Meeting News - August 10, 2009 - (Page 12)

MeetingNews Research By Jay Boehmer jboehmer@meetingnews.com Planners See Hotel Bargains Blunt Per-Attendee Meeting Costs Lower demand for meetings and increased cost- ing in the next year, 25 percent of the respondents consciousness by buyers for the meetings that are expect cost per attendee to increase in 2010— being booked have forced hotels and other meet- more than double the number expecting an ing suppliers to become more competitive on increase this year. Noting that hotel expenses are the largest perpricing, keeping a lid on average costs per attendee meeting costs, Advito senior director of attendee. According to original MeetingNews research, the global business development George Odom said, “The industry dynamic is such that hotels are majority of planners expect per-attendee hurting for business, so they’re becoming meeting costs to decrease or hold flat this more competitive in their pricing strucyear compared with last year, though a ture—with rebates as well as just disgrowing portion of planners anticipate Research counts. The way the market is today, it’s those costs to rise in 2010. very competitive: Hotels want to get peoOf 208 meeting planners surveyed by ple in, while meeting planners are moving MeetingNews, 31 percent said cost per from more upscale locations since they’re attendee this year would decrease, while 57 percent expected the cost to stay the same when watching their spending. In some cases, you can buy compared with 2008. Perhaps a sign that hotels the same for less. You put those things together and and other meeting suppliers could firm up pric- your cost per attendee goes down.” According to Smith Travel Research data released late last month, hotel pricing for the first half of the year was about as soft as it has been in quite some time. STR senior vice president of operations Bobby Bowers, noting that revenue per available room declined nearly 19 percent in the top 25 U.S. markets, called it “the largest first-half decline ever recorded by Smith Travel Research.” According to STR, average daily rates fell by nearly 9 percent the first half of this year, compared with the first six months of 2008. That one-quarter of respondents expect cost per attendee to increase next year, compared with only 12 percent this year could be an indicator of an upcoming shift in the pricing environment, Advito’s Odom said. “Maybe some of those meeting planners are expecting costs to go up because the suppliers are MN 12 MeetingNews August 10, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.gonewport.com http://www.gonewport.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - August 10, 2009

Meeting News - August 10, 2009
Contents
Meetings Spotlight
MeetingNews Research
Meeting People
Construction Cites
Travel Dashboard
West Regional

Meeting News - August 10, 2009