Independent Planners Reframe the Profession
by Harvey ChipkinIt’s a Declaration of Independents: Independent meeting planners have emerged as a potent industry force. These often one-person operations are attracting clients through a combination of lower costs, solid experience and flexibility.
Who are the independents? Many have left behind jobs at corporations, associations and larger third-party planning companies – or with suppliers.
They are positioning themselves as an attractive alternative for meeting holders who seek to reduce costs while maintaining quality.
Larger, third-party independent planning firms have long played a large role in the meeting planning world. It is the growth of independent planners who operate one-person companies, often from their homes, that has added a new element to the profession.
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Michael Lyons, executive vice president of AMR Meetings & Incentives in Newtown Square, Penn., a third party planner, likens the independent planner evolution to the “earthquake that shook the travel agency industry in the mid-1990s.”
“Today we can easily set up a virtual office in our homes. I have one in my own home and I can be fully functional there,” said Lyons.
Planners go home
There has been a long-term trend toward planners striking out on their own. Then the Great Recession accelerated the phenomenon.
In fact, the growth of independents is part of a pattern that typically occurs during economic downturns, according to consultant Bruce Tepper.
“Employed planners (on the buying or selling side) get laid off or have their hours reduced and decide it’s time to hang it up or go out on their own since there’s been little hiring of late,” said Tepper, who is vice president at Joselyn, Tepper & Associates.
Tepper added that “as the economy improves, some will give up their business and head back to a larger firm on the buying or selling side.”
Growth of a sector
Today Meeting Professionals International (MPI) counts fully 31% of its members as meeting management professionals, that is, “a person who is a sole proprietor of, or is employed or engaged by a meeting management company.”
“We were one of the first to recognize independent meeting professionals as a specialized member category in order to better serve them in their endeavor to be smarter and more connected,” said spokesperson Veleisa Patton.
In MPI’s definition, these meeting management professionals “provide meeting