from our market.

We believe that out of adversity comes greatness. It forces us to think of new ways of doing things and new ways become new products and new products provide growth. Our prediction is that we can grow – but check with us next year.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years?  What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over?  
It is part of the economic cycle. Well-managed motivated businesses succeed in good times and in bad. Businesses that put their client’s needs first, win. Businesses who put their employees – needs at the top of the pile, win. This has always been our philosophy and it will continue to be; in fact, it would be a crisis if it was not. 

Anthony Byron
President, Meridican Incentive Consultants
Markham, Ont.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
We cannot control the markets and the negative effects that it is having on so many people, but we can hopefully influence our people to stay focused on what they can control - which is their personal contribution to a programme and to the office environment they work in. We have both team and individual incentives in place and we continually look to ways to maintain positive office morale. My business partner and executive vice-president, Terry Manion, and I strive to treat our employees as though they are family, and as such, we try to face these challenges together. We value our people above all else.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes when so many new and urgent issues take priority?
When times are tough, companies rely on their employees to an even greater level. The additional demands that trickle down through an organization is what makes motivation of staff so critical during these times. People are a company’s greatest resource. Recognizing and rewarding your people, in some fashion, is even more powerful when so much has already been cut away.

Obviously next year is not business as usual. What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together? Creativity will be tested as we work in conjunction with our clients for new and economical ways to incent. The need to motivate will not disappear, but the ways we do so, may change. We will endeavor to stay in close contact with our clients as they adapt to the changing business environment. That will allow us to offer solutions through a strong understanding of their particular challenges.

Where do you expect to see some compromise in the marketplace: Hotels? Space? Transportation? What area of your business do you see the biggest downturn? Is there any area of your business that you expect to maintain or see growth in?
All areas will need to adapt to a changing marketplace - there is no other option. I’m not sure if there is one specific area versus another, we would assume that higher end rewards will fall because of cost and corporate and public perception. Instead of Tahiti, a company will select Tucson as a venue.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years? What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over?
Like most industries, we are not likely to know the crisis is over until a few months after it is actually over. I believe that there will be a rebound, as companies begin to turn to their people for more effort or results. That’s where the need to motivate will result in a return of business to the incentive houses. Those incentive houses that can get through the tough times will be extremely well-positioned to service their clients as their businesses ramp back up.

Cynthia Richards
President, Event Spectrum Inc.
Toronto, Ont.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market? 
We have a philosophy at ESI of ‘no fear.’ No matter what the media says around the negative economy, we work every day to focus on all of the positive things that continue to happen. The day that GM announced possible layoffs in Oshawa, all the papers focused on a full page. That same day, Toyota opened a new plant in Woodstock offering up to 5,000 new jobs – this story got a smidgen of press. There is still positive news everywhere.

We communicate regularly. We hold more brainstorming meetings to come up with additional ideas. And we spend more money on training. This is the time to seize the opportunity with clients and our staff.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes when so many new and urgent issues take priority? 
Like our own internal staff, clients need to recognize that with the “recession” word looming, and “survivor” stories where companies have had to lay off – there is no more important time to continue to motivate and communicate to your very good people. Retention of good talent will continue to be a major driving issue in the years to come. We see a rise in national road shows for certain which tend to be more cost-effective.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?  
This is the time to work with your current client base in solidifying already good relationships and making sure we are there to help them in any way. It is also a time to investigate other complementary revenue streams, which we are currently doing.

And lastly, it is a fantastic time to attract great talent. At ESI, we have added three new staff in the past two months.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?  
Overall, we would say the tide has turned the most in hotel space. It has been a sellers market for a decade and hotels are now willing to offer a lot more concessions. What’s also good for us is the elimination of the fuel surcharge on air.

As for trends, we expect that national conferences will be replaced with regional meetings or road shows.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years?  What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over?
For ESI, our biggest challenge will be office space. We have almost outgrown our existing location, where staff and clients love to work and meet. This will also be a great opportunity, as the real estate market will be to our benefit.

When the “crisis” is over, it will be a great market for well-managed firms. This is absolutely the time that the not-so-well-managed companies will be forced to make decisions about their future.

Kerry Shapansky
President & CEO, Pareto
Toronto, Ont

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
The incentive industry was invented in the Great Depression, as I understand it. In tough times, companies need to be more creative, to drive their sales people to sell more and their sales channels to buy their products.

