2011 Per Diem Rates Announced

Aug 31

Ashley SpitzerNews, Places to Stay economy, hotels, meeting industry, per diem rates No Comments

The new fiscal year per diem rates were announced yesterday by the General Services Administration (GSA):

Rates Start: October 1, 2010
Rates End: September 30, 2011

The standard Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate increased to $77 per night.

GSA reported the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms is down 5.73% from fiscal year 2010.

There are several non-standard area lodging rate changes that have been reduced, making them more affordable to visit:

• New York City (Manhattan) fall high season: reduced to $269 from FY2010 $340
• Colorado Springs: reduced to $84 from FY2010 $88
• Las Vegas: three seasons reduced to one, rates down from FY2010 high of $118 to $93
• Miami, Fla., for the Miami-Dade area mid-season: down to $151 from FY2010 $152
• Chicago, Ill., early summer area high season: reduced to $166 from FY2010 $211
• Charleston, SC: down to $132 from FY2010 $142
• Los Angeles, Calif.: reduced to $123 from FY10 $135
• Kansas City, Mo: down to $99 from FY2010 $107
• Cincinnati, Ohio: unchanged from FY2010 at $115
• Seattle, Wash: reduced to $139 from FY2010 $159

How these rate changes affect your planning this fall?

This Summer, Corks Fly Free

Aug 11

Ashley SpitzerMember News, Places to Stay guest-friendly hotel tips, hotels, Kimpton, unique activities No Comments

Here’s a fun summertime offer from our good friends at Kimpton:

Get uncorked at Kimpton Restaurants and byow (bring your own wine)!

There’s no doubt that you’re stashing some stellar bottles of wine at home. So now through Labor Day, feel free to bring a bottle of wine, or two, to share with friends at any Kimpton Restaurant. Corkage is complimentary all summer long.

Learn more about planing a meeting at a Kimpton hotel or restaurant.

Summer Meeting Deals for Last Minute Meetings

Jul 07

Ashley SpitzerMember News, Places to Stay hotels, meeting ideas No Comments

Most of us expect to pay top dollar when it’s last minute. Yet, you can find special offers for any season you choose on ConventionPlanit.com — It’s simple!

Hotels and convention centers needing to fill certain timeframes are extending great deals for your meeting – a virtual win-win! Check out some Divine Deal samplings below with special offerings for this summer:

Swissotel Chicago, Illinois

Planners Under Pressure To Show ROI For Meetings

Jun 14

Ashley SpitzerNews hsmai affordable meeting, meeting attendance, meeting experiences No Comments

Our friends at HSMAI and Affordable Meetings polled attendees of their recent Mid-America show, and found that 49% percent of the meeting planners feel increased pressure to show metrics and statistics to portray the success of events.

Meeting planners said the most common measurement indicators are:

• event evaluations/satisfaction surveys
• net revenue
• attendance size
• room night count
• sponsorships
• ability to stay within budget
• rate of repeat attendance
• level of responsiveness to client needs
• increased service per attendee per dollars spent

Meeting planners also listed their top five factors for venue selection:

• size of the meeting space
• guest room cleanliness
• customer service
• location of the venue
• price

As a meeting planner, do you agree with these trends? What is most important to you? How are you achieving these measurement indicators?

Thanks to htrends.com for sharing this information with us!

Hosted Buyers Wined and Dined at IMEX Frankfurt

Jun 02

maureen-pickellNews, Trade Shows imex, meeting education, meeting experiences, meeting industry, overseas meetings No Comments

I have successfully returned from Frankfurt, but before jetting off to my next destination, I had to share some experiences from the remainder of IMEX from last week!

The Berlin Convention Bureau hosted the ConventionPlanit.com group with a breakfast and presentation. Fresh from being named the 4^th most popular association meeting destination by ICCA, Heike Mahmoud took us on a slide and video tour of this exciting city.  And the breakfast buffet stoked the group for a day of appointments!  Vielin Dank to Berlin!!

