call it murphy's law

UOPwww.pcma.org pcma convene September 2008 45

INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS:

TACTICS FOR TOUGH TIMES

BY NANCY MANN JACKSON

A faltering economy and a weak U.S. dollar make for difficult meeting planning

all around, but — with costs that depend on fluctuating exchange rates — international

meetings are especially tricky. Experienced international meeting

professionals share how they’re rising to the challenge.

�

�

CNVMSept08_Int:Page 45-56 8/19/08 11:45 AM Page 45

pcma convene September 2008 www.pcma.org46

As soon as the International Association for DentalResearch (IADR) commits to a meeting in an internationalcity, usually six years out, it seems like economic issues startpiling up. “We joke that every time we decide to take a meet-ing somewhere, we sit back and watch the exchange rate gothe wrong way,” said Gwynn Breckenridge, IADR’s directorof meetings.

According to Bloomberg.com, on July 15, the dollartouched its all-time trading low of $1.60 per euro. The sameday, it traded at 105.07 yen. And based on financial industryreports, the situation may get worse before it gets better. Thedollar will weaken against the euro, yen, Brazilian real, andSwiss franc through the end of 2008, as confidence fades inFed and Treasury efforts to keep the economy out of a reces-sion, according to respondents to the Bloomberg Profes-sional Global Confidence Index, which questioned 5,450customers from Los Angeles to Paris to Tokyo in July.

While some U.S.-based organizations may decide to keeptheir meetings and events at home until the pictureimproves, there are groups that need to reach an interna-tional audience now. Confining their events to North Amer-ica simply isn’t an option. “U.S.-based internationalassociations have to travel internationally to satisfy andgrow membership, and to keep their sponsors assured,”said Ben Goedegebuure, director of sales for the ScottishExhibition + Conference Centre in Glasgow.

International association executives agree. “Weabsolutely plan to continue meeting abroad,” said CiciThompson, CAE, vice president of meetings and mem-ber alliances for Worldwide ERC, the WorkforceMobility Association. “Our international initiativesare a major part of our strategic plan, and of greatimportance to our members.”

Added Jennifer Sombar, CMP, manager oftravel and event management for the CFA

Institute, the Global Association of Investment Professionals:“Our organization’s mission is ‘to lead the investment profes-sional globally by setting the highest standards of ethics, edu-cation, and professional excellence.’ We’ve just begun acontinental rotation of our annual conference, and withoffices in London and Hong Kong, as well as central Virginiaand New York City, we will continue to support and hostmeetings outside of the United States.”

That kind of strategic commitment or organizationaldirective doesn’t make maintaining an event presence overseasany easier. These days, association planners are digging deepfor new ways to produce international events that will beviable, affordable — and provide an even greater return onattendees’ investment. And many in the industry suggest thatplanners will simply have to become more creative in theway they approach the challenge. “The price of oil will rise;it will be the standard,” said Richard Rheindorf, CMP, U.S.and Canada regional director for the German ConventionBureau. “Planners and suppliers have to be creative andnegotiate special deals. With globalization on the rise,American companies and associations have to bring theirmeetings to international destinations.”

To make international meetings work in the currenteconomy, planners must rethink their budgets, forge rela-tionships with destination partners, and even revise theirplanning paradigms. Here’s how some organizations aremaking it work.

Rethinking the BudgetJust as many U.S. households are cutting out extrasin the face of rising prices of everything from food tofuel, meeting planners also must, in many cases,begin trimming expenses. “Meeting plannershave always been struggling to meet theirbudgets, but costs are definitely an issue now,

