Corporate meeting market: leading the way for economic recovery?
Meeting planners say they expect to book 15 percent more meetings this year compared with 2009 — and the outlook is even better for next year, according to a survey conducted by Orlando-based Ypartnership LLC, a tourism research-and-marketing company.
”Fewer meeting planners are expecting budget cuts, and nine of every 10 say they do not expect to have to cancel meetings,” the report found.
"These numbers are optimistic, and I think we are seeing, clearly, the light at the end of the tunnel," said Deborah Sexton, president and chief executive officer of the Professional Convention Management Association, which commissioned the study along with American Express Co.
”While sentiments have moderated, there is still lingering anxiety about whether certain meeting locations might be viewed as too frivolous for business gatherings,” reported The Orlando Sentinel.
Concerns about planning events in leisure-oriented markets such as Orlando and Las Vegas surfaced more than a year ago, after the insurance conglomerate AIG was criticized for hosting lavish events at resorts despite having received a giant financial bailout from the federal government.
Specific venues that might appear to be too much fun, such as resorts and cruise ships, are still perceived as options that should be avoided, the survey of meeting planners found.
"There is still some sensitivity on the part of planners in terms of selecting venues," said Peter Yesawich, president and chief executive officer of Ypartnership. Still, fewer people reported shying away from such venues and from luxury accommodations this year than did last year, he said.
As a result of such concerns, mid-scale hotels are likely to benefit, because the new survey found that interest in booking luxury hotels was down again this year.
The corporate-meetings market is likely to lead the way toward a recovery, the survey found.
"It was the corporate market that was the first to tank when business got bad," Yesawich said. "It appears to be returning with a vengeance."
By David Wilkening
David
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