ASAE and other travel-focused associations have been sharing stories about how the economy and negative media attention has forced some corporations and associations to cancel or move their meetings from certain high-profile destinations and properties to avoid public criticism. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that the federal government has also been pulling meetings from some of these same traditionally popular meeting destinations, due to concerns about how the meeting will be perceived.
The General Services Administration, which issues federal employee travel per diems, has no restrictions on locations for agency meetings, but each agency can set their own internal guidance. A sample of the guidance obtained by the Journal:
- A Department of Justice memo states conferences “are not to be held in cities that are vacation destinations/spa/resort/gambling.”
- The FBI recently issued an internal memo that listed Las Vegas and Orlando as the first two cities “on the chopping block” for meetings. A conference planner at the MGM Mirage confirmed that the FBI politely declined her proposal for a Las Vegas meeting.
- The Department of Agriculture issued internal travel guidelines that asked employees to hold meetings in cities that met three criteria: the city is a travel hub, it is low in cost, and it is a “non-resort location.” The memo includes the following as examples of cities meeting all three criteria: Chicago, Denver, Portland (OR), St. Louis, Washington DC, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Fort Collins (CO). The memo also claims “resort locations” aren’t banned, but the planner must “provide robust justification” for the location.
The concern for travel associations and local convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) is that labeling certain cities like Las Vegas, Reno, and Orlando as resorts discourages associations, businesses, and federal agencies from meeting at these locations and hurts local economies dependent on strong convention bookings and business travel. Pressure is coming from the media, internal stakeholders and certain policymakers for businesses to avoid holding “junkets” in a bad economy; President Obama earlier this year even singled out Las Vegas as a place for firms receiving Recovery Act funds to avoid.
Earlier this month, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel asking the White House to reverse the informal guidance which discouraged meetings held in Las Vegas. He cited numbers showing the affordability of having meetings in the city, including an average hotel room this summer costing $96. Emanuel responded with a letter saying policy on meeting location was not dictated by destination but by the cost of holding the meeting.
How does an association balance its responsibility to hold a meeting in a destination with first-rate facilities without coming across as extravagant?
Quick Hits
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