We’ve increased our employee communications dramatically as this mess has unfolded; we hold monthly webcasts, where we share very honest feedback with our employees on the issues and opportunities we’re facing and how we’re responding.
People want to feel engaged and connected; they can cope with a challenging situation, but in the absence of facts, tend to make up things that are worse than reality.

How do you keep your clients engaged in the development of, or even discussions about, future incentive-travel programmes when so many new and urgent issues take priority?
We see our clients falling into two categories: those who are slashing their incentive spend as part of a cost-cutting exercise; and those who recognize that a well-structured incentive is more vital now than ever. I find the clients who are the best sales organizations are those that are protecting their incentive budgets in this environment.

Selling incentive travel in this market is less about the venue and the shrimp cocktail and more about the rule structure and communication strategy that will drive the business forward.

Obviously next year is not business as usual.  What type of strategies can you employ to keep your clients and your company together?
This market cries out for partner opportunity. We’ve been pursuing an outsourcing strategy; clients are looking for someone who will be with them through the twist and turns that will develop over the years, versus merely a group travel vendor.

Where do you expect to see some compromise in the marketplace: Hotels? Space? Transportation? What area of your business do you see the biggest downturn? Is there any area of your business that you expect to maintain or see growth in?
Our travel team is certainly seeing some great hotel deals.

We see the biggest downturn in the “feel good” glam events. Product launches and conferences are going regional, versus the big national show.

We anticipate growth across our business in 2009. We are in the business of “helping you sell more;” that’s never been more relevant.

What type of challenges will your company face over the next two years?  What type of a landscape will meeting planners and incentive houses be facing if and when this financial crisis is over? 
Planning is tough in this environment, it’s challenging to bank on growth when there is so much fear and negativity around. This tough medicine will be good for our industry; it will force us to sell relevant business solutions, versus flogging trips and toasters.

Ellie MacPherson
President, Sunquest Meetings & Incentives
Toronto, Ont.

How do you keep your people motivated to work to their potential with so much uncertainty and turmoil in the market?
Open dialogue and communication with our entire team is tremendously important at all times, but particularly in this volatile market. We discuss challenges and possible solutions in our weekly status meetings and encourage ideas and feedback from all. People need to be engaged and know that they are valued. Our team is aware that doing their best work can make the difference not only in a bid situation, but also in retaining existing clients.

Remember to practice what we preach -

Business gifts, premiums and promotions all play a part in company and organizational branding, a vital component in event and meeting planning.

In our first-ever premium, promotion and gift-card survey, 194 respondents took time to answer 35 questions in our study, fielded in April. Whether event organizers are buying conference bags for the annual general meeting, fleece jackets or golf shirts for staff, promotional giveaways like pens or flashlights or lunch bags, the need for giveaway trinkets and legitimate business gifts is a year-round challenge.

Last year, according to our respondents, the average spend on an employee gift was $113.35. Respondents spent more ($174.10) on the average cost of a gift for clients or customers, while spending half as much on the average suppliers gift ($82.62). The average spend on a speaker’s gift was $85.30.

Overall, the average total yearly budget for business gifts was $21,289.39 and the average company’s total yearly budget for premiums/promotional items was $34,378.13. About a quarter of our respondents (23 per cent), say that company policy has changed to include more non-sales staff in motivational rewards.

CONSTANT CHALLENGE
Finding a product at the right price was the number one challenge for 49 per cent of respondents, while 40 per cent reported difficulties in finding suitable merchandise. Laurie Macpherson, director of corporate services for the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, based in Ottawa, needs to find items and gifts at both ends of the promotional/business gift spectrum. “I buy thousands of inexpensive bulk items for engineering students in universities across the country. It’s high volume, but we want to make it fun and reinforce the professional engineering message. One year, we gave out flying disks; for another, we handed out brightly coloured neoprene luggage tags; and my all-time personal favourite was a transformer that changed into a pen. At the other end of the spectrum are the commemorative gifts for outgoing presidents and volunteer members of various professional committees of Engineering Canada. The most difficult part of the job is sourcing gifts that are different, but still relevant to our profession.”

Maggie Allen, training co-coordinator with Telus, based in Toronto, buys items for retail and internal sales reps across Canada. Most of her items are logo’d, and she relies heavily on her supplier to meet tight deadlines and ship nationally. “We try to be both cool and practical. I like to buy items that people can use all the time, and that way, our logos get noticed as well. I don’t want to buy things that won’t get used and just sit around gathering dust.”

