Bashing business meetings has consequences

PBN Staff

03/21/2009

The meeting and convention industry is under fire. The dialogue occurring in the U.S. House and Senate, and subsequently in the national media, which portrays legitimate travel to meetings and conferences as perks and corporate excess, is having a negative and potentially devastating effect on the entire hospitality industry.
This misrepresentation is leading to the cancellation and postponement of meetings and events nationwide, and placing Rhode Island at risk of losing millions of dollars in tax revenue and thousands of jobs.
The attacks, originally targeting companies receiving Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funding, are reverberating throughout the entire corporate community and beyond. A recent poll in Meetings and Conventions magazine revealed that even companies not receiving TARP funds are canceling, relocating or postponing meetings due to “concerns about perception.”
This trend also has been seen in the public sector, as state and local governments wrestle with budget challenges, and travel to meetings and conferences for government employees ends up on the chopping block.
In spite of this unfortunate characterization, the fact remains that meetings and conventions are an important part of our nation’s, and our state’s, culture and economy. They provide a vital opportunity for individuals to engage with industry experts and their peers to gain knowledge of strategies and best practices, and to foster communication within and between entities. Furthermore, meetings and events long have been regarded as valuable business tools for companies seeking to reward and develop their hardest-working employees.
The impact of this sector on our local economy has been significant. In recent years, billions of public and private dollars have been invested in facilities, hotels and infrastructure, all to lure meetings and conventions to the state. And these investments have paid off. According to a study by the economics firm Global Insight, in 2007 Rhode Island hosted 6.5 million visitors who spent $4.24 billion. Nearly 25 percent of these visitors were here for business travel or to attend a meeting or convention. Meeting and convention delegates often return as leisure visitors, bringing their families back with them to enjoy our beautiful state. All of this translates into tax revenue and much-needed jobs for Rhode Islanders.
The intent of this politically based attack seems to go beyond the desire to shame corporate executives. Inexplicably, it instead seems to demonize meetings, conferences and corporate events, despite the industry long playing a vital role in our nation’s economy. In the end, it is ultimately the local work force and small-business owners who will pay the price. Bellmen, housekeepers, waitstaff and other hourly-wage employees are the first to lose their jobs when travelers stay away.
The small businesses that provide goods and services directly to corporate meeting customers, or to the hotels, restaurants and other facilities that host them, will most certainly suffer. Consider Sharon Sullivan, the owner of Sullivan Custom Planning, an event-planning company based in Newport. The economy already was taking a toll on her business, and the recent media frenzy surrounding the TARP bill has further exacerbated the problem.
Many of the meetings and conventions booked in Rhode Island are the result of the extensive efforts of the state’s convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). Both the Newport County and Providence Warwick CVBs spend weeks, months and – in some cases – years luring valuable meeting and convention business to Rhode Island. The process of developing meeting and convention bids can be quite complex, and the competition has never been tougher. The economic downturn already has taken its toll on previously booked meetings and conventions in the form of lower attendance and shortened stays. This continuing barrage of negative press is certain to intensify this trend and will result in a decline in tax receipts on the local and state level at a time when the state can ill afford less revenue.
It is time to let the policymakers know that there is a difference between holding corporate America accountable for previous mismanagement and punishing Main Street U.S.A. We need to make it clear that the hospitality industry is vital to our economy and that “travel” is not a four-letter word. The United States Travel Association is leading the charge in this grassroots effort with a new campaign called Meetings Mean Business. For more information on this program visit MeetingsMeanBusiness.com.
We join our colleagues nationwide in a call to end the negative rhetoric against the meetings and conventions industry and help get America working – and traveling – again. &#8226

Martha J. Sheridan is the president and CEO of the Providence-Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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