The event and meeting industry is a fast paced world, much like the world of technology where one day it is focused on this and the next that. The focus could be on greening your meeting, helping the community, finding more value or simply contract negotiations and clauses. The real focus needs to shift and I mean for everyone (hoteliers, venue owners and planners), towards being more mutually transparent. Hoteliers need to be upfront on all the little things about costs and services. Planners need to be upfront on their needs and the budgets they are working with. I am willing to step up and say we all need a little work.
Mutual transparency needs to start from the first conversation you have together. Keep it simple and I don’t think this is asking much but be honest. If you cannot offer a service, tell them, if you need upgrades or must have items, tell them. Not being honest makes it difficult for everyone to do their job properly and work hand in hand making this industry successful.
Working from the hotel side of events I work with a large variety of clients from corporations. The one thing I experience that upsets me the most are companies which do not have a meeting professional on their staff. They have an assistant or intern or whomever planning meetings, events and travel. A lot of the time I am educating them on the contract, setups and more. So yes, you do need a meeting professional on your staff.
