Meeting Trends for 2016

• It's still a seller's market. Negotiating with hotels has been difficult and will continue through the new year. In addition, hotels will less likely commit to events that are further out.
• Healthier options for hotel menus has become a trend and some hotels are taking it to the next level with organic, vegetarian, locally sourced, and gluten-free options. As this is a significant cost for hotels, it comes with a higher menu price for planners.
• The need to create a more compelling and memorable meeting will continue to be a trend. Planners are looking to create more sensory experiences with lighting changes, lounges with music, and educational experiences with food and beverage.
• More interaction with mobile event apps to engage attendees and improve communication with schedule changes or sharing documents.
• Hybrid meetings to reach a broader audience and to reduce in-person costs and travel.

Isn't the Sheraton Grand?

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Introduces Sheraton Grand

The Sheraton Grand is a rebranding of Sheraton with a focus on excellence in service and guest experiences. The first 10 span from Bangalore to Beijing, Dubai to Edinburgh, Miyazaki to Seoul, Taipei to Bangkok, and Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro. By the end of the year, they expect to have 50 newly-designed Sheraton Grand Hotels around the world with plans for 100 by early 2017.

Recommendations for Productive Virtual Meetings

1. Send an agenda in advance with clearly identified topics, outcomes and timelines for discussion. Identify any prep work wanted from participants ahead of time.

2. Set ground rules for the call like reminding everyone to mute their phones when not speaking, to refrain from side conversations and multi-tasking while on the call. Also, remind everyone to identify themselves by name before speaking.

3. Follow the agenda on the call, solicit feedback from everyone (calling on anyone not volunteering feedback) and pay attention to audible cues.

4. Encourage a respectful dialogue free of friction by asking participants to keep their comments based in facts instead of opinions. Remind attendees to stay focused on the collective goals of the meeting instead of side-bar or personal intentions.

 

Marriott International to Buy Starwood Hotels

Did you hear the big news in the hospitality industry today?  Marriott International has agreed to buy Starwood Hotels for 12.2 billion which will create the largest hotel company.  Although it may seem like bigger is better, the new merge may be bad for our industry since it will inhibit competition for other hotel companies and may lead to higher rates.  What are your thoughts?

It's a Sellers' Market!

If you didn’t know it already, it’s a sellers’ market and hotels worldwide are reaping the benefits. With business booming again, it’s becoming harder for planners and groups find availability and harder still to negotiate the rates, space and concessions they are used to contracting. Many hotels say it’s the best market they’ve seen in 30 years with consistent bookings for the next 24 to 36 months. The Incentive Research Foundation started their “Pulse Surveys” in 2008 to track trends in the industry. During the recession, 86% of groups were reducing their number of rooms and/or the number of nights. Now, only 12% of groups are reducing their blocks while most are increasing.

It helps to know what is most important to your group. If you can be flexible on the location and/or dates/pattern, you might be able find an opening at great hotel that can offer more concessions. If your location and dates are fixed, you should expect to pay higher rates with fewer concessions.