Benchmarking Meeting Planning Practices
Insurance meeting managers get to know Marriott during weekend events at corporate headquarters, flagship properties, and even the home of a well-known and welcoming executive.
With the help of a wireless audience response keypad system provided by Meridia Interactive Information Services, Plymouth Meeting, PA., attendees at Marriott's Insurance and Financial Services Customer Forum created a picture of meeting management at the turn of the century.
Below is a sampling of the questions asked during the session. Participants entered their answers via keypads and instantly saw the results displayed in graph form; they also left the meeting with printouts of all the charts.
The lightest moment came when hoteliers were asked if they mail out "hot dates" announcements to planners (83 percent said yes) and then planners were asked if they find such announcements valuable (90 percent said no).
In the past 12 months, has your
department been downsized?
Yes: 26 percent
No: 74 percent
What is your total annual meeting
budget?
$1 to $3 million: 22 percent
$3.1 to $5 million: 33 percent
$5.1 to $7 million: 17 percent
$7.1 to $10 million: 17 percent
More than $10 million: 11 percent
Do you use hotel chains' national
sales offices?
Yes: 100 percent
No: 0 percent
How many incentive travel programs
do you handle in a year?
1 to 4 : 64 percent
5 or more : 36 percent
Do you use the Web for
site searches?
Yes: 70 percent
No: 30 percent
Do you use third parties for
site searches?
Yes: 38 percent
No: 62 percent
Are there employees outside
your department who plan meetings?
Yes: 81 percent
No: 19 percent
Is your department centralized?
Yes: 81 percent
No: 29 percent
Do you hold incentive meetings
outside the U.S.?
Yes: 89 percent
No: 11 percent
Do you pay all qualifier
expenses on inventive trips?
Yes: 71 percent
No: 29 Percent | |