CALL ITMURPHY’S

LAW.�


Richard

Highlight

Expert international planners know how to utilizethe services of an international tourism or conventionbureau, which often can lead entire teams of local partnersto help create a successful meeting. In Kuala Lumpur, forexample, “TeamMalaysia” consists of Tourism Malaysia,Malaysia Airlines, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre,and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, working “closely to ensurethat all bids showcase Malaysian hospitality and qualityand efficient service delivery, from travel arrangements andpoint-of-arrival to event execution, business opportunities,and cultural exposure,” said Peter Brokenshire, generalmanager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Many bureaus also provide help with marketing ameeting. In Glasgow, for instance, the Glasgow City Mar-keting Bureau offers marketing assistance before and dur-ing an event; during the planning stages for largermeetings, the bureau sends out first-announcement fliersto potential delegates. And for meetings of more than

3,000 delegates, the bureau provides free welcome ban-ners in the center of the city and at airport desks, alongwith a welcome message on a prominent giant screen inthe city center. “Our aim is to make each and every dele-gate feel part of our city for the duration of their visit,” saidBen Goedegebuure, director of sales at the Scottish Exhi-bition + Conference Centre in Glasgow.

In addition, “tourism bureaus can provide contacts inthe professional, education, and R&D communities whocould assist in making their programs more robust byincorporating local expertise into their educational ses-sions,” said James LaValle, manager of conventions, exhibi-tions, and corporate events for the Hong Kong TourismBoard. “We do this by leveraging other government agen-cies as well as our successful Hong Kong Ambassadorsprogram, a group of local professionals and educatorswho have volunteered to assist in attracting internationalmeetings in their fields to Hong Kong.”

International Bureaus DeliverThe Goods


especially when it comes to special events and extras such asdécor and gifts,” said Laura Saeger, CMP, CMM, businesstourism manager for the U.S. office of South African Tourism.The trick is to cut costs without sacrificing the ambiance andsuccess of the event. “The way the dollar is, there’s not muchyou can do to make [international meetings] more affordableother than limiting what you include in the registrationprice,” IADR’s Breckenridge said. “Some planners I knowdon’t include meals anymore. At our recent meeting, we hadto reduce some things we normally would have done. Forinstance, we took out extra signage and scaled back on coffeebreaks, just offering drinks and no food.”

In mapping out future meetings, planners and their organi-zations will need to keep rising prices in mind and adjustaccordingly. “Our planning cycle is typically eight to10 months out, with the exception of our annualconference, which is confirmed in Edinburgh in2011 and pending in Singapore in 2013,”CFA Institute’s Sombar said. “As we lookto our upcoming budget cycle, we’redefinitely increasing our budget fortravel, both staff and volunteer,and lodging expenses.”

Hedging FundsSeveral years ago, when Behroz Daroga, president ofMEC-USA,Meetings, Events&Communications, first began plan-ning international meetings, her organization’s bankrecommended that she begin “hedging funds,” or buying for-eign currency in advance in order to avoid exchange-rate fluctu-ation in the future. “Wewere planning a medical meeting inItaly in 2004, and our bank suggested we keep a certain amountof money in euros because the euro was becoming strong,”Daroga said. “The association [we were working with] said itwasn’t such a big deal to block $500,000 and buy euros. So,with the permission of the IRS, we did it.” By the time the meet-ing took place, the exchange rate had continued to expand.

When all was said and done,MEC determined that bypurchasing euros in advance, it had saved its clientfrom a $35,000 loss on foreign currency. Today,

Daroga always buys foreign currency in advanceof meetings.

Developing New RevenueStreams

Rethinking the budget doesn’tjust mean adjusting for


With a weak U.S. dollar and widespread economicwoes, how can a planner encourage North Americanattendees to board a plane for an international meeting?

� Design a can’t-miss program. “Planners andprogram directors need to ensure that there is valid andprofitable educational rationale to justify the increasedexpenses for international events,” said James LaValle,manager of conventions, exhibitions, and corporate eventsfor the Hong Kong Tourism Board. “Add program elementsthat maximize the assets of the destination being visited.For example, if an association is to hold a program in HongKong, ensure that the program includes elements that areunique to Hong Kong and maximize the city’s geographic-and economic-gateway status for China. Most companiesand industries are looking to China for growth and topotentially replace dropping domestic revenues, so bringin experts from Hong Kong in your field who can assistwith that transition through their longstanding experienceworking in the region. By adding elements such as thesethat might be unavailable elsewhere, you make theprogram not just viable but essential.”