Andrea Bright, CMP, events and meeting co-coordinator for the Ontario Nurses Association, based in Toronto, says her group had a long discussion with her board of directors about environmental concerns. “After much discussion and debate about an environmentally friendly bag for our biennial convention, we ended up meeting halfway. We got away from the big-wheeled backpack that we have given out before. Part of the problem is that we want an ergonomic product, but we wanted to get away from wheels and plastic. We also have a stipulation that our promotional items be Canadian or union-made. There are many concerns with the origin of the product, including that we are not endorsing child labour.”

Another widespread comment from respondents is the use and placement of company logos. While 45 per cent of respondents say logo’d items were used to reward employees, most try to be discreet and unobtrusive. Wendy Taylor is an administrative assistant with PPG Canada Inc., based in Mississauga, Ont. Her company buys golf apparel, umbrellas and hats for customers, company logo’d jackets, shirts and fleece tops for employees. “All of the clothing we buy is logo’d, but it depends on the purpose of the garment on how we do that. For sales staff, we go as far as having the logo on the right-hand cuff of a sleeve. For trade shows, we would have the logo more prominent. We don’t always want to have the logo screaming, so we do a lot of tone-on-tone and script.” Lisa Gaudier, merchandise and event planner at the CTV Network, based in Toronto, echoes that sentiment. Gaudier buys items for sales account executives. “When I put the CTV brand on merchandise, I like it to be as small as possible without compromising the logo. We want our merchandise to be used and worn, and for my clients, the subtle branding is appreciated.”

GIFT CARDS
They’re convenient, can be bought in almost any denomination and are easy to obtain. Retailer gift cards, either bought by individuals en masse or used as part of a branded incentive in-house programme, have been bought by 45 per cent of respondents in the last year. A third of respondents (33 per cent) plan on buying gift cards within the next 12 months from a variety of sources, mainly large retailers such as Hbc, Canadian Tire, Sears, Cineplex Odeon, Home Depot, Chapters and Tim Hortons. The majority of respondents (58 per cent) use gift cards to reward employees, 30 per cent use them to incent employees, while 25 per cent use them to boost employee morale or to recognize special occasions such as birthdays or company anniversaries (22 per cent).

Forty-five per cent of respondents say gift cards are used to reward non-sales staff, while 35 per cent use them for sales staff and 29 per cent use them for customers. Non-sales staff rewards ranges between $25 to $100 (47 per cent). Only 8 per cent of respondents measure return on investment with gift cards.

SURVEY SAMPLER
We had 194 respondents to our Premiums Survey.

36% of our respondents are corporate in-house planners, 28% are non-profit government or association planners and 18% are independent third-party planners.

For employees, business items (43%), clothing (43%), bags (36%), travel accessories (35%), sports items (26%) and electronics (21%) are the primary gifts purchased.

For clients, business items (51%), bags (41%), clothing (38%), travel accessories (31%), wine/alcohol (29%) and sports accessories (26%) are the primary gifts purchased.

Finding a product at the right price (49%) and finding suitable merchandise (40%) is a challenge for our survey respondents.

Annual meetings and conferences (65%), event promotions (61%) and trade-show giveaways (43%) are the reasons for the bulk of promotional purchasing.

32% of respondents say that up to 49 employees at their company are eligible for all incentives. 32% say 50 to 499 employees are eligible, and 15% say 500-plus are eligible for incentives.

– Sandra.eagle@mtg.rogers.com

Photo: maxximages.com

Association and government planners are concerned about the daily nitty-gritty of doing their jobs – everything from dealing with higher costs and negotiating with suppliers to shorter lead times and the ins-and-outs of going green.

This year, 144 government and association planners responded to our Market Report survey. On the meeting-spend front, 24 per cent of respondents said their association non-profit organization spent between $100,000 and $249,000 on meetings in 2007 and 22 per cent said they expected their organization to spend that amount in 2008, while 13 per cent said their association non-profit organization spent $50,000 to $99,999 last year and 15 per cent projected a similar-sized meetings spend in 2008.

VENUES
Pamela Wilson, president of Calgary-based Associations Plus Inc., says her major meetings-industry concern for 2008 is “increasing venue costs. In addition, most of our clients are from small business, which has experienced numerous cost pressures, especially in Alberta.”

