Only a year and a half ago we were collectively stunned by terrorist attacks. And nothing in the travel, meeting, and hospitality industries will ever be quite the same. There has been a whole new travel routine to learn. There also has been — or should have been — a whole new routine for holding meetings. Remember the immediate reaction to September 11? Hotels and meeting planners worked together to cancel and reschedule immediately-affected meetings.

There was a new appreciation of the oft-neglected force majeure clause. The industry also saw a complete dislocation in insurance availability, premium costs, and coverage. Last but not least, there was an important refocusing on a critical aspect of meeting planning: the need to plan for disaster scenarios that we could hardly imagine before September 11.

Never Forget

Meeting planners must continue to apply the lessons learned after September 11. It is critical for contracts to have well-drafted force majeure clauses (also known as “termination” or “acts of God” clauses) that reasonably allow the termination of commitments without penalty in the event of consequences beyond the control of the parties, consequences that make it impractical or inadvisable to go ahead with a meeting.

Planners must also assess their insurance needs: availability, scope of coverage, and premium costs. The insurance industry has been quick to revise policies, limit coverage, and raise premiums. I don't think meeting planners have been as quick to react. For example, if event cancellation insurance is no longer available (or the coverage is inadequate), planners need to rethink their commitments to vendors, suppliers, exhibitors, attendees, etc. — and, if necessary, revise those commitments, since they may no longer be able to insure against loss.

Safety, Too

Meeting planners also must make sure that they have adequately planned for the safety of their attendees. Obviously, no one can protect against snowstorms, let alone terrorism. But planners have to do more than bring the duct tape. They must have plans to address the most outrageous contingencies: loss or disruption of transportation, communication systems, phones, computer networks, and the like.

Jed R. Mandel is a partner in the Chicago-based law firm of Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, where he heads the trade and professional association practice.