Hoteliers Defend Internet Charges, Countering Planner Objections

Hotel charges for Internet access and the increasingly global nature of the meetings industry were among the hot-button issues that surfaced during a panel discussion at a meeting of the New Jersey Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) earlier this week.

While planners contended that hotels should regard Wi-Fi and Internet as a  “cost of doing business,” hoteliers maintained that charges are necessary to offset the substantial cost of providing the sophisticated Internet service that today’s  meetings often require.

It’s about bandwidth
“The relevant word is no longer Internet – it is bandwidth,” said Michael Shannon, director of global sales for MGM Resorts. “We have invested millions in Las Vegas to upgrade our systems. We recently had a global meeting in Las Vegas and watched a demonstration of standard Internet service and our new system. There was no comparison. And that’s why it is necessary to charge for speed, consistency, and servicing that system.”

Carol Muldoon, executive director of meetings and events for the accounting firm KPMG, acknowledged that hotels are sometimes justified in their Internet charges. “If you want to present a speaker virtually and need extensive bandwidth for that, the planner might understand the need to charge. We need to be reasonable.”

However, she added, “there is nothing more frustrating than the fact that so many hotels still have don’t adequate wireless reception or even cell phone service.”

State your requirements
One solution suggested by Holly Kest, director of global accounts for ConferenceDirect, is that planners provide very specific Internet requirements in advance of meetings and then allow the hotel to come up with an appropriate charge.

“We need to be granular about this,” she said. “We recently held a 3,500-person meeting in Las Vegas and did a full spec report on our Internet needs. This is something we need to educate clients about so they are able to provide us with this information.”

Kaaren Hamilton, vice president of global sales for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said that her properties do provide complimentary Internet access. But she added, “Even if it’s free, planners need to be satisfied that the service is good as far as speed, consistency and service.”

A seat at the table
How planners can wield more influence at their organizations was also addressed.

“To get a seat at the table you need to be prepared,” Muldoon said. “You need to show how important your events are – and that means developing internal relationships within your company. You need internal relationships as much as external ones.”

To develop these relationships, “planners need to do research, to be knowledgeable, to have a story to tell and to make sure you’re telling it to the right people,” she added. “It’s a good idea to manage up; it allows you to show executives that you are in control of your portfolio.”

Think globally
The increasing globalization of the meeting industry came under discussion as well. “We have done a review of all our contracts to insure they apply globally,” Muldoon said.

Pam Wynne, account manager for Merck and the panel moderator, urged planners to “look to your national sales organizations to see how U.S. agreements work globally. Work with your NSO so that you get properties overseas to understand your needs.”

For Hamilton, the European economy is an ongoing concern. She said that while the first quarter of this year has been stable, “we need to keep on top of it. We send monthly security briefs and push real time information to our customers.”

Social media concerns
The power of social media and data technology also loomed large.

“We surveyed potential attendees before this meeting and out of 25 or 30 responses, all mentioned social media as something they wanted to discuss.” Muldoon said. “We have to stay on top of these emerging technologies because data is king. If you can get aggregated data and analyze that it will be critical to your job.”

One example of making data work was offered by panelist Debi Scholar, of Scholar Consulting Group. “You have to make venues understand how much business you’re bringing them – whether it be transient or group business; or even multiple meetings in the same city. You need to leverage your overall travel spend – even spend on items like audiovisual.”