Meeting News - April 20, 2009 - (Page 55)

Live from the Forum @ MeetingNews.com TOPIC: Squeezing More Out of a Contract client is interested in an Orlando property for an association conference in October. However, the room rate is at the highest end of the budget, and the hotel will not budge. The hotel has agreed to add free Internet to the guest rooms—which is great—but I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for other perks to offset the cost of the guest rooms. (Attendees are paying for the rooms.) A Do you have a burning question to ask your peers? Log on to the MeetingNews Forum to get answers fast. meetingnews.com/forum Anonymous If—because the room rate is high—the goal is to keep other costs down for those attending, what about discounts on F&B that can be passed to the individuals via the registration fee? Are there other costs that would go on the association’s bottom line that could be negotiated and then passed along to individuals (via lower registration fee)—like no meeting-room rental charge? Joan Eisenstodt, Owner, Eisenstodt Associates, Washington, DC How about lower staff room rates? These hit your bottom line and may lower the rate for the others. I would also ask for upgrades. If you would like a copy of my RFP with all of the goodies I ask for, please contact me off-list. Many things can be negotiated. Debbie Baker, Director of Sales, Extras, Las Vegas What about asking for one comp room for every 40 booked (1:40) instead of 1:50? Even meeting in the middle at 1:45 will help you. Plus, $5 per room night actualized credited back to the master account. Claire Abrams, CMP, Independent Meeting Planner, Chicago My guess is the property is tacking on a resort fee to each of the rooms. If so, perhaps that can be negotiated out. Merle Klein, Director of Meeting Operations, MFM Trade Meetings, MFM Lamey Group LLC, Miami The things that come to mind without knowing the meeting specs are: • comp parking • comp business center (photocopies and fax) • comp water bottles in the rooms • comp phone usage What are you doing for F&B? What do the attendees usually pay on their own? Whatever that is, try to comp it. Keep trying to negotiate the room rate and see what else is out there that might be available. With so many hotels yearning for business, the high rate does not seem right. October is high season for incentives; look around. Look at your specs and see what you get, and take what Joan said so maybe you can lower the per-person rate. Rosaelena Bernaducci, CMP Global Senior Meeting Manager, B L Seamon, Point Pleasant, NJ TOPIC: Dubai Gets Serious with Social Restrictions ubai revealed new behavior guidelines, though it remains unclear if they will become law. The instructions—touching on topics from miniskirts to angry outbursts—could sharpen existing “suggestions” for modest dress and decorum and give police more leeway for ﬁnes or arrests in places such as beaches and malls. Dubai is still governed by rulers with traditional and conservative Gulf sensibilities. Excerpted from Associated Press D It is the right of any nation to live as it wishes. I understand why corporations do business in Dubai; business is booming there. We all know business moves forward regardless of boundaries, religions, cultures, and politics. Associations are another matter. They are in the business of their members. They have a choice of where and when to hold events, and they must choose locations that are open and free. By choosing the Middle East, associations are approving the way the region treats women, other religions, etc. Keith Johnston, President, OnSite Events, Chicago I have to somewhat disagree. Associations are in the business of business. They aren’t necessarily there to make money, but they are there to promote business. By expanding the reach of an association to include regions that may not be friendly to all of its members, it may open up doors for things to change and tolerance to other cultures, ways of life, etc. If that cannot be handled, then there is no reason for an association to be a global entity. Eli Gorin Islamic law has been around for thousands of years, and it is the chosen way of life for the peoples in the Emirates and many other countries in the region. While we may not agree with the laws and ways of living, who are we—as visitors—to dictate how they should live their lives? I am actually impressed they have gone so far to accommodate tourists by allowing activities that go against their very nature of being. Eli Gorin, CMP, Owner, gMeetings Inc., Aventura, FL MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, April 20 2009, Vol. 33, No. 6 is published monthly by Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595, tel. 646-654-5000. Subscriptions are offered free of charge to individuals actively engaged in planning meetings or conventions in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualiﬁed subscribers is $79 in the U.S. and $95 in Canada (Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729). The cost of a foreign subscription, payable in U.S. dollars, is $195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing ofﬁces. MeetingNews is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media. Copyright © 2009 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - April 20, 2009

Meeting News - April 20, 2009
Contents
What’s Up in the MeetingNews Community
Inside the Industry
People Making News
Thirty Under 30
Hotels & Resorts
Chef Talk
Convention Centers
International
Destinations: Caribbean
Destinations: Kansas City, MO
Green Beat
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Destinations: Myrtle Beach, SC
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - April 20, 2009