� Educate members about actual prices.Whilemany planners and their members assume that interna-tional destinations are more expensive than domesticlocations, that’s not always the case. “One has to take acloser look,” said Richard Rheindorf, CMP, New YorkCity–based regional director for the German Conven-tion Bureau. “I recently took a business trip to Berlinand to Boston. During the first week, I flew toBerlin, spending $420 on Continental, and stayedat the five-star Concorde Hotel for 160 euros,including breakfast. The following week, I had tofly to Boston, and spent $460 on US AirwaysShuttle and $370 at the Copley Plaza, exclud-ing breakfast. Taxi in Berlin was 17 euros; inBoston, it was $25.”

� Select sites carefully. “The destina-tion is always a key factor, and youshould select a destination that appealsto your audience,” said Jennifer Sombar,CMP, manager of travel and event man-agement at the CFA Institute. “Since ourorganization’s members are financialprofessionals, key business markets are

draws for us, but are often a bit more expensive. It is achallenge since you don’t want to choose a destination orvenue that jeopardizes the way you typically host a meet-ing, which in turn impacts the attendee experience.”

Instead, the goal is an interesting destination withoptions for extending the trip for leisure. “I see U.S.-basedplanners trying to choose desirable destinations, offeringpre- and post-tours, and if they’re savvy, they work withtourism boards to offer registration incentives and otherdelegate-boosting efforts,” said Laura Saeger, CMP,CMM, business tourism manager for South AfricanTourism U.S.

� Rely on local members. Associationswith global memberships often can leveragelocal members to help them get the word outabout upcoming meetings and help buildattendance.

“We rely heavily on our relationships withour members to help spread the word aboutthe meeting to people who are not familiar

with our program,” said Cici Thompson,CAE, vice president of meetings andmember alliances for Worldwide ERC.“We also have offices in Shanghai andBrussels, and are able to participate inlocal events to increase our brandidentity.”

Attracting AttendeesTo Overseas Meetings

SAVVY U.S.-BASEDPLANNERS “WORK WITH

TOURISM BOARDS TO OFFERREGISTRATION INCENTIVES

AND OTHER DELEGATE-BOOSTING EFFORTS.”

www.pcma.org pcma convene September 2008 49

CNVMSept08_Int:5-56 8/19/08 11:45 AM Page 49

Richard

Highlight


increased expenses; it also means finding ways to increase rev-enues. At CFA Institute, meeting organizers are “also leverag-ing the content from our live conferences by audio-recordingand Webcasting sessions,” Sombar said, “and making themavailable to our membership for purchase.”

In fact, according to John Swinburn, CAE, president ofChallenge Management Inc., a Dallas-based association man-agement company, some industry insiders say the advent ofnew technologies, combined with rising fuel prices, airlineindustry woes, and increased environmental consciousness,may create “a perfect storm” that finally leads to revolution-ized meetings that truly leverage the promise of virtual events.In a recent posting on his Challenge Management blog(www.cmiassociationmanagement.blogspot.com), Swin-burn wrote that future “physical meetings will become muchsmaller and much, much more expensive per live partici-pant ... but meetings will become far greater in their reachby drawing in participants from a huge pool that has neverbeen terribly active in ‘live’ meetings before. Skillsin successfully integrating multiple technologies sothat event participants from around the globe canhave an ‘almost-live’ experience will be required[for planners].”

By packaging and selling that “almost-liveexperience” to audiences who aren’t physicallyat a meeting, planners can reach potentiallythousands more attendees and boost theirbudgets for live events at the same time.

