During the economic downturn many companies managed to conduct business as usual with fewer resources. The new economic reality forced delegates to large meetings and citywide conventions to send smaller teams and get creative with smaller travel budgets. That led to attendees fleeing the comfort of the official room block to search for the best deal. This environment, a new emphasis on comparison shopping, the rise in people electing to use online travel Web sites, the introduction of innovative mobile apps, and unique pressures placed on hotels and other booking channels to fill rooms, has altered the housing landscape. Despite a return to better attendance numbers and a more robust economy, newly learned patterns persist and it can be hard to re-attract delegates to the room block.
Join a spirited discussion among all interested parties regarding better partnering to attract delegates to the block: show organizers, exhibiting companies, and convention and visitors bureaus, who will get to the heart of the issues.
Introductions
Betsy Bair, Editorial Director, MeetingsNet
Moderator
Colin Bunn, VP of Product Development & Marketing, onPeak
Panelists
Brian Rubin, Client Services Director of Exhibitions & Conferences, Penton Media
Paula Schneider, Director of Meetings & Conventions, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
Christine Shimasaki, CDME, CMP, managing director of empowerMINT, Destination Marketing Association International
