Rhode Island a popular destination for meetings

Though 2008 has proved to be a tough economy for many businesses, companies are still holding destination meetings in Rhode Island to encourage creative thinking and solidarity, albeit on a smaller budget.
Laurie Stroll, president of the destination-management company Newport Hospitality Inc., said companies who are holding offsite meetings this year are being more frugal with their budgets due to the slow U.S. economy.
“There have been many meetings taking place, but the planners’ budgets are much lower, so they have to be creative with what they do,” Stroll said.
The 2008 Meetings Market Report, an analysis of meetings held in 2007, shows the corporate sector spent five – percent less on meetings in 2007 than in 2005.
Corporations spent an average of $543,900 on meetings in 2007, up only 1.5 percent from 2005. Twenty-one percent of the respondents said their organizations paid more than $1 million on off-premises meetings, with 39 percent saying their companies spent between $150,000 and $1 million. Still, 40 percent said their firms paid less than $150,000 for all meetings in 2007.
While some companies have cut back on their offsite meeting budgets, the destination meeting business is still strong this year, according to Sharon Sullivan, owner of Providence-based destination-management company Sullivan Custom Planning Inc.
“We have seen some companies cut back on their off-site meetings, but it is a short-term trend,” Sullivan said. “This has been our best year yet, way up from last year.”
In fact, the groups and meetings market is becoming one of the travel industry’s major competitive arenas. The groups and meetings market is projected to grow to $175 billion by the end of this year, with travel (including air, hotel, car rental, ground transportation, cruise and tour) representing 54 percent of the total, according to Research and Markets’ report, “Groups and Meetings: Market Opportunity Redefined.” By the end of 2006, groups and meetings revenue was projected to be about $164.1 billion.
So what do companies get out of spending thousands of dollars on offsite meetings that they can’t get on-site? “The main thing is to get out of the surroundings of your office and interruptions. A complete change of scenery helps keep people focused on the meetings and clear their head from the stresses of their day-to-day jobs,” Stroll said.
Atlanta-based cable television and communications provider Cox Communications regularly holds offsite team-training and development meetings as a way to encourage creative thinking and develop team spirit among employees, Cox spokesperson Amy Quinn said. The Rhode Island-based Cox branch has held offsite events at the University of Rhode Island’s Alton Jones campus in West Greenwich, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, Dave & Busters at the Providence Place Mall and Showcase Cinemas in East Greenwich.
The benefits of being out of the office for a meeting include a structured environment that encourages strategic and creative thinking. It also reduces the opportunities for employees to be distracted by day-to-day duties, Quinn said.
Employees might also benefit from different perspectives offered by a third-party moderator or trainer, Quinn said.
“Off-site venues also offer scale for the times when we need to deliver training and development programs to a large number of employees at one time. Some offsite venues offer companies facilities and resources not available on the company’s premises,” Quinn said. Sullivan said companies who hold offsite meetings look for creative events along with team- building activities. “They want fun, creative parties that don’t break the bank.” •