Booking Closer OutIn addition to rethinking budgets, planners ofinternational events are finding that they needto reconsider the ways they’ve always done

things. For example, rather than booking meetings six yearsout as IADR has in the past, Breckenridge is consideringshortening the timeframe to three or four years out for inter-national events. “In the United States, you can’t get gooddates [that close to the meeting date],” she said. “But interna-tionally, they don’t seem to fill up as quickly.”

Some groups are cutting it even closer. “At the presenttime,” Worldwide ERC’s Thompson said, “we are planningno more than one year out [for international meetings], whichhas helped in terms of recognizing trends and adjustingbudget figures.”

Said MEC’s Daroga: “The trend [of planning meetingsseveral years out] is changing; there’s no such thing as ‘inadvance.’” Case in point: When she spoke to Convene in

mid-July, Daroga had just received a request from an asso-ciation to book rooms for its September meeting in Europe,which she said is “pretty standard at the moment.”

Exploiting Existing OpportunitiesAside from simply changing traditional habits andschedules in order to make international meetingsviable, North American planners must broaden

their horizons and begin thinking globally,according to Philip Logan, general manager ofIndia’s Hyderabad International ConventionCentre. “The reality is that most U.S. meetingsare by the USA, for the USA, and of the USA;it’s currently a closed-shop approach, which

will inevitably have to change as global-ization and emerging economies drivegrowth,” Logan said. “In a commer-cial world, sponsorship and businessopportunity ultimately remains the

SPANNING THE GLOBE(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT):Ben Goedegebuure, ScottishExhibition + Conference Centre;Cici Thompson, CAE, WorldwideERC; and Jennifer Sombar, CMP,CFA Institute, agree thatholding meetings abroad isnecessary to satisfy andgrow U.S.-based internationalassociations’ membership.

�

CNVMSept08_Int:Page 45-56 8/19/08 11:46 AM 0


driving force for change in the meetings environment. Manymeeting planners are behind the times [in] seeing opportuni-ties that exist due to inexperience or inability to cope withmany facets of their role.”

For instance, some of the existing opportunities over-looked by most North American planners include:

� forming strategic alliances with international meetingplanners and the International Association of ProfessionalCongress Organizers

� participating in an internship with international meet-ing planners

� holding several concurrent international meetingslinked by video conferencing

� partnering with Telco and technology supply compa-nies for international content delivery, inbound and outbound

� adding international meeting planning content to therequired core curriculum in meetings-education programs

� entering international markets through joint ventures,

mergers, or acquisitions� participating in Youth International Scholarship pro-

grams to bring international knowledge back to the UnitedStates.

“Just think outside the box,” Logan said. “For instance,[watch international news program], not CNN 50-state newswith Mexico and Canada. The medical, pharmaceutical, andIT firms are already globally exploring; the meetings industryin the United States needs to follow their lead.”

Going Against the GrainWhen it comes to international meetings, the tried-and-truestrategies for cutting costs continue to apply. “Consider areasthat are still affordable and less touristy,” said JaimeStephens, executive director of the Color Marketing Group(CMG). “Also, consider the timing of the meeting, and go inan off season. (Do be careful, however, to do your research,

With a weak U.S. dollar, it seems as if internationalattendees would be flocking to U.S. meetings to takeadvantage of the favorable exchange rate. “It is somewhateasier [to recruit international attendees to North Ameri-can events] than to recruit U.S. attendees to internationalevents,” said Jaime Stephens, executive director of theColor Marketing Group. “It’s important, though, that thecity be appealing and easy to get to. It would be harder tosell [a third-tier city] as a conference destination than itwould be Miami, San Francisco, or Chicago.”

While it may be a little easier to interest overseasattendees in coming to North America than vice versa,actually getting them here presents its own challenges.According to Behroz Daroga, president of MEC-USA, Meet-ings, Events & Communications, the visa issue plannershave wrestled with for the last several years “is becomingworse. The U.S. State Department recently said it wants allforeigners entering the United States to have visas. If thathappens, it will kill this industry and tourism completely.”

