Analysis
Literally sprouting up around the countryside is a growing number of meetings venues that may be classed as part-time, and in one sense amateur, but which nevertheless deserve further attention. These are facilities associated with farms – perhaps converted barns, or a period wing of a larger property, or a purpose-built facility – and they represent an enterprising (and much needed) attractive ‘cash crop’ for our agricultural community.
These unorthodox locations afford various advantages …. being memorable, different, original, peaceful, informal, free from distractions, lacking pretension, and on the spot for adventure or conservation pursuits. Such venues are also likely to be cheap – half the price of a three-star hotel? – and are easily identifiable with the laudable motives of environmental sustainability and the redistribution of wealth!
Any snags? Well, a lack of hosting experience may be a concern (the owners are more used to coping with 50 cows and 100 ewes), and delegates may feel demeaned if not fussed over or made to feel special.
But where better for fresh ideas and an improved sense of community?
* * *
Outlook
Looking ahead, here are 10 more evolving categories of meeting:
- SmalltownMeet – choosing a less well-known destination for the benefits of price, welcome and character
- FestivalMeet – the selection of an hotel well placed to enable delegates to attend a cultural experience (arts, dance, theatre, music, etc.)
- FairtradeMeet – choice of a town which has gained a standing for its sustainable trading practices in favour of emerging countries
- SMEMeet – opting for a venue run as a small or medium enterprise by an up-and-coming business person (thanks to TVs ‘The Apprentice’)
- WifiMeet – internet mania dictates who goes where
- ThemeyearMeet – which is why Hull (linked to Wilberforce and the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery) is having a good year
- EthnicMeet – the new enthusiasm for locations where the community is distinctly cosmopolitan (e.g. Bradford, Leicester)
- SteamtrainMeet – unusual think-tanks in a VIP coach at 30mph along a preserved railway line
- GoogleMeet – booked by PAs/secretaries who use the search-engine to find ‘a conference venue in the Midlands’, or wherever
- BrandloyaltyMeet – an unknown venue that nobody has visited but where the brand’s operations are admired and trusted
* * *
Note: The next edition of Outlook ’07 will appear in the autumn.
April 07
Analysis
New research suggests that the MICE sector is only slowly
embracing the full potential of the electronic reservations
resources that are now available. For many, a degree
of scepticism still exists that questions whether the
internet really does make venue selection and event
booking less time-consuming, or staff-intensive, and
therefore more efficient. Others, however, feel that
Britain’s burgeoning online culture makes it inevitable
that the future of the meetings industry will be virtual.
The exercise (undertaken alongside Conference News)
has been conducted against a background where consumer
shopping on the web has reached record levels in this
country. Last Christmas saw 25m people spend
£7.5 billion using their computers. Also to be
taken into account is that e-opportunities are not wholly
new to this industry – it is just that they are
suddenly becoming more advanced. The spectrum of alternative
services already includes: electronic directories; e-directories
offering the option of sending RFPs to targeted venues;
directories where behind-the-scenes sits an agency or
call-centre ready to make bookings; availability display
systems; and finally, a current breakthrough, that of
wholly online booking.
Those replying were also asked to rank in order of
importance what they think are the most valuable functions
of such online services for buyers (see table below):
1st * online directory search for alternative venues
in an area
2nd * online details of day-by-day availability and
pricing
3rd * online option to send an RFP to venues
4th * option to book an event online
5th * online reference to generalised special offers
and discount periods
critique
Buyers and agents offer a critique of online booking
services, but with an open-mindedness towards the future.
On the one hand there is a recognition that there remains
a dependency on venues to update their data, and to
know for sure that emails/RFPs have been received by
the right person. Some fear that delays will arise from
reservations staff being in meetings, on holiday, being
absent through illness, or having moved jobs. That said,
it is noted that such issues typically can apply equally
to telephone contacting. Given that venues often hold
on to multiple provisional bookings, a scenario that
leads to wasted calls and results in unnecessarily delayed
decisions, an argument is made for online availability
displays that can indicate this situation instantly
and prompt searching elsewhere. Whilst each case is
different, it seems that some clients are increasingly
fed up with the voicemails and/or call centres and 0870
numbers being used by many of the branded groups.
* * *
Looking ahead, here are 10 more evolving categories
of meeting:
* CasinoMeet - all the media discussion about ‘SuperCasinos’
is
increasing interest in destinations that already feature
gaming opportunities.
