Chapter IV: Objectives

1. Chapter IV: Objectives • Meeting professionals and special event professionals • Corporate, association and independent meeting professionals • Special events industry • Professional associations

2. History • Before the mid-1970s, professionals did not exist in the meetings industry • The general society of the 1970s and before was much different than that of today in several regards…

3. History • Lifestyles were more predictable (school, marriage, job, family) • Travel was less organized and still dominated by the automobile • Airfares were set by the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board)

4. Civil Aeronautics Board • Governments have monitored air traveling devices since the late 1700s • In France, this began in 1783 with Louis XVI took control over air ballooning • 100 years later, the Frenchbegan to take active measuresto monitor the developmentof airplanes (for military purposes)

5. Civil Aeronautics Board • In the US, the early history of air travel actually began by the providing of documents as early as the late 1800s by the Smithsonian Institute • The Wright Bros first flight was in 1903 • Airplanes at this time were seen strictly as tools for the military

6. Civil Aeronautics Board • NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) was established in 1914 to help the US re-gain its lead position in the science of aeronautics • In 1918, the US Army helped the US Post Office begin the first airmail service • In 1926, the public was given the first assurance that air travel was safe with the passing of the Air Commerce Act, which required that pilots pass tests and be licensed

7. Civil Aeronautics Board • During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the depression slowed the expansion of the airline industry commercially • The Department of Commerce made an aeronautics branch (Bureau of Air Commerce) that gave federal money to help support airports (the few that there were)

8. Civil Aeronautics Board • The Bureau of Air Commerce lost its responsibilities in 1938 to the Civil Aeronautics Authority, which split into two halves, one being the CAB (the other being the Civil Aeronautics Administration, which would later become the FAA)

9. Civil Aeronautics Board • The CAB was responsible for investigating accidents, making safety rules and economically regulating airlines • The airline industry remained regulated until 1978 – thus making the negotiation of airfares possible by travel agents and meeting planners

10. Pre-Deregulation • Air travel was a luxury and few businesses or individuals could afford to travel to meetings and conventions long distances away • There was no possible adjustment of fares or bargains to be had

11. Post-Deregulation • Airlines entered an age of competitive airfares and routes (the creation of the “hub” would soon follow) • Airlines could set their own prices and pricing structures • Planners could find jobs simply seeking out the lowest fares for individuals and groups

12. Post-Deregulation • Airlines created a larger market for themselves by being able to offer different fares

13. Post-Deregulation • This, among other things, greatly expanded the possibilities for meetings and conventions – geography became much less of an issue

14. Post-Deregulation • New locations for conventions were possible • Formerly, conventions were held where a company was based (usually a Northeastern or Great Lakes city) where most of its employees and managers naturally were • Conventions, then, by nature were more for upper management

15. Post-Regulation • New locations for conventions were possible • Once air travel become affordable, cities without company headquarters could provide excellent convention centers and still attract business – Atlanta (the Big Peach, Hotlanta), for example, was able to eventually cause businesses like Nabisco to relocate by first hosting their conventions and then making sure the city showcased itself well • Conventions became more for the worker as well as management – they became HUGE business

16. Post-Regulation • By the 1980s, business travel could be combined with pleasure: • Locations like WDW and Las Vegas competed with New York and Chicago • Cheaper fares meant family members could “come with” • Hotels created special rates which would allow conventioneers to stay extra days at the same convention prices

17. Hotels • Hotels themselves have changed dramatically, and the distinction between transient hotels, resort hotels and convention hotels is becoming less obvious • Rather than make a clear distinction in type, many hotels try to have elements of all three to appeal to different target markets

18. Post-Regulation • Convention hotels, relatively uncommon in the 1970s, became important properties to most major hotel chains by the late 1980s • Hotels were designed as separate convention sites like the Marriott World Center • Hotels were built very near new convention centers like in downtown Atlanta (or even in Sacramento)

19. Post-Deregulation • The number of agencies having conventions also increased • Many more convention sites were built (often at great expense to the public – there’s still a debate out as to whether or not convention centers actually make any money)

20. Hotels • Airport hotels in the 1980s and 1990s lost much ground to the boom of convention center building in cities • Recently, however, airports are re-investing in hotels with meeting and convention facilities, directly competing with downtown convention centers

21. More, More, More • More companies having conventions, more convention sites, more hotels, more airlines – all of this suddenly meant that organizing all of this could be a full time job • As imagined, increasing competition for conventions keeps the hotel and convention center industries continually updating and expanding