At a recent meeting in Toronto, the International Asso-ciation for Dental Research (IADR) “had quite a problemwith people not getting visas,” said Gwynn Breckenridge,IADR’s director of meetings. “We thought it was easier toget into Canada than the United States, but that ended upnot being the case.”

A large number of would-be IADR attendees fromChina, Nigeria, and India — including more than a few indi-

viduals who were on the schedule as presenters — weredeclined visas. “We contacted the convention bureau, andthey contacted the embassies,” Breckenridge said. “Wetried contacting the embassies ourselves, and we pro-vided everything they asked for. In the end, we had torefund the participants’ registration fees.”

To avoid similar problems, planners should “constantlytell people to begin the visa-application process as soonas they send in their papers,” Breckenridge said. “I tellthem not to wait to see if their paper is approved, but juststart the visa process immediately. Some people go aheadand book their hotel room and their airline, then they can’tget a visa and they may not be able to get refunds.”

In order to get more international attendees not only ata meeting but inside the room block, Daroga recommendsopening the block much earlier than is standard in NorthAmerica, especially for medical meetings. “Pharmaceuticalcompanies overseas have to get their budgets approved byregulatory agencies [well in advance],” she said. “Whenthey don’t get access to the hotel block early enough, theyof course go online and get their own rooms, even ifthey’re at a higher price than the room block would be.They have to have time to get their paperwork in.”

To avoid the problem and make it possible for moreinternational pharma companies to book inside the roomblock, Daroga recommends opening the block to interna-tional attendees nine or 10 months prior to the meeting.

Coming to America



so you aren’t holding your meeting during monsoon season.)While ‘affordable’ is a relative term, there are still some bar-gains to be had.”

Seeking out destinations that are off the beaten path,including emerging locales such as Malaysia, South Africa,and Qatar in the Arabian Gulf region, may yield more afford-able rates along with unique, memorable meetings. “Withtighter budget strings, meeting planners must select destina-tions that offer the best value for their money, which ensuresjustification of delegate investment, without cutting costs orcomprising a delegate’s experience,” said Peter Brokenshire,general manager of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur ConventionCentre.

Partnering With Local ProvidersSome of the budgeting issues that NorthAmerican planners deal with whenmeeting internationally stem from inter-national hotels’ different set of operatingrules — and sometimes only a local partner canhelp planners navigate the territory. Breckenridgesaid she’s found that international hotels tend to raisetheir prices when they learn that a convention maybe coming to town. “When we go to hotels and saywe’re doing a convention, all of a sudden, the ratesgo up,” she said. “Some planners I know go onlineto check rates and document them, then after talk-ing to the convention bureau, if the rates go up,they’ll confront [destination executives]. If a hotel’sgoing to do that, the planners won’t let the hotelparticipate. I’ve discussed with other planners thatit’s cheaper to do a meeting for 10 people than for4,000.

“Hotels overseas also don’t negotiate any concessions,”Breckenridge continued. “They give you a room rate, andeverything else you have to pay for [separately]. You’re verylucky if you get a comp room, [and] there’s no discount onfood and beverage. You have to budget for every item.”

When holding a meeting in Barcelona, Breckenridge hireda local professional congress organizer (PCO) to handle hotelbooking and contracts for her organization, and saw quickresults. “Because of the number of rooms they book in thearea, they were able to get a few comp rooms, a few dis-counted rooms for staff,” Breckenridge said of the PCO. “Itwasn’t what we would get in the United States or Canada,but it was more than we usually get elsewhere. Sometimes

it helps to use a local partner.”In most cases, local tourism

boards and convention bureaus canhelp match planners with the local

supplier partners they need, as well asserve as essential partners in planning

viable international meetings. “We can work withairlines for special rates, identify sponsorshipopportunities where appropriate,” said SouthAfrica’s Saeger. “We can help identify low seasonswhen rates are at their most competitive, and wecan direct [planners] to in-country experts whocan help them identify cost-effective options.”