Wilson, whose firm manages not-for-profit associations, adds, “our meeting budgets are staying about the same, but what you can purchase for the dollar is shrinking.”

But on those occasions when Wilson is faced with a tight budget, she has a way of dealing with it. “We send out an RFP for most events and look for the best match to the budget as a starting point,” says Wilson. “Then we negotiate with the venue and end up removing some items from the bundle the venue has offered. We also look for additional sponsorship dollars.”

Among association-and-government respondents, 10 per cent reported a 2007 spend of $250,000 to $499,999 and an identical percentage forecast a comparable figure this year. Those numbers almost mirrored the percentages at the $500,000 to $999,999 tier, where 11 per cent reported 2007 spends at that level and 10 per cent believed this year’s spend would remain in that range. At the stratospheric heights, a mere 1 per cent reported a 2007 spend exceeding $2.5-million and 1 per cent predicted that amount in ’08.

INCREASED COSTS
Steve Basnett, director of trade shows and events at the Canadian Security Association, based in Markham, Ont., has money on his mind, citing “increased venue and technical costs” as one of his chief concerns for 2008. And among the biggest challenges he faces is “absorbing rising supplier costs without passing them on to the exhibitors.”

And tight budgets? “We try to reduce costs wherever possible, [with] automation playing a large part in freeing up current labour instead of hiring more bodies,” says Basnett. “We also look to trade services for space or sponsorships at events, so that both parties win and costs stay low.” Down at the lower end of the scale, a mere nine per cent of respondents indicated last year’s spend rang in at $20,000 to $49,999 and a smaller number, 8 per cent, predicted that same figure in the year ahead. The mean spend, in 2007, clocked in at $258,200 and the projected mean spend for 2008 was $275,200.

Still, times are tight. “My major concern for 2008 is the ever-shrinking travel budget directly proportional to increased travel costs; being challenged to be bigger and better than last year with the same or reduced budget,” said Sandy Neil, Winnipeg-based business development specialist, travel, at CAA Manitoba.

Besides matters monetary, association and government planners are faced with other comparatively new challenges. For instance, 28 per cent of respondents named “dealing with increasingly short lead times” as the most significant industry change they’ve noticed during the past five years.

LEAD TIMES
Basnett, for one, deals with shorter lead times “by automating as much as possible and prioritizing everything. Unfortunately, sometimes the low-priority items just don’t get completed as quickly as I would like these days.”

How does Neil deal with tighter lead times? In a word, “Education. I show my clients their limited opportunities available with a shorter lead time and also show them better opportunities which they could have if they had a longer lead time,” she says.

Furthermore, 12 per cent (the largest percentage from among the three groups of planners surveyed) said “the challenge of negotiating contracts with airlines and hotels” was the biggest change they’d noticed during the past five years.

Echoing those sentiments, Wilson notes that “hotels have been more difficult to negotiate with, but this is the reality of doing business. Much depends on the nature of the participant. If the participant is an individual paying from his own pocket, there is a real problem. If it is a company sponsoring the individual, there is less of an issue.”

“There seems to be a fuel surcharge added to every invoice these days,” says Basnett. “It’s something that we have been absorbing for now, but at some point, we’ll have to start passing it along to our exhibitors, who then pass it along to their customers, and eventually it’s the consumer that foots the bill.”

“Increased costs due to rising fuel and labor costs are part and package of doing business,” says Neil. “[My clients] understand it is the price they have to pay to enjoy that particular mode of transportation. They weigh the increased costs of travel against the benefit accrued from an incentive programme or employee-reward programme. They may reduce the number of days on the programme, or choose a closer destination, but they will continue the programme if the benefits outweigh the cost of the programme. This is where showing value-for-their-dollar is most effective.”

GREEN MEETINGS
Green meetings, too, figured into respondents’ mindsets. Indeed, 38 per cent had either planned or tried to plan a green meeting or event and 25 per cent had asked a supplier about their green practices.

Wilson’s company, for instance, does its part by posting handout material on a website or providing it as a CD. She doesn’t think the costs of going green are prohibitive.

Basnett sees some practical limitations to going green, in certain circumstances. “A lot of it is in the hands of the venue and our suppliers,” he says. “While we strive to work with facilities and suppliers that are environmentally friendly, there’s not always an option in every city.”

