The unstable economy has made many people nervous about high cost of corporate meetings, not to mention higher travel, hotel, and food and beverage costs.
Yet, with smart planning, there are several ways to pare prices without giving up every amenity, even if you’re an entrepreneur who can’t provide a large number of users to offset prices.
At the same time, one management consultant offers a big caveat when meetings and travel are in the planning stage.
John Popoli, vice president and academic dean of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, says: “Care must be taken that goals, not budgets, drive the meeting planning process. The purpose of every meeting should be to inform, discuss or decide something.”
Here are some suggestions from Popoli and other consultants, business owners and travel experts:
– Be sure you invite the right people, says Helen Rothberg, professor of strategic management at Marist College School of Management in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Too many people come to meetings for political reasons such as getting face time, but extra bodies will slow down meetings, she says.
“If you hypothetically invite five extra people to a meeting and each person’s time is worth $100 an hour and you keep them for two hours, you’ve cost your company $1,000,” she says.
– Before your meeting, use the Intranet or e-mail to go over topics and questions to be addressed, so that when people get together, they can spend more time on important matters, which saves money, says Barry Lawrence of the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va.
– Don’t rule out virtual meetings. They can start with a voice mail or e-mail. Participants should respond to items on the agenda within two days unless the topic is urgent and needs to be discussed immediately, says Rothberg.
“Crisis decision-making or sensitive issues should be done in person, however, so you smell the tenor of the meeting,” Rothberg says.
– For important strategic planning or multiple-day meetings, bring in a professional meeting facilitator who works with you upfront regarding company objectives.
“A facilitator will run your meeting and ensure it stays on track so you achieve objectives,” says Michael Begeman, manager of the 3M Meeting Network in Austin, Texas, whose Web site, www.3M.com/meetingnetwork, has a directory of meeting facilitators.
– If you hold a meeting in your home city, consider bringing in food rather than eating in a restaurant. An attractive box lunch can offer good portion control, says Chicago caterer Mitchell Cobey of Cobey Foods & Catering. Or for dinner consider catering it in your home rather than going to a restaurant, which can prove less expensive, Cobey says.
– If you must hold your meeting off-site, shop around since the fees to rent a room can be dramatically different at different restaurants, clubs and hotels. Also, compare costs for the food, liquor, help and gratuities.
Popoli’s school, which holds classes only in the evening for adults attending part-time, has rooms that can be rented during the day for between $50 and $150, depending on equipment, food and other amenities.
– Ask in advance about the possible addition of a state or local “room tax,” which can increase the bill, particularly if there are several attendees.
– Consider a destination that has attractions with natural adventure so you don’t have to create or hire entertainment or travel to a nearby attraction.
For example, Mackinac Island in northern Michigan is two-thirds state park and offers more than 100 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. It also has a quaint downtown and sailboats to charter.
– In many destinations, weekend meetings are often 50 percent less costly than weekday meetings because hotel, car and airline charges are less, says Rolfe Shellenberger, senior consultant for Runzheimer International. “You may have to compensate employees with time off, but it can be worthwhile,” he says.
– Ask about suites and other bedroom accommodations that can host several guests instead of getting a single room for every attendee. Or consider renting a condo with several bedrooms and bathrooms.
– Some companies that need to hold a short meeting with participants coming from several cities bring them in in the morning and use an airport meeting room or a meeting room at an airport hotel, all of which eliminate overnight stays.
For example, the TWA Ambassador Club costs $200 a year, and an Ambassador Club room can be rented for $25 or $50 an hour, depending on the room’s size. TWA has 26 Ambassador Clubs around the country.
– Check whether there’s an alternative airport you can fly in and out of to get the cheapest fare available. Baltimore has been cheaper than Washington National Airport, says Shellenberger of Runzheimer International. Other possible options include Providence, R.I., or Manchester, N.H., rather than Boston; Newark rather than LaGuardia or Kennedy; and Bradley in Milwaukee rather than O’Hare.
– If you must hold your meeting away from home, give the food and beverage manager your budget for each meeting or the entire stay and ask him or her to customize menus for your group rather than let participants select off set menus.
– If attendees want to bring along families, particularly if the meeting is in an appealing city or resort community, select a site that offers affordable family activities and has a children’s program so they won’t have to hire sitters. Also ask if children under 12 years stay and eat free when sharing a parent’s room.
– If the meeting hotel cost seems unusually high, look for another hotel close by, says Shellenberger, who recently stayed eight miles away from his meeting site in New Orleans.
“The parking and car cost me a little bit, but I still saved a lot.” Or, he adds, “Stay in New Jersey rather than in Manhattan or at the airport if the city has good transportation to downtown. You give up some of your time but you can save a lot.”
– Pay close attention to office amenities and conveniences at the site and their costs. Some hotels offer the use of computers and modem hookups for free or don’t charge for local telephone calls, while others tack on significant fees.
– If you use your frequent-flier mile awards, particularly if you pay for your own travel, you often get car rental and hotel discounts offered in the same package, says Shellenberger. You might get some free car rental days and a hotel night or two depending on the program, he says. “But be careful that you aren’t paying more for your hotel rate to achieve these discounts.”
– Check all your affiliations that offer discounts on hotels, cars and sometimes restaurants, such as the American Automobile Association or the American Association of Retired Persons.
– Videoconferencing offers you a person’s face in addition to his voice. For example, Heat and Control Inc., a global manufacturer of food processing and packaging machinery in Hayward, Calif., has found that by using the same Sony videoconferencing equipment in its different offices, it has cut travel costs, says marketing manager Audrey Waidelich.
The videoconferencing equipment also allows the company to hold more productive meetings since more employees can “attend” meetings. The company’s president has cut his annual airline mileage 25 percent.
– At the same time, don’t rule out using low-tech solutions for people in the same location, which can cut costs, says Popoli.
“That way you let people concentrate on the message rather than on the medium. There’s something engaging about a person standing up, giving an old-fashioned talk using only flip charts or a simple overhead projector,” he says.
– Ask your hotel if it will provide free transportation from the airport to the meeting site. Many do, especially if you hold the meeting at their site, says Popoli.
“It’s not as elegant as a limousine, but it’s more cost effective than having 15 cabs take guests who arrive at or about the same time,” he says.
Or consider public transportation. “In many cities it’s no longer grimy,” says Shellenberger, “and you often get a better overview of a city that you’ve never visited.”
– Be sure you set a specific time limit for your meeting in advance, as well as earmark certain time limits for each discussion, Rothberg says.
– And one final tip from 3M: At the end of your meeting–whether it lasts one hour, one day or one weekend–take time to do a post-mortem. Evaluate highs and lows and ways to improve your next meeting. After participants leave, they may forget what was useful or wasteful.
