Meeting Planning Industry Issues

Meeting Planning Industry Issues

I work in the meeting planning industry for t a non-profit medical organization. Meeting planners organize all the logistics of meetings; from the location, speakers, programs, handouts, audio-visual needs, and registration. Companies can have in house meeting planners or they can outsource the logistical aspects to meeting planning companies.

Planners must consider the reason for the meeting and what message wants to be conveyed to the attendees. Once it is determined why the meeting is to be held negotiations begin on choosing a location. Location is decided upon based on demographics such as the number of people that will be attending, if there will be a need for lodging, and the amount of space needed. When looking for space for the Academy’s annual meeting, convention centers are considered that are large enough to handle 400 exhibiting companies, over 350 educational sessions, and approximately 100 committee meetings. Along with the convention center the Academy must also contract for hotel accommodations that can handle approximately 11,000 attendees.

Logistics also include arranging the program content, coordinating speakers, printing the program material, sending the meeting material such as program content, travel, hotel, and registration information. If there are to be exhibits, companies must be contacted, regulations communicated, contracts processed, and space assigned.

According to Robert Carey (2008) controlling budgets and costs of a meeting were the most important issues facing planners today. Budgets are usually the hardest part to control. Companies are slashing budgets as the economy weakens. The cost to hold face-to-face meetings is increasing each day. There is a wide range of things that can affect the cost. There is the price of renting meeting space, hotel accommodations, travel expenses, catering, and audio visual.

Planners are looking at the reason