Meeting Planners | Resigned To A Seller’s Market
Given the strength of the U.S. lodging market, it is no surprise that meeting planners appear to have accepted the fact that is it a seller’s market. Meeting planners have not abandoned their efforts to control their budgets. However, rising room rates, attrition clauses, and second-tier cities are no longer the “hot button” issues they once were. Yes, the improving fiscal health of corporations and associations has put less pressure on meeting planners to curb their costs. However, based on our analysis of the attitude of meeting planners, as well as our discussions with hotel sales personnel, the expected shift in bargaining power from buyer to seller is well in evidence in 2007.
By Robert Mandelbaum, Director of Research Information Services, CBRE Hotels