23. Boston • Rafael Viñoly

24. The Meeting Planner • A deceptively simple job on the surface, the meeting planner must actually be a shrewd business negotiator (for an agency, a convention center and himself), a strong communicator, a researcher, a salesperson, a marketer, charismatic and have a well-developed spatial memory for locations

25. The Meeting Planner • Planners for corporations • Planners for associations • Independent meeting professionals

26. Planners for Corporations • Corporations often have their own in-house meeting planners and these employees can be housed in a centralized or decentralized system

27. Planners for Corporations • In a centralized system, the planner works for a specific department within the corporation that is responsible for planning, organizing and delivering meetings for all segments of the organization

28. Planners for Corporations • A decentralized system is one in which a corporation has no central meetings department, but where each department is responsible for making their own arrangements • In these situations, often the person with this responsibility is a glorified (or over-worked) administrative assistant

29. Independent Planners • Corporations that haven’t the resources (or need) for full time planners can hire independent planners that may be outsourced and under contract or hired as needed job-by-job • Because hotels have often tried to capture their own business, they often attack independent planners most aggressively

30. Association Planners • Independent planners may also work for an association • Trade associations • Professional societies and associations • Three main hubs for associations are NYC, Chicago and DC

31. Meeting Professionals International • Founded in 1972 • Dallas • 12,500 members (both planners and suppliers) • Industry contribute about $125 billion to US economy • http://www.mpiweb.org/

32. Meeting ProfessionalsInternational • The MPI, besides providing an extensive member directory, has been instrumental in developing the CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) certification • CMP status has helped the industry gained a more professional status

33. Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) • A laypersons definition of meeting is probably not complete: • Occur at specific places (facilities) • Involve food and beverage services • Provide specialized technical support (AV) • Require transportation • Require housing • Involve exhibition of products • Require convention or delegate entertainment

34. Convention andVisitors Bureau • Juggling the size of the convention with the appropriate number of hotel rooms may require negotiations with several properties • Transportation may become a concern with multiple sites

35. Convention andVisitors Bureau • CVBs can be developed as: • Branch of local government • Part of the local chamber of commerce • Independent organization

36. Convention and Visitors Bureau • Depending on how important tourism is, the CVB may not just promote convention facilities: • Town or city • Region • Geographic area

37. CVB • CVBs often rely on membership dues, and therefore must represent all business members equally and recommend sites based on the information given by the meeting professional • CVBs then distribute requirements to all suppliers that would meet the specifications

39. Sacramento CVB • Look up the Sac CVB and try to determine: • Its emphasis in geographic scope • What types of businesses is it trying to attract • The level of importance of tourism • Current events • What do you think is missing • Then compare to…

41. Attributes of Planners • The big picture is important in planning, but understanding the “little picture” is also vital – planners must know details • Planners must constantly deal with “what ifs” • Planners, obviously, must be the calm in a storm, because conventions are always storms

42. Planners • 25 years ago, the typical planner was male and only worked part-time • Today women make up 43% of corporate planners and 48% of association planners • Some have speculated that the shift has occurred because women are more detail oriented than men

43. Reasons for Change • More likely: • Women have entered all professional areas more than men recently, and new professions especially tend to be led by women • Traditionally, planning was done by the CEO’s secretary or by the advertising or HR person – these people were more likely men – now more secretaries are women, and that leads them into meeting planning

44. Down Side • Like other industries, women tend to be paid less than men in planning • Women earn traditionally $20,000 a year less:

45. Obstacles for Women • Excessive travel requirements • Sexism (especially with trade groups) • “Old boys network” and “Glass ceiling”

46. Special Events • Industry began in the mid-1970s • Events that have been deemed “special” have always been marked by celebrations, ceremonies, rituals, etc.

47. Special Events • A special event is a onetime or infrequently occurring event outside the normal program or activities of the sponsoring body • To the customer, a special event is an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience

48. Special Events

49. Expectations • …In daily life, you are content to accept routine; in fact, your comfort relies on it. You rise, wash and brush your teeth. When you enter the bathroom, you do not expect, nor would you likely appreciate, balloons dropping and fireworks exploding.

50. Happenings • Spontaneous, unplanned events may be fun and interesting, but they are not part of the special events industry • These events are called “happenings” • Any “happening” that you may see at a special event has been carefully planned, designed and rehearsed