Tales from the Downturn: Meeting Cancellation Leads to Bankruptcy

Highlights
The economic recession has taken its toll on many association meetings in some way, but it has hit none harder, perhaps, than the National Child Support Enforcement Association.

Hard times forced NCSEA not only to cancel its annual conference in July at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, but also file for bankruptcy.

The alarm bells started going off at the end of last September,” says Colleen Eubanks, executive director at the Washington-based association. NCSEA had just closed the books on its 2008 annual conference, held August 3–7 in San Francisco, and the numbers were down. Attendance was off by almost 25 percent, with about 900 attendees, and revenues were down about one-third. Fortunately, the association hit its room block, just barely, and avoided attrition. But there were some unsettling trends afoot that made Eubanks nervous heading into 2009.

Colleen Eubanks

Colleen Eubanks

First, many states had already imposed travel restrictions on employees, and since the association is made up mostly of state workers in the child-support enforcement field, attendance was likely to take a big hit. Second, by mid-October the bottom had fallen out of the economy.

Soon thereafter, Eubanks started hearing from members that their states and municipalities were really feeling the stress. In November, NCSEA reached out to all of the state or county agencies that oversee NCSEA members and found that 25 states had already imposed out-of-state travel restrictions for all of 2009. By the first quarter of 2009, 40 states had imposed out-of-state travel restrictions on state employees, she says. “Since at least 70 percent of our attendees are employees of state or local agencies, we knew that it would have a huge impact on our conference.”

Next page: The Decision to Cancel

         Subscribe in NewsGator Online   Subscribe in Bloglines

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2010 Penton Media Inc.


Acceptable Use Policy
blog comments powered by Disqus

Search for Meeting Space

Find Event Suppliers, Request Quotes

Search 75,000 Venues


Advanced Search

The Meeting Planning Blog

Face2Face Latest Posts

Social Media

Meetings Collaborative

Rate your experience with meeting venues and suppliers.

Facility / Hotel

 
Powered by: Meetings Collaborative
Aega Awards

Apex Webinars

Demonstrating Leadership in Turbulent Times

Join MeetingsNet, the Convention Industry Council, and two meeting professionals to learn how seeking out professional development and volunteer opportunities can enhance your career advancement. Click here for free registration.
View it Now! | View APEX Archives

Webinars

Association Day: How to Plan a Winning International Meeting

Join MeetingsNet for two webinars for association professionals taking meetings outside the U.S., featuring expert panelists covering topics from launching your first international meeting to budgeting, sponsorship, and negotiations.
View on Demand | View Archived Webinars

Recent Comments

Powered by Disqus

Back to Top

Explore Our Newsletters

Must-See Meeting Files

Visit the MeetingsNet expert-advice site, where we’ve got top meeting pros on camera answering a variety of your questions as well as a collection of educational—and sometimes offbeat—editors’ pick lists — from the top tech tools to the best books for meeting professionals.

Meeting Planner Survival Guide

Whether you're a novice planner or a veteran, this compilation of must-read articles is your meeting planning resource.

Pharma Meeting Management Forum

Medical Meetings and the Center for Business Intelligence present the Sixth Annual Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forum in Philadelphia. March 14-16.

Find out more.

Suppliers/
Facilities/CVBs

MeetingsNet makes it easy to find the CVBs, tourist boards, and facilities you need for your next meeting.

Deal Finder

Special offers brought to you by MeetingsNet.

Find A Job

Targeted to all aspects of the hospitality and special events industry.

Education
Central

Upcoming Events, Live and Online

Inside Current Issue

Medical Meetings

March 2010 MM

March 2010 CMI cover

March 2010 CMI

February 2010

March 2010 FIM

AM February 2010

February 2010 AM

February 2010 CMI Cover

February 2010 CMI

Browse Back Issues