The Negotiability Factor

Fortunately, survey respondents noted that they still can find some wiggle room when it comes to negotiating. Meeting space rental was at the top of the negotiability list for 62 percent of planners surveyed, 49 percent said they still could negotiate good deals on guest rooms, and 39 percent said speakers and related expenses were fairly negotiable. Interestingly, while F&B may be unreasonably priced and rising, this area remains easy to negotiate for reduced costs for a third of survey participants.

There still are areas that are difficult to negotiate, they said. One planner said, “It is getting difficult to get any real savings these days. Tokens, maybe, you'll get.”

Topping the difficult-to-negotiate list for two out of three respondents was air transportation, while 49 percent cited labor, general contractors, and service charges as tough items to crack in terms of budget. Other difficult-to-negotiate areas include shipping, freight, courier, and postage (45 percent) and AV (34 percent). Another sticking point, said a respondent, is “added costs you don't know are there. If you don't know about them, you cannot negotiate them.”

Savings for Them and for Us

Cost-conscious meeting planners, dealing with belt-tightening both within their organizations and their potential attendee constituency, say they're always looking for ways to save their organizations and their attendees money.

To keep costs down for attendees, 43 percent said it helps to have flexible booking dates, while 43 percent cited booking second- and third-tier cities and 41 percent mentioned negotiating to eliminate fees as the most effective way to save costs. Forty-three percent also said it helps to negotiate multi-year hotel contracts to keep rates down for attendees.

In terms of saving money for their organizations, respondents said the most effective techniques were to use conservative room-block requests (53 percent), obtain comp rooms (46 percent), and market their meetings electronically (36 percent). Other possibilities raised by respondents include using university dorms during vacation times and co-locating your meeting with another related meeting to extend your organization's reach.

Listen Up, Suppliers

When asked what one thing they'd like industry supplier partners to know about their need to contain costs, respondents had plenty to say. And most of it boiled down to: We need to be able to provide value for the price.

One said, “I am not looking to be unreasonable, just fair to both sides.” Along the same lines, another said, “I think we all need to be cost-conscious in view of high prices these days. Associations definitely do not have an endless source of funds; we are limited by what we bring in from membership dues.”

Another put it a bit more plainly: “If my attendees are required in their businesses to provide a proper value for the price, I need you to do the same. It is impossible to justify spending $15 for a continental breakfast of coffee and Danish. It can't be done.”

Others pleaded for suppliers to concentrate on providing value. “In the end, suppliers will get all the dollars we have,” said one respondent. “But if they would let us spend it to make the guest experience a better one, it would reflect well on the destination as well as on us.” And while association planners do negotiate hard, suppliers should remember that “we're not trying to gouge them. We simply cannot play in the same arena as a corporate affair, and small things can make a big difference to us. It's a challenge to find cost savings for the organization without passing the costs on to attendees.”

And please, they said, keep relationships in mind. “Our industry suppliers really are partners,” said one planner. “The best partners understand where our conferences must save money, and they share with us areas where they need to make money. True partners make each other successful.”

Methodology Data was collected for the 2007 Association Meetings Annual-Meeting Budget Survey from May 30, 2007, to June 13, 2007.

In an online survey, Penton Custom Research e-mailed invitations to a total of 7,914 subscribers of Association Meetings selected on an nth name basis from all subscribers who provided an e-mail address. Not including bounce-backs and undeliverables, the survey went to 5,514 subscribers. To encourage prompt response, a drawing was held for one of four $50 Amazon.com gift certificates. We received 216 completed surveys, a response rate of 3.9 percent.

Factors Driving the Need to Save Costs

Pressure to deliver more without spending more 37%

Cost-conscious attendees 29%

Increasing meetings-related costs 21%

Organizational annual meeting budget reductions 7%

Other/no answer 6%

1. Top 5 Most Dramatic Cost Increase Areas

   Food and beverage

2. Guest rooms

3. Audiovisual

4. Air transportation

5. Labor, general contractor, service charges

1. Most Overpriced Meetings Areas

   F&B

2. Audiovisual

3. Meeting space

4. Internet

5. Service charges, fees

For more cost-saving tips, visit our cost-saving tips page.