Added James LaValle, manager of conventions,exhibitions, and corporate events for the HongKong Tourism Board: “Planners should alwayscontact the tourism office or bureaus to see whatthey have to offer. Tourism bureaus and offices canprovide effective assistance to budget-strappedplanners in identifying local service providers who

COMING FROM AMERICA(CLOCKWISE FROM TOPLEFT): Richard Rheindorf,German Convention Bureau;Philip Logan, India’sHyderabad InternationalConvention Centre; andJames LaValle, Hong KongTourism Board, believe it’stime for North America–based planners to beginthinking globally.

�


Richard

Highlight


potentially could offer savings, and sometimes offer assistancewith generating local funding for high-profile events from thelocal government or corporate community. Additionally, mostdestinations offer some level of reward or privilege program,like our Hong Kong Rewards program, with elements thatcan offset some of the costs associated with the program byproviding some products and services free of charge.”

StrategizingAlong those lines, savvy planners will try to use their loyaltypoints from domestic hotel chains evenwhen meeting overseas. “I try to place[international] meetings in hotelsthat are part of a

chain, such as Starwood,” Stephenssaid, “where I have some negotiatingleverage, since CMG currently uses Star-wood properties frequently.”As business becomes increasingly

global, planners must get creative aboutmaking international meetings work,regardless of what’s happening in theeconomy. In fact, for North Amer-ica–based international associations,holding meetings overseas is an essentialstrategy for serving members well. “Ourmembership is global,” CFA Institute’s

Sombar said, “so by bringing our events to various locationsaround the world, we are bringing them closer to some seg-ments of our membership.”Overcoming the economic hurdles of meeting interna-

tionally is, for these planners, simply part of the job. “As faras the current market is concerned, we feel that interna-tional planners now see their meetings as even more impor-tant to their companies and associations,” Scotland’sGoedegebuure said. “The view is that conferences are a cru-cial way of bringing people together to meet their objectives

at this time.” �

A weak exchange rate may have attendees lookingfor cheaper rooms outside the block. The InternationalAssociation for Dental Research (IADR) recently completedits biennial international conference in Toronto. “When webooked it, the hotel rates were going to be great and theexchange rate was going to be phenomenal,” said GwynnBreckenridge, director of meetings for IADR. “By the timeregistration started, everything had changed.”

With contracted hotel rates no longer as affordable,many attendees booked outside the block. A number ofinternational attendees, many of whom work at universi-ties, were able to get better package deals through theiruniversity travel offices or travel agents, according to

Breckenridge. IADR planners set to work to avoid attritionfees. “We gave the hotels a heads-up, and we kept send-ing e-mails to our members, explaining that if people con-tinued to book outside the block, it would hurt theassociation and our ability to get future discounts,” Breck-enridge said. “We also held a drawing, offering a free hotelroom for four nights for anyone who booked through ourhousing bureau.” IADR incurred an additional expense byadding shuttle buses to encourage more people to bookrooms in the hotel block. After all that effort, IADR endedup just meeting its minimum and kept costs in line, Breck-enridge said, “by scaling back on some of the things wenormally offer at our meetings.”

Avoiding Attrition

“CONSIDER THE TIMING OF THE MEETING, AND GO IN AN

OFF SEASON. (BE CAREFUL TO DO YOUR RESEARCH,

SO YOU AREN’T HOLDING YOUR MEETING DURING MON-

SOON SEASON.) WHILE ‘AFFORDABLE’ IS STILL A RELATIVE

TERM, THERE ARE STILL SOME BARGAINS TO BE HAD.”

� Contributing Editor Nancy Mann Jackson is afreelance writer in Birmingham, Ala.


call it murphy's law

Documents