US meetings demand to fall
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Meetings, conferences and conventions in the US in the coming months may get smaller and less lavish with airlines trimming domestic flights, amid rising travel costs rise and a slowing economy, a USA Today report said.
At the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for instance, companies are starting to reduce budgets for everything from management meetings to rallies for sales teams. Fewer guests are expected than last fall, and more companies are replacing steak dinners with chicken entrees and limiting open bars to save money, the report said.
It said the Hyatt hotel chain was also seeing drops in attendance despite an “extremely strong” first half of 2008 for business group functions, quoting Ty Helms, Hyatt Hotels Senior Vice President – Revenue.
Fall and spring tend to be the most popular time for conventions, conferences and other industry gatherings.
Bruce MacMillan, CEO of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the main trade group for meeting planners, was quoted saying that if the economy weakened in the second half of this year, people would be more cautious in making decisions about business travel and meetings and events.
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