* OnlineMeet – never mind the location, what
matters is venue availability
displayed on the website on the day(s) that are required.
* NodresscodeMeet – increasingly informal clothes
are worn for
conferences, including shell-suits and trainers –
even in posh hotels!
* Women-AwareMeets – where the chair, and the
agenda, intentionally
give women license to express their contrasting approaches
to
decision-making
* RenaissanceResortMeet – the deliberate selection
of seaside towns in
the news as locations with that ‘Phoenix’
quality of regeneration. (Scarborough
is a good example of such unstoppable momentum)
* CountryLifeMeet – read the magazine, buy the
clothes, dream the dream,
and head for the nearest Edwardian pile in the sticks
in order to ape the
aristocratic lifestyle
* ConscienceMeet – select only those venues where
delegate travel is offset
within the tariff, and where scope exists to render
the event wholly Carbon Neutral
* UpgradeMeet – the bandwagon effect of using
a venue that has recently
been upgraded and restyled at a cost of millions!
* Coffee-awareMeet – if the coffee is weak and
tasteless, then the entire
event could be that much more lacklustre, too. Booming
sales of espresso
machines and the new British taste for real coffee is
persuading organisers to
steer clear of hotels serving pots of pxxx.
* VideoMeet – a combination of climate-angst,
and the rigours of driving
along congested motorways, are prompting more VIPs and
speakers to attend
and perform ‘virtually’.
Note: The next edition of Outlook ’07 from www.meetingstrends.com
will appear in May.
Opinion: Mega trend: Online
meetings ‘culture change’ beginning?
It is true that 2006 did not see the overdue ‘culture
change’ in the meetings industry wherein buyers
would enthusiastically book online, and venues happily
display their availability and prices on the internet.
No doubt most clients continue to worry that the complexities
of a residential event are best discussed by ‘phone,
or in person, whilst many hotels prefer to remain secretive
about their unlet facilities.
On the other hand, some buyers are now embracing and
engaging in the electronic process, and some venues
are actively displaying and discounting. No doubt we
are at the ‘innovator’ and ‘early
adopter’ stage in the bell-curve for acceptance
of new ideas, and a surge of additional engagement with
web bookings is highly likely. Let’s put this
into context: online shopping is here to stay (and is
now measured in billions); cutting costs is the be all
and end all; voicemails continue to irritate; people
want the option to book 24/7, not 9-5; and venues can
manage to display their space in a way that avoids compromising
their commercial interests.
So it’s definitely going to be 2007 for that
online meetings ‘culture change’ …
Looking ahead, here are ten more evolving categories
of meeting:
* HobbyMeet – where the venue
is selected because of a personal interest of the organiser,
often of a sporting nature (e.g. golf hotel, soccer
stadium, racetrack, or cricket ground), or heritage/architectural/cultural
inspiration (e.g. historic house, museum, art gallery,
theatre).
* AweMeet – deliberate selection
of an amazing/exceptional venue intended to impress
delegates (through an inference of wealth) and create
a sense of privilege (e.g. taking over a country house
property or castle for private use). Such clients include
merchant banks and other financial institutions.
* ProcurementMeet – a venue that
is part of an agreed portfolio of shortlisted RFP venues
and characterised by offering a good price, though not
necessarily good value or good service.
* CoolMeet – an hotel (or chain)
selected because of their reputation for design style
and trendy facilities.
*HaloMeet – choice of a venue
that has been in the news for being frequented by A-,
B-, or C-list celebrities (from the worlds of entertainment,
fashion, or sport).
* ChefMeet – a venue selected
because the cuisine has been celebrated, and the chef
is a celebrity.
* LoungeMeet – possibly on the
increase as costs of delegate travel become more material.
Formerly characterised by pairs of ‘lounge lizards’
– who drink coffee but pay for little else –
but now can extend up to 12 or 20 personnel (‘conference
cheapskates’).
* WatersideMeet – currently in
vogue are smart venues that overlook rejuvenated docks
and marinas.
· CarbonFootprintMeet - selection of a venue
publicised as having strong green credentials, and where
the carbon footprint of each delegate is therefore minimised.
* Now(!)Meet – same-, or next-day
selection of a venue that is booked simply because it
is available there and then.
Note: The next edition of Outlook ’07 from www.meetingstrends.com
will appear in February.
Previous Outlooks:
January 2006 - Click
here to view
March 2006 - Click
here to view
May 2006 - Click
here to view
October 2006 - Click
here to view
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