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“Benchmarking is
a measurement
of the quality of
an organisation ‘s
policies, products,
programmes or
strategies
”
06
|
TRAVEL
TRENDS
…that
more messages are now sent via Whatsapp
than global
SMS every day, according to Facebook.
DID
YOU
KNOW?
No
business travel or meetings buyer can
afford to ignore benchmarking as a means of
health-checking their programmes. How else
do you know whether you’re getting best
value or that your policy is fit for purpose?
In recent years, more and more
companies have adopted a structured
approach to meetings, many adopting
Strategic Meetings Management
Programmes (SMMPs) to leverage maximum
savings and efficiencies. The potential is
substantial. According to the UK Events
Market Trends survey, the number of
business meetings taking place in the UK
is estimated to have risen in 2014 from
2013’s estimated 1.25 million events
attended by 91 million delegates over 148
million days. Last year’s figures are due to
be published in July.
We would estimate that companies
adopting an SMMP should save between
15 – 30% on their meetings spend over a
three year period, which could be a very
significant sum.
Benchmarking meetings spend requires
a complete understanding of all the factors
driving that spend. Which is where your
TMC or MMC (Meetings Management
Company) comes in.
But how do you know your existing
supplier has the knowledge to keep you
on the straight and narrow? Here is the
Chambers’ checklist for spotting an
impostor…
1.
The global factors driving meetings’
demand (and therefore rates). Your agency
should be able to tell you that meeting
rates are on the increase, and how to
mitigate those increases.
MEASURE
FOR MEASURE
Mike Leeson
, Senior Events Manager, underlines
the importance of benchmarking meeting spend
and how best to go about it
2.
A competent supplier will be able to
provide a detailed insight into industry
forecasts governing venue rates. In 2014,
for example, day delegate rates rose by
2.7% to £67.44 in London yet remained
almost static in the provinces, down just
0.2% to £39.14. In 2015, UK rates are
predicted to rise again by an average 2.5%.
3.
It’s one thing to implement an SMMP,
but another to identify the trends that
make an SMMP a ‘must’. Shorter lead-times
and the consolidation of external meetings
into Mondays to Thursdays makes a more
holistic approach important.
4.
As SMMPs mature, the initial scope for
extra savings will diminish. Your agency
should be able to provide a three-year plan
from capturing the all-important data that
makes meetings spend visible, through to
eradicating leakage.
5.
Depending on the size of your company
and its transient travel spend, your agency
should be aggregating meetings and
transient activity, including secondary
spend on food, beverages and even AV
equipment to leverage extra savings.
6.
Venue operators are now closing the
contractual loopholes that previously
existed – especially in cancellation policies
– for agencies to exploit on behalf of their
clients to offset additional charges. A good
agency will still be able to leverage its
supplier relationships to negotiate better
terms for its clients.
7.
Virtual and hybrid events are an
everyday facet of many meeting
programmes. Does your agency
understand, and have access to the
technology that can drive incremental
savings? More importantly, can your
agency help you to harness the power
of social media to boost delegate
engagement and the overall ROI from your
meetings activity?
8.
A key objective of benchmarking is to
be able to analyse other organisations’
performance and to use that information to
improve performance. Your agency should
be able to compare your achieved rates
and overall savings against those achieved
by competitors.
9.
The test of any meetings (or travel)
programme is an RFP. Your agency should
be advising you when an RFP would be
advisable, and when it is not. RFP’s can be
a very time-consuming and costly exercise.
They also demand that the agency has the
appropriate technology in-house to be
able to reach the widest range of venues
that meet your business needs.
The ultimate objective of benchmarking
is to determine what and where
improvements can be made. Understanding
the issues facing meeting planners
and buyers on a national, regional and
international basis is an essential element
of any good supplier’s toolkit.
Practical experience in tackling policy
compliance and how to change delegate
behaviours to drive savings adds significant
value to any client.
It’s what we at Chambers do every day
for all our clients.
Of course then there’s the question of
whether what you’re being told is accurate.
The answer to that is much simpler – it’s
called trust.
www.chamberstravel.com