Article Summary

Disorder in the House: Meeting Trends for 2017

              Certain aspects of business interactions are changing especially meeting environments and hotel economy in particular. Meetings are no longer geared towards exchanging information between those attending. That being said, context is now more important than content. The traditional type meeting would most likely include just a single person talking and informing others at the meeting about updates on business or a particular company. Most of this knowledge can now be found online, which almost eliminates the purpose of a meeting. However, meetings will always exist because the only thing that is being tweaked is the structure of the meeting and what goes on during that certain time period. The current layout of a meeting includes more time for conversation and networking rather than just an educational session. Business is always evolving and technology is constantly changing. It is easy to accept that meetings are changing as well.

              Hotels are currently experiencing all-time records in attendance rates. The number of people traveling for business these days is pretty substantial as well as crazy to think about. Occupancy rates have been through the roof. At one point in 2016, hotel rooms were completely sold out for 77 nights in the U.S. This may lead to difficulty in booking a room block or finding a meeting space for upcoming conferences. Being aware of this is definitely useful information because it is important to think ahead and plan accordingly. It may be a good idea to have conversations with hotels in advance and set something up well ahead of time. Another good idea would be to consider scheduling an event for Sunday through Wednesday because hotels are not as busy on these days so rates are lower and there will be more rooms available.

              Food costs can be a concern during conferences as well. Coffee and beef prices were on the rise from anywhere between 50 and 60 percent during 2016. Menus are costed out to achieve a 35 percent profit margin. A simple solution would be to ask for a meal of lower price. If your budget per person is $100, ask for a $90 meal. The chief will reach the 35% margin as well getting high quality food. It is important to keep in mind the types of foods that conference attendees are interested in eating. Healthy options as well as pork or pasta are a few in particular that are currently popular. Taking all of this into consideration when planning out a conference will ensure that everyone is happy.