"...attendees at Marriott's Insurance and Financial Services Customer Forum created a picture of meeting management at the turn of the century."

Suppliers say YES, Buyers say NO

Benchmarking Meeting Planning Practices
Insurance Conference Planner, April 2000

Meeting Marriott

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