Meeting News - May 25, 2009 - (Page 13)

M a y 2 5 , 2 0 0 9 Vo l u m e 3 3 , N u m b e r 8 Editorial David Meyer, Editor-In-Chief (646) 654-4431; dmeyer@meetingnews.com Chris Davis, Executive Managing Editor (646) 654-4437; cdavis@meetingnews.com Jay Boehmer, Senior Editor (646) 654-4434; jboehmer@meetingnews.com Michael B. Baker, Associate Editor (646) 654-4433; mbaker@meetingnews.com Seth Harris, Associate Editor (646) 654-5716; sharris@meetingnews.com Editorial Fax: (646) 654-4428 Editorial Address: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595 Viewpoint A NEW BEGINNING WELCOME TO THE first issue of MeetingNews powered by the editorial team from Business Travel News. Our team is committed to serving the association, corporate and independent meeting planners readers of MeetingNews through news, analysis, exclusive interviews, profiles of innovation and original research that meeting planners need to help them make the most informed decisions. We invite you to use this space to express your views about industry and professional issues. Please send your brief comments or opinion pieces of up to 650 words to dmeyer@meetingnews.com. Art Michael J. Strong, Art Director (646) 654-7471; michael.strong@nielsen.com Research Nancy Lazarus, Research Director (646) 654-7272; nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com Meetings On The Verge WHEN I CAME INTO the travel business 16 years ago, it was to cover meetings for a relatively new monthly within the semi-monthly Business Travel News called Meetings Today, which was designed to compete with MeetingNews for corporate meetings coverage and readership. At the time, many people in the industry told me I had come in at the right moment because technology and corporate decision makers finally had advanced to the point that companies would begin reining in their meetings spending and a new era of strategic meetings management would soon dawn. It seems now, however, that such predictions might finally come about at companies and associations. The current economic downturn is providing an opportunity for organizations to put in stricter policies and to break down fiefdom walls that have prevented properly accounting for and managing meetings spending. Many in the industry are saying that internal corporate changes in this downturn are likely to be permanent. While I am too big a believer in cyclical and spiraling change to think that anything is permanent, I believe meeting planners at this moment have the chance to enlist senior management to put in policies and use practices that can enable the organization to better leverage its spending volume and meeting patterns to contain costs and drive value. Yes, demand for meetings is down, but it is the internal meetings that organizations are cutting or replacing virtually. Such measures may remain in place for a long time, but they will create pent-up demand for travel and eventually those restrictions will be eased. While internal meetings account for a By David Meyer dmeyer@meetingnews.com Marketing Catherine Marchese, Marketing Manager (646) 654-5131; catherine.marchese@nielsen.com Production Adam Schaffer, Production Manager (646) 654-7295; Fax (646) 654-7318 adam.schaffer@nielsen.com Subscription Information: (847) 763-9050 Subscription Fax: (847) 763-9037 Single Copy Sales: (847) 763-9050 Custom Media Marilyn Moore, Editorial Director (305) 884-0295 Alison Golub, Executive Editor Karen Gines, Executive Editor (Performance) Sarah Veit, Associate Editor Denniston Brown, Creative Director Michelle Tropiano, Art Director Jonathan Chan, Associate Art Director Tessa Sestina, Associate Art Director Information Marketing Tracey Dwyer, Associate Director, Audience Marketing (646) 654-5879; tracey.dwyer@nielsen.com Reprints The YGS Group Barb Karmilowicz (800) 290-5460 x106 MN@theYGSgroup.com List Rentals For postal mailings: Julius Single (845) 731-2731 For emailings: Nicole Guarascio (845) 731-3828 Business Manager Leslie Musick President: Greg Farrar Senior Vice President, Human Resources: Michael Alicea Senior Vice President, Finance: Sloane Googin Senior Vice President, Marketing: Mark Hosbein Senior Vice President, Media & Entertainment: Gerry Byrne Senior Vice President, Retail: David Loechner Senior Vice President, Online: Linda McCutcheon Senior Vice President, Building & Design: Joe Randall Senior Vice President, Central Services: Mary Kay Sustek Vice President, Licensing: Howard Appelbaum Vice President, Manufacturing & Distribution: Jennifer Grego Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley large part of the business, organizations will continue to hold customer-facing meetings no matter what, and in some cases regardless of expense. From the time when I first covered meetings technology, through the many years that BTN’s and now also MN’s executive managing editor Chris Davis covered the meetings beat and since, we have witnessed huge advancements in technological capabilities to book meetings and capture data about them. The tools available today combined with policies that harness the power of compliance can help create effective meetings management programs that can drive stronger bargains at the negotiating table that yield savings and additional amenities. Meeting planners today have the opportunity to show value to their organizations in making the most of virtual and actual meetings. They have increased senior management attention and support for controlling costs and maximizing the return on the meetings investment, a higher level of adherence by others in the organization to policy and better tools for planning, tracking and auditing meetings expenditures. While budgets are smaller and fewer meetings are being held, negotiating opportunities for the meetings that are being held are better than they have been in a very long time. Meeting planners at many organizations have the chance during this time of change to make structural improvements and adopt best practices that have the potential to significantly advance strategic meetings management at their companies and associations. We look forward to covering what emerges from this crucible. r May 25, 2009 MeetingNews 13 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - May 25, 2009

Meeting News - May 25, 2009
Contents
Newsmakers
MeetingNews Research
Viewpoint
Meetings Tech
Meetings Spotlight
Construction Cites
Meeting People
Incentive Insider
Travel Dashboard
Dateline: Reno, Nevada
East Regional
Dateline: Texas
Mid-America Regional
Golf Meetings
Resort Showcase Contents
Atlantis
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino
Bellagio
Harrah’s/Harveys Lake Tahoe Casino & Resort
The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas
Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa
Special Section: Florida

Meeting News - May 25, 2009