Successful Meetings - August 2008 - (Page 8)

Editor’s Note > By Vincent Alonzo vince.alonzo@nielsen.com Running Out of Room Recently I was on a flight from Toronto to New York when a pretty unsettling incident occurred. We were well into our final descent, dangerously close to the point of no return, when suddenly the pilot pulled up. My fellow passengers and I exchanged alarmed looks as a mild G-force pressed our backs against our seats. After we reached a reasonable altitude the pilot apologized and explained he had no choice—a plane was sitting on the runway he was cleared to land on. Crisis averted—on this day. But who knows what the future has in store? Of all the suppliers in the meetings industry, the airlines are the most vulnerable to rising oil prices. At a recent meeting of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, AirlineForecasts CEO and chief analyst Vaughn Cordle painted a grim picture for the industry that included a $33 billion rise in fuel costs, 84,359 job cuts, a 24 percent price increase, and a 20 percent smaller industry than today—if oil prices stay at $140 a barrel. What happens if (or when) oil goes to $150 or $200 a barrel? Will there be enough room for all the competitors currently in the air right now? Or will some of these carriers have to pull up permanently and head off to that big hangar in the sky? It is tough to think that we need less competition, as that means higher fares. But without higher fares, it’s only a matter of time before we have a bankrupt airline industry; service quality (and safety) is going to decrease dramatically as these carriers run out of cash. Airfares have historically been the least negotiable commodity in planning a meeting and that’s going to be even truer moving forward. And that means planners are going to have to be savvier negotiators with other suppliers, and more resourceful when it comes to employing budget management strategies. Corrie Dosh, our destinations editor, has created a guide to negotiating in this new environment that begins on page 38. It’s full of tips on how to partner, economize, and strategize with suppliers in ways that will ensure that your meetings will come in for a safe landing. PUBLISHER: NELLA VELDRAN vice president and group publisher, travel group, (646) 654-7325, nella.veldran@nielsen.com VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK managing editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com CORRIE DOSH destinations editor, corrie.dosh@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: ROBERT CAREY, RAYNA KATZ, WILLIAM NG, MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, TOM MCDONALD NEELAM MATHEWS (ASIA); ED SCHMIDT JR. (FLORIDA); HEIDI WALDROP BAY (WESTERN U.S.) ART (646) 654-7348 DON SALKALN art director, don.salkaln@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293 GRACE CASEY production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING (646) 654-7360 MARILYN MOORE editorial director; ALISON GOLUB executive editor; KAREN GINES executive editor (performance); SARAH VEIT associate editor; DENNISTON BROWN creative director; MICHELLE TROPIANO art director; JONATHAN CHANG associate art director; TESSA SESTINA associate art director INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-5879 TRACEY associate director, audience marketing, tracey.dwyer@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (646) 654-7263 JENNIFER PEPPER STAM senior marketing manager, travel group, jennifer.pepperstam@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327 FOR THE NEW YORK OFFICE REPRINTS The YGS Group, Jenny Kintner, (800) 324-2930, successfulmeetings@theYGSgroup.com. For one-time use of our content: Barbara Grieninger, (646) 654-4675, barbara.grieninger@nielsen.com LIST RENTAL (646) 654-7220 MICHELLE WIESNER EDITORIAL OFFICES: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, (646) 6547361; fax (646) 654-7365; www.mimegasite.com DWYER 8 mimegasite.com AUGUST 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - August 2008

Successful Meetings - August 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry Trends
Industry Events
On the Record
Technology
Calendar
Websites of the Month
Personal Success
Technology Talk
Food & Beverage
Pre-Event
On Site
Tools of the Trade
Pre-Event
Crude Awakening
Oil’s Well
Betting on Development
The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of
No Spa, No Dice
New & Improved Bean Counting
Places & Spaces
Cleveland
Palm Springs, Desert Resorts
Midwest Meetings
San Antonio
Yucatan Peninsula
Gurus

Successful Meetings - August 2008