Planning an in-person meeting during a global pandemic, or even any crisis situation, challenges meeting planners and venues. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the industry globally in a way never seen before. Travel and meetings suppliers, under the guidance of governmental authorities at the local, state and country level, still are trying to understand the new processes and methods that will be needed to keep attendees and travelers as safe as possible amidst uncertainty. This white paper is designed to highlight the necessary considerations to sourcing and working with venues for in-person events, including managing social distancing and other hygienic protocols, as well as the pandemic-related changes to the meeting contracting process.

An effective hotel program can boost savings, compliance, and traveler morale, but building one takes time, effort, and insightful data. What works for one organization might backfire at another for several reasons. And, with COVID-19 upending travel for much of 2020-2021, corporations are rethinking their entire travel budgets, partnerships and guidelines. What defines success? This white paper presents results of a survey of more than 280 travel, procurement and hotel sourcing executives fielded in April-May 2020.  

Turbulent times have a ripple effect and nearly always impact business travel—whether the cause be a global pandemic like we are seeing today, natural disaster or terrorist attack—travel programs should always be prepared to ensure continuity of business. Otherwise, companies may find themselves caught in a crisis without a plan and scramble with a reactionary response. This white paper is designed to help corporate travel managers and other stakeholders review their own plans and processes in each of those three areas.... Keep Reading

Few corporate communications methods are as versatile in engaging employees as an internal meeting, and fewer still are as effective in aligning employees with corporate goals and objectives. Whether for 10 or 10,000 employees and partners, internal meetings can help motivate and reward attendees, train them for more demanding roles, learn and understand management strategy and increase their loyalty to the organization. But ensuring those goals are reached requires careful attention to the planning and execution of meetings. This white paper is designed to help demonstrate the value of internal meetings and illustrate the direct relationship between developing a comprehensive management strategy, executing events successfully, and improving performance.... Keep Reading

Whatever the impetus for program development, one constant of a successful meetings initiative is the measurement of how effective meetings and events are at meetings those goals. Since those goals can vary widely among organizations, so too can the metrics used to measure whether a eetings program is successful in meeting them.

This paper will examine some potential metrics organizations are using to help determine how well their meetings are delivering a return on their investment, managing risk or delivering a return on the attendee experience in the form of increased sales, brand awareness or other benefits.

While strategic meetings management programs typically roll out in corporations to improve procurement and savings, often they operate outside marketing. A recent study conducted by Cvent on SMM program and marketing best practices found that while 80 percent of travel managers/SMM program leaders said it’s "very valuable" to collaborate with marketing, less than 50 percent said they often work with marketing. A closer look at the goals of SMM and marketing can reveal more commonality than differences. Whether such teams should operate under the same umbrella, or simply align processes and practices, there are benefits to gain, as highlighted in this white paper. But stakeholders must understand the goals, language and overall objectives of both functions.

Leveraging supplier relationships for travel and meetings—whether for hotel, air, ground transportation or other combined needs--can result in more favorable contracts for both travel and at least some meetings, buyers and consultants report. And, claim some industry veterans who are enjoying such benefits, the process can be attained—with the right processes and executive support—more quickly than ever before. This paper will highlight the potential benefits of combining meetings and transient travel volume, the approaches that some have taken and provide a few warnings of the road hazards to avoid along the way. While some initially began attempts to leverage meetings with business travel spending a decade or more ago, they are encouraged by the speed with which newer efforts have achieved success.