The American Society of Association Executives
(www.asaenet.org) held an audioconference on September 21 to address the cancellation issues arising from the tragedy. Along with legal and insurance advice, the audioconference included a walk-through of how the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, Alexandria, Va., came to the decision about whether or not to cancel its 2001 Educational Conference scheduled for October.
1. Consider what type of message you want to convey with your decision. Do you want to proceed as normally as possible, as has been extolled by President Bush, or cancel in deference to this tragedy and the nation's state of mind.
2. Examine the viability of a meeting that likely would have low attendance, and possibly sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers canceling.
4. Assess statements on cancellation policies from major hotel chains.
5. Review your event cancellation insurance policy to determine if the exclusion for war and terrorism would prevail, and what recourse would be available if the meeting were to be held with decreased attendance.
6. Contact major suppliers
7. Poll peers inside the industry and externally to see how they are addressing the issue.
8. Ascertain how your organization can attempt to recoup lost revenues through legal recourse and insurance.
Should you decide not to cancel, barring future events that could impact the viability of your conference, you may want to consider making modifications and adjustments to make up for the expected shortfall, including:
1. Renegotiate contracts to reduce or eliminate attrition penalties for sleeping room and catering shortfalls.
2. Ask the hotel to waive the reservation cutoff date to further entice attendees to come to the meeting.
3. E-mail attendees to let them know the organization1s decision.
4. Determine what your attendee registration and housing cancellation policy will be.
5. Provide an alternative mode of transportation for staff who fear to fly.