Suppliers, says Neil, “are struggling with the costs of going green and ‘who will pay for this?’” She adds, “right now, my clients want a green meeting as long as it doesn’t increase their budget. Moving forward, I will be suggesting to all my clients that we look at going completely or partially green.” Neil continues, “for me personally, green meetings won’t materialize until 2009. Most of my programmes sell 12 months in advance, and 2008 will definitely be a year of education.”

Who is driving green meetings? “I think if we take a macro viewpoint and look at North America, it is definitely the clients,” says Neil. “The movement is smaller (but growing) here in Canada, and I think the planners have the edge in driving green meetings at the moment.”

SURVEY SAMPLER
144 association/government planners responded to this year’s survey.

51% of association/government respondents initiated the idea for the green meeting they planned or tried to plan.

46% of association/government respondents said a green meeting costs a little more or much more than a regular meeting.

53% of association/government respondents are a member of the management team which determines the educational content or business message of their organization’s meetings and events.

The average room nights booked by association/government respondents was 673.9 in 2007.

24% of association/government respondents expect the number of meetings held within Canada to increase in 2008.

9% of association/government respondents said convention and visitor bureaus were not at all influential when planning a meeting or event.

2% of association/government respondents says ‘maintaining fair working relationships with suppliers’ is the most significant change they’ve noticed in the meetings industry during the past five years.

(Source: M&IT magazine 2008)
– Don.douloff@mtg.rogers.com

Corporate meeting planners will have their BlackBerrys on overdrive this year, if the predictions of corporate respondents to the 2008 Market Report play out to expectations. Technology, green initiatives and evolving workplace demographics are some of the current components thrown into the meetings mix in a constantly changing industry.

According to 39 per cent of corporate respondents, the increased use of the Internet and other technologies is the most significant change to the meetings industry in the last five years, while 32 per cent cite increasingly short lead times as significant. Among technologies used for planning all or most of their events, 54 per cent of corporate planners used websites, 45 per cent used e-mail marketing, 41 per cent used online registration and 20 per cent used flash drives. What is telling is the increase in usage of newer, social forms of technologies in the planning process.

For instance, in 2007, only 6 per cent of corporate respondents had used video-conferencing. This year, 27 per cent of respondents had used it for some events. The relatively new phenomenon of social-networking sites increased in visibility and adoption, with 6 per cent saying they had used it for most, and 19 per cent saying they had used it for some, of their events.

For Les Selby, CMP, CMM, team lead, Enterprise Solutions Meetings & Events, with Mississauga-based Carlson Marketing, the increased use of technology is the status quo. His team of six plans over 300 events per year, with a Vancouver branch office and three contract employees when the workload warrants it. “We have proprietary tools that we use for web registration, budgeting, meeting registration and to track financials and sourcing. We have launched emerging technologies such as Meetings 2.0, a mobile and social network that can be used before an event to develop interest, during an event to promote interaction between attendees, and after an event to reinforce the event’s message. As we have introduced and presented this technology across the board, many large companies are interested in it. Of course, the smaller, techno-savvy company audience is quicker to embrace the technology.” Generational demographics also play a part in the technology story. “The digital workplace and the adaptation of wireless technology is easiest among the younger generation,” Selby notes. “They’re so used to it, it doesn’t even phase them. It takes longer for the older generations to adapt, but they do, eventually.” He adds a quick caveat, though, that he is seeing an increase in the number of face-to-face meetings where you get to actually shake someone’s hand.

For Toronto-based Joanne Merrick, a promotions manager for Rogers Business & Professional Publishing Group, virtual conferencing is something she is looking into for her group in the medical and pharmacy industries. She plans three awards events, two symposiums and 10 workshops per year. “It would have to be sponsorship-driven,” she says,” but it would enable us to reach more attendees from across the country.”

But technology’s use in the planning of an event is only part of the story. It also plays an increasingly large part in green initiatives in the corporate mindset.

Leanne Bernardo, coordinator, events & promotions with Toronto-based Molson Canada, says the 600 attendees at the annual national conference don’t really want a binder full of paper with conference details. “We do everything now online, electronically. We find when we do a full-sized agenda, people really don’t look at that. We find that a small, lanyard-sized piece of paper with all pertinent details is enough for participants, so they can refer to it and keep it on them.” When she is involved in consumer events, such as contests (think Coors Light Maxim Golf Experience), she finds she is using text messaging and different websites such as Facebook and blogs. In the office, the staff of 15 she works with in the promotions office attempts to be as paperless as possible, using e-mail folders as a more permanent and efficient system for data retrieval.

GREEN SCENE
Reducing the amount of paper at an event is usually just the starting point of green meeting initiatives. Surprisingly, the corporate group ranks below association and third-party planners when it comes to the integration of greener meetings. While 20 per cent of corporate respondents have asked a supplier about their green practices, only 11 per cent have tried to plan a green meeting or event and only 7 per cent have actually done one. Five per cent have included a green clause in an RFP. Seven per cent have booked an event venue, and 4 per cent have booked a hotel, based on its green principles.

The main reason that corporate planners had not participated in these initiatives is that they are still learning how to implement aspects of a green meeting (46 per cent), like things the way they are (15 per cent), are worried about costs (14 per cent), are worried that it would take more time (8 per cent), or say that no green initiatives are available.

“More and more companies are interested in green meetings, and a number of clients are starting to implement initiatives on their own. They are looking to their meeting planners for recommendations and information. While none of our companies are refusing to book a venue based on green practices, that day may come,” says Selby. He adds, “a couple of clients have also asked about carbon offsets. They want to know what the real value is to them. The entire green movement is not a question of if, but when. Planners need to do the research and provide information.”

LEAD TIMES 
One issue that resonates with planners across the board, but specifically with the corporate set at 32 per cent, is increasingly short lead times. “It’s difficult to find space without a room block; you cannot bid until 60 days out. It’s hard to find the right space in the right city at the right time. It’s harder to find really good space in Toronto, and we find the same shortage and hesitation in Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal,” says Selby. Bernardo concurs. “Timing issues are my biggest challenge. Timelines are getting shorter and shorter, but the size of events is getting larger and larger. This makes for a stressful planning process and not feeling as organized throughout the execution as most planners generally feel comfortable with.” Merrick says trying to secure meeting space without the room block is one of her biggest challenges. “I can’t blame them [the hotels] because they’re saving the space for people with room blocks.” This is where her agreement with the Fairmont properties “plays a huge part” in her quest for event space.

THE OTHER GREEN SCENE
There is optimism in the strength of the meetings industry for the coming year. While 65 per cent of corporate respondents say the number of meetings held within Canada will remain the same, 28 per cent say domestic meetings will increase. Twelve per cent say they expect meetings held in the U.S. to increase and 8 per cent expect an increase in international meetings. While this bodes well for the industry, the bellwether industries of the U.S., mainly manufacturing and housing starts, are taking a hit. Selby adds a note of concern for 2008. “One thing we have to be mindful of is the U.S. economy, and what that might mean for the Canadian subsidiaries of a U.S. company or a Canadian company with a large U.S. market. We have to be aware of what it means to our business.” Throw in the unknowns of a wide-open race for the presidency of the United States and it’s anyone’s guess as to how this year will unfold.

Despite this one dark cloud on the horizon, which may or may not evolve into a recession, corporate meeting planners are upbeat about the year ahead.

“Our industry continues to be vibrant and exciting,” says Selby. “No matter how long you’ve been in the business, you’re always learning something.”

SURVEY SAMPLER
260 corporate planners responded to this year’s survey.

41% of corporate planners are members of the management team that determines the educational content or business message of the organization’s meetings or events.

Online registration, websites and e-mail marketing are the top technologies used by corporate meeting planners, while 73% say the Internet remains the most influential source of information when planning a meeting or event, followed by word of mouth at 71%, trade shows at 33%, convention and visitor bureaus at 29% and M&IT Buyers’ Guide at 27%. 

27% of corporate respondents have used video-conferencing for some of their events.

More than half of corporate respondents – 54% – have between 1 and 10 years of work experience. 8% are in the process of obtaining a professional designation.

46% of corporate planners are still learning how to implement green meeting initiatives. 66% of corporate meeting planners say they initiated the idea for a green meeting. 51% say that a “green” meeting would cost much or a little more compared to the costs of a regular meeting.

Corporate recognition rewards or certificates (43%) edged out the year-end cash bonus (37%) as the incentive awarded to a company’s top performers this year.

28% of corporate respondents say they expect the number of meetings/events to be held within Canada to increase, while 12% say they expect meetings in the U.S. to increase in 2008.

(Source: M&IT magazine 2008)
– Sandra.eagle@mtg.rogers.com