Keep a Lid on Meeting Costs

Corporate America spends upward of $100 billion a year on meetings, according to Meeting Professionals International and other trade organizations. That's a lot of rubber chicken luncheons. And here's another riveting statistic: Most companies spend between one-third and two-thirds of their travel budget on meetings. That's a lot of green.

Short of canceling meetings altogether--which is what a lot of companies have done, either in response to the AIG-profligate-meeting-spending scandal or as a way to drive down spending--what's an entrepreneur to do? Actually, there are a lot of ways to save.

1. Ask yourself the obvious question: Is this trip necessary? Then ask: What's the easiest, most foolproof way to save money on meetings? Answer: Don't travel anywhere. Use webcasts and video conferences whenever they're reasonable alternatives to face-to-face meetings.
    
2. Scale back the numbers. Either send fewer people to a conference, convention or trade show, or cut the trip short by a day.
    
3. Share. Share hotel rooms with colleagues--an idea made more palatable by using mid- or low-priced suite hotels; share ground transportation (taxi, rental car) and, strangely enough, share booze. Since most hotels charge by the bottle, you can often buy the leftovers from another group's cocktail party at a huge discount.
    
4. Fly in, fly out. Hold your meeting at or near an airport. There are plenty of fabulous airport hotels with space for meetings for as few as two people. At the very least, you'll save on hotel rooms and local transportation. Many airport hotels offer a day-meeting package that includes catering, a meeting room, audiovisual support and, sometimes, passes to recreation and relaxation services--a spa, golf course or a health club.
    
5. Look into low-season discounts. Pick your destination to coincide with the off season. In Colorado, that's May--too late for skiing, too early for summer, lots of mud. In Florida, it's the dog days of August. The week after Thanksgiving and between Christmas and New Year are usually quiet for hotels.
    
6. Use hotel "hot dates." Check the major chains' websites for time-sensitive deals. You may be able to take advantage of a hotel's distressed inventory--a block of rooms suddenly available after a cancellation or a cluster of unsold rooms.
    
7. Cut back on food and beverage. Catering takes up a big chunk of a meeting budget, so be creative with menu selection, decorations and cocktails. Use live plants rather than a floral centerpiece. They're cheaper than cut flowers. (One planner I know gets potted plants from K-Mart, either orchids or primrose. The price for each plant is in the $8 to $20 range, and she donates leftovers to Habitat for Humanity.) More ways to save: Have a buffet instead of a sit-down meal; having fewer servers keeps labor costs down.
    
8. Be selective about location. If attendees are coming from all over the U.S., make sure your destination has airline service not only from the majors but also from discount carriers such as jetBlue and Southwest. Knowing who flies where with what frequency will help you calculate how much a meeting will cost. Choosing Dallas over Houston or vice versa may save significant dollars on airfare if most attendees have better access to American Airlines or Continental routes.
   
   If city hotels are too expensive, consider the 'burbs, which typically have lower room rates--and often lower tax rates. But make sure the cost of transporting delegates isn't higher than the savings you've achieved.
   
   

   Alternatively, try small cities such as Providence, R.I.; Baltimore, Md.; and Burlington, Vt., that are served by discount carriers.  
   

9. Use a meeting card. American Express and MasterCard offer corporate meeting cards, which simplify booking and paying for meetings. Instead of enduring credit checks and paying deposits for meeting space, you can charge all meeting-related expenses on a single card. You'll save on the back end because reconciliation and payment will be vastly simplified. Instead of paying every vendor separately, for example, you only have to write a single check per meeting (to the card company). You'll also save on the front end, because purveyors of meeting cards often partner with meeting suppliers to provide deals, packages and discounts.
   

10. Piggyback transient travel onto a meeting. Plan sales calls and convention attendance around a meeting that you're planning, or vice versa. You'll not only save on fares, but you'll also save wear and tear on yourself.
     
11. Consider a meeting at sea. These are tough times for many cruise companies, as huge new ships are launched and skittish consumers cut back on vacations. A meeting on a cruise ship make sense on many levels, according to Joyce Landry, co-founder of Landry & Kling, a Miami-based company that organizes corporate events aboard ship. "Not only are cruise meetings reasonably priced, but the pre-event organization and on-site management are so greatly simplified," she says.

The new generation of cruise ships is tailor-made for meetings. Some ships, such as Royal Caribbean's 1,350-passenger Explorer of the Seas, have stadium-style conference centers, boardrooms and breakout rooms. Most larger ships even accommodate tabletop trade shows and awards presentations.

You pay once upfront, in U.S. dollars, and everything involved in your meeting is included. That includes staterooms, meeting space, all audio/visual and all meals, including coffee breaks, room service and cocktail receptions. "You don't get nickel and dimed on meeting costs, with $30 urns of coffee, bartender surcharges and service fees," Landry says. The all-inclusive price also includes entertainment and spousal activities. It may also include airfare from various gateway cities.

Cruises that include airfare may be such a bargain that companies find themselves in the delightful position of offering a three- to four-day meeting at sea in a typically pricey destination--say, Hawaii or the Caribbean, for $1,200 to $1,500 per person with everything included, down to the last gratuity. That's less than airfare alone--never mind hotel room, meals and activities--for a comparable meeting on land.