Meeting management software today can increase compliance with corporate policies and give planners powerful reports to share with executives. But here’s the rub: How transparent is that software you’re buying to provide you with transparency? Are there indirect costs? Is your buying influenced in subtle and not-so-subtle ways?

Hidden Fees?
One meeting planner using an enterprise system happened to see an e-mail exchange between the software company and the hotel he was booking in which the company informed the hotel that it would have to pay a per-room-night fee to the software company for the booking. The planner—and his procurement counterparts who had made the software purchasing decision—were unaware of this revenue stream from hotel to software company. Questions arise. Just for starters, could the planner be confident of getting the best rate from the hotel?

There are other issues. For software platforms that include site-search and e-RFP capabilities, how are search results returned? Are there ads sold to hotels that appear on the results page? When planners use one of the supplier databases for free, like they might use Google, they understand that it needs to be supported by advertising. But what if a company is paying to use the software and all of its tools? Shouldn’t the company’s planners be able to work in an advertising-free environment for site searches?

For experienced meeting managers with preferred suppliers and long-standing hotel relationships, the question might not matter quite as much. But what about for their less-experienced counterparts? How to account for a marketing pitch promising hotels that they are more likely to be selected when they buy marketing packages that bump them to the top of search results lists regardless of search criteria?

You might not believe that you are being influenced. But someone is. “Everyone believes there’s influence,” says one industry observer. “Otherwise why would they buy the marketing package? Or why buy the highest-priced package?” Here we profile several companies providing meeting management software and site-search/e-RFP capabilities. We’ve also included buying tips, which come down to one big idea that should be nothing new: Look beyond the sales pitch.

Test the product with real-world scenarios to know if the reality matches the promise. Look past the initial price tag and add up the incrementals and options.

The following profiles will get you started, but they just scratch the surface: You still need to dig!

Arcaneo Metron
Cvent
Lenos
StarCite
Certain Software
Meeting Evolution

To contact Alison Hall, email her at ahall@meetingsnet.com

For More Info:

6 Tips for Choosing SMMP Software

Betsy Bondurant on SMMP Technology 101

NBTA white paper on choosing SMMP Software