15 April 2008

Trend is for smaller meetings

At many companies, more than two-thirds of meetings consist of 50 or fewer participants, says The New York Times. And their popularity is growing nationwide, according to Bjorn Hanson, a hotel expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœSmall corporate meetings have a virtue Ã¢â¬' theyÃ¢â¬â¢re small. That means they usually cost less than big meetings. They can be held at smaller hotels. Their agenda can be better attuned to the particular needs and interests of participants. And they are all the more valuable in a tough business climate,Ã¢â¬~ notes the Times.

Along with the trend toward smaller is better, the style of the typical meeting is changing, too, with the goal of keeping the participants from nodding off.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœCompanies now want a meeting to be a creative experience,Ã¢â¬~ said Christine Duffy, president of Maritz Travel.

Instead of booking partitioned hotel meeting rooms known for their blandness, companies are turning to chic boutique hotels like the Setai in South Beach, Fla., where the setting for a two-day gathering may be a lounge, library, rooftop or pool and the bill is often best seen through dark glasses.

Some companies book teepees at Canadian resorts just to be different.

Mr Hanson said the types and locations of meetings have changed, in part, to respond to the interests of a younger generation.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe 60 million Gen Xs have changed the whole meeting demographic,Ã¢â¬~ he said.

Report by David Wilkening