The IMEX Daily newspaper featured an article entitled “Response time guarantee ends planners call backs” highlighting the ConventionPlanit.com 24 Hour Guarantee for RFP’s submitted to Caribbean and North American properties.  And IMEX attendees actually read this Show Daily!

The first day on the trade show floor started off with the Ovation Global team giving the ConventionPlanit.com group a geography lesson based on the locations of their DMC portfolio members, and it ended with a clever game of Concentration in which the Switzerland Convention Bureau challenging our group members with matching tiles highlighting Swiss venues and events.  In between we were educated by Malaysia and feted by Singapore – Singapore Slings being their traditional way to end a hectic day!

Speaking of which, Atout France (French Government Tourist Office) helped to revive our intrepid planners with their famous wine, cheese, pate and some German beer thrown in for good measure at their annual first night event.  A sudden shower refused to dampen spirits at the outdoor gathering and all the French partners  are to be commended for  spreading around their special brand of joie de vivre!

IMEX Wrap-Up to come…

Mme. Blogger

Who Says There’s No Free Lunch?

May 25

Ashley SpitzerMisc Tidbits, News meeting planner help, meeting planning services, Tips for Meeting Planners No Comments

Simply invite five meeting planners to your office for a breakfast, lunch or a cocktail hour featuring an online demonstration of ConventionPlanit.com. We’ll deliver the presentation and the cuisine.

As a sponsor of the presentation, you’ll receive a $50 American Express Reward Card for your efforts. You can also spread the word about this offer to your guests – they can host their own presentation and take advantage of this great offer.

For more information, please contact Katherine Markham, CHME, at 301-975-9462, or katherinem@conventionplanit.com.

Goodies from the Advisory Council Meeting

May 06

Ashley SpitzerNews advisory council, Event Industry Networking No Comments

If you’re dying for more details from last month’s Advisory Council Meeting, which included tons of great ideas and feedback to improve CP for other meeting planners, check out the links to our Flickr Page and YouTube Channel.

We’ve posted photos from the meeting and reception, and added videos from the day, including some video testimonials!

Check them out…maybe you’ll see a familiar face!

Advisory Council Meets with Innovative Ideas

Apr 16

Ashley SpitzerNews advisory council, Hilton, hotels in washington dc, meeting planner feedback, meeting planning services No Comments

Seven years ago, ConventionPlanit.com was formed, with the hopes of making the lives of meeting planners easier. An Advisory Council of respected meeting planners from a variety of fields was formed to help make this possible.

Now, the Council is going strong, and their input is valued more than ever!

Yesterday, the Washington Hilton hosted a meeting and reception for our Advisory Council, in the brand new Heights Executive Meeting Center. (The hotel is undergoing a $140 million dollar renovation – more on this plus photos to come). The Council members came ready to work!

They were full of suggestions and ways to improve ConventionPlanit.com, and spoke candidly about some of the industry issues affecting them.

The Council provided group input during a tour of the website’s features, and offered insight on specific areas of the website in break out sessions.

Look for some improvements to pop up on ConventionPlanit.com in the near future, as we work to implement some of the Council’s fantastic ideas!

Some of the CP Staff & Advisory Council Members
Courtesy of Larry Glatt Photography

Luxury Sector Makes a Comeback

Apr 06

Ashley SpitzerNews, Places to Stay economy, Face to Face Meetings, Five Star, meeting industry 1 Comment

Last week I read an interesting article by David Wilkening of TravelMole. I’ve including some of the key points of the article for those who would prefer not to subscribe.

The AIG effect, which caused many luxury hotels to be hit financially with millions of dollars in cancellations, seems to have released its hold on the industry.

Smith Travel Research predicts in 2010, top tier hotels will be the most successful. In fact, STR reports that the luxury sector has experienced an 8% growth over the past few months.

The article quotes Greg Champion, CEO of Benchmark Hospitality:

“Everyone talks about the AIG effect, but there are a lot of planners out there who say ‘If I can stay at a five-star for the same price as a three-or-four star, why wouldn’t I do that?”

In 2009, many of the planners using ConventionPlanit.com told us they could not consider luxury properties for their meetings. In the past few months, we’ve seen a renewed interest in higher-end properties.

These brands have also been offering meeting planners extra amenities, discounts, and meeting space at no charge to secure their business. (Check out the Divine Deal section of CP for current offerings).

While many meetings were cancelled or postponed last year, things seem to be looking up. The mantra for 2010 seems to be meetings will be held – with a solid value and purpose.

Have you experienced this trend in your own planning? Where are you holding your meetings and why?

Luxury hoteliers – has your meetings business increased? What do you attribute it to?

What Healthcare Reform Means for the Meetings Industry

Mar 22

Ashley SpitzerNews economy, issue of the week, meeting industry 1 Comment

The following information has been distributed by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA):

By a narrow 219 – 212 vote, the House of Representatives voted late last night to send H.R. 3590, “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” to the President for his signature, handing the President a significant political victory.

What happens next:

• President Barack Obama is expected to sign this bill into law this week
• The Senate must now consider negotiated changes to the package through the Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872), which also passed the House last night
• Department of Health and Human Services must draft implementing regulations
• Several states have already publically discussed legal challenges to H.R. 3590

What this means for your business:

Many provisions will not be implemented until at least 2014; however, a number of changes can be expected this year, including:

• Insurance companies will be forbidden from denying coverage to sick children
• Adult children can stay on their parents’ policies until they are 26
• Small businesses will receive tax credits to help them buy insurance for their employees
• All new policies will be required to cover preventive care, including annual physical exams
• The practice of dropping insured people when they get sick will be banned
• A high-risk pool will be created to subsidize adults with pre-existing conditions
• For seniors, some medicines will become cheaper and the donut hole will be reduced somewhat

We’ll [AH&LA] continue to analyze the full impact of this legislation and provide more details as they become available.

The industry’s position:

Last Friday, we [AH&LA] urged members to ask their Representatives to vote against this legislation for the following reasons:

• Does not allow small business pooling across state lines
• Adds a new $2,000 per employee penalty on many employers
• Raises costs of drugs and many medical services
• Does not provide meaningful tort reform
• Adds new costs and regulations on businesses

Even though the bill has passed, AH&LA will continue working with Congress to ensure the best interest of our industry is protected. Please direct any questions on this matter to AH&LA Vice President of Governmental Affairs Kevin Maher at kmaher@ahla.com.

We [AH&LA] also encourage you to thank the 34 Democrats who withstood intense pressure and voted against H.R. 3590. If you’re a constituent of any of the following members of Congress, please take a moment to thank them for supporting our industry’s position on this controversial matter.

John Adler (New Jersey)
Jason Altmire (Pennsylvania)
Michael Arcuri (New York)
John Barrow (Georgia)
Marion Berry (Arkansas)
Dan Boren (Oklahoma)
Rick Boucher (Virginia)
Bobby Bright (Alabama)
Ben Chandler (Kentucky)
Travis Childers (Mississippi)
Artur Davis (Alabama)
Lincoln Davis (Tennessee)
Chet Edwards (Texas)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (South Dakota)
Tim Holden (Pennsylvania)
Larry Kissell (North Carolina)
Frank Kratovil (Maryland) Daniel Lipinski (Illinois)
Stephen Lynch (Massachusetts)
Jim Marshall (Georgia)
Jim Matheson (Utah)
Mike McIntyre (North Carolina)
Michael McMahon (New York)
Charlie Melancon (Louisiana)
Walt Minnick (Idaho)
Glenn Nye (Virginia)
Collin Peterson (Minnesota)
Mike Ross (Arkansas)
Heath Schuler (North Carolina)
Ike Skelton (Missouri)
Zack Space (Ohio)
John Tanner (Tennessee)
Gene Taylor (Mississippi)
Harry Teague (New Mexico)