Meeting Planner Hotel & Travel Information
Special Report
The Economic Downturn Affects Meeting Planning & Travel
Learn about the effect of the economy on meeting travel.
Hedging Bets on Airfare
One of the responsibilities of a good meeting manager or corporate travel buyer is making informed buying decisions when it comes to air travel. ...
Hedging Bets on AirfareOne of the responsibilities of a good meeting manager or corporate travel buyer is making informed buying decisions when it comes to air travel. ... Travel Deadline Extended to June 2009Congress has extended a controversial Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative deadline by 17 months, making June 1, 2009, the new deadline by which people traveling by land or sea from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico, and Canada must have a passport or other accepted document to enter ... Airline Forecast ‘09For 2009 and beyond, planners will need all the help they can get even to find sufficient airlift, let alone get their people in and out on time, without hassle, and within budget. If you are planning 6 or 9 months out, how can you be sure a destination is still going to work for you as the meeting draws closer? ... Economy Curtails Physicians' CME TravelThe tumbling economy and higher cost of travel are causing physicians to rethink their plans to attend out-of-town meetings, according to Medical Meetings Physicians' CME Preferences Survey.... Airline Crisis Front and Center for Destinations“The economy isn’t going to get much better in the next year,” said William A. Hanbury, president and CEO of Destination DC, and chair of Destination Marketing Association International.... Mitchell's Outlook: Airfares Stabilize, Routes Disappear, Fees Are Here to StayOne silver lining to the dark economic cloud is that the growing credit crisis and resulting travel cutbacks at many companies is likely to end the upward creep in airline fares, says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, a Radnor, Pa., organization seeking to influence policy on issues affecting business travelers. ... U.S. Passport Card Now AvailableThe U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday that the new U.S. passport card is in full production and is being distributed. The passport card is a wallet-sized document for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It is not valid for international travel by air. ... Airlines in CrisisKevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, weighs in on the troubled airline industry.... American to Charge for All Checked BagsTo offset soaring fuel costs, American Airlines has announced it will start charging passengers for all checked baggage... U.S. Court: Laptops Can Be Seized Without Cause at BordersIf a U.S. Border Patrol agent wants to look at—and inside—your laptop when you cross the U.S. border—he doesn’t need a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to perform the search, a U.S. court has held.... Getting Off Homeland Security's Watch ListWhat Do Sen Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and meeting professional Mike Burke, CMP, have in common? While neither of them belongs to a terrorist organization,... |
Airlines and the Economy: Hot Topics at PCMAThey may not be able to get you out of the dreaded middle seat, but the heads of two major airlines, speaking at the recent Professional Convention Management Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, told meeting planners that they want to help get their attendees to their next meeting. ... New Online Application Required for Certain Overseas VisitorsAs of yesterday, January 12, all nationals and citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries are required by law to obtain a travel authorization prior to traveling to the U.S., instead of filling out paper forms at the airport. ... AMEX Business Travel Forecast: More Scrutiny AheadAccording to the annual “Global Business Travel Forecast and Trends” report, released October 22 by American Express Business Travel, airfares likely will decrease and hotel rates will hold relatively steady—but whatever happens in the air or on the ground, meeting managers can expect more scrutiny as corporations continue to crack down on meetings spend.... New Electronic Travel Authorization RuleThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced its interim final rule on a system that requires travelers from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program to provide biographical information electronically before boarding a U.S.-bound airplane or cruise ship... “Global Entry”: New Program to Speed U.S. CustomsU.S. Customs and Border Protection is testing an expedited screening process for low-risk U.S. travelers entering the country from international destinations. ... Visa Waiver Program to ExpandExpansion of the Visa Waiver Program beyond the existing 27 VWP countries is progressing as the United States has signed memorandums of understanding with several countries seeking to join the program.... JetBlue Expands Meeting ProgramJetBlue Airways, which launched a corporate meetings program in May 2007 called CompanyBlue, last week announced that it’s expanding the program, with significant changes that will be especially appealing to the convention and association market... Higher Compensation Caps for Bumped Air PassengersThere’s less than two weeks to go before new Federal regulations increase significantly the compensation for airline passengers who get bumped involuntarily... TIA Survey: 41 Million Flights Avoided by Frustrated Air TravelersTravelers avoided taking 41 million trips last year—including 12 million business trips—because of their frustration with air travel, according to a new study by the Travel Industry Association. ... |
Meeting Planner Hotel Information
Year-end ’08 Hotel Performance Results Released
The world’s four regions of the hotel world—the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/Africa, as analyzed by STR Global, reported mixed year-end results for 2008, although no city reported an increase in occupancy....
Finding the Upside: Are Hotels Ready to Deal?An interview with hotel consultant Sean Hennessey on what lies ahead for the hospitality and meetings industry... Hotel Industry Posts Gains Despite Lower OccupanciesDespite a downturn in occupancy levels, U.S. hotels posted increases in both average daily rate and revenue per available room for the month of July, according to Smith Travel Research.... Hotel Development OverseasThere’s no sign of a slow-down in the development of hotels overseas. Here is a sampling... Communication With Hotels Has Reached an All-Time LowThe menu for the 175-person banquet that Arlene Sheff was planning concluded with a trio of small chocolate desserts. Wanting to make sure that there... On the Law: The Tangle of Hotel OwnershipWith nearly three-quarters of all hotels in the United States operating as franchises and most hotel buildings owned by someone other than the hotel operator,... Hotel Contract Strategies for Pharma MeetingsFrom rebooking clauses to resort fees, pharma planners and hoteliers discuss contract hot buttons.... Sheraton Embarks on Largest Growth Strategy in Brand HistorySheraton Hotels and Resorts, Starwood’s largest brand, is undergoing an aggressive global expansion that has it opening a new hotel every 12 days in various cities around the world throughout 2008.... |
Planners and Hotels Cautious in Crisis, DMAI Chairwoman Says“It’s chaos right now. Every day is a new adventure. There’s nothing in the handbook about weathering an economic downtown, in an election year, with a war on. It’s just a very different time,” says Maura Gast, executive director at the Irving [Texas] Convention and Visitors Bureau.... Incentive Travel: A Waste of Money or More Important Than Ever?I believe that the level and depth of this downturn is more dramatic than people yet realize... Travel Industry: On Tap for ObamaRoger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association, is among the travel and tourism industry leaders expressing willingness to help U.S. President-elect Barack Obama understand the industry’s importance to economic recovery. ... Hotel Industry Downturn Predicted for 2009The hotel industry will continue to feel the effects of the economic downturn into 2009 when occupancy rates will bottom out, according to a new report by PKF Hospitality Research.... What’s the Economy Doing to Hotel Room Rates?The economy and gas prices are affecting hotel demand, but are they affecting room rates yet... Saving Money on RoomsChecklist DON'T GET STUCK ON RATE. In a seller's market, hotels are reluctant to budge on the room rate. If you can't get them to move, work to gain concessions... Omni Hotels First to Launch Mobile Phone Check-InGuests of Omni Hotels can now check in using their Web-enabled mobile phones, and their room keys will be waiting for them when they arrive.... Understanding a Hotel’s RevPAR EquationRevenue Per Available Room, or RevPAR, is the measurement that controls whether the hotel sales department accepts or rejects a piece of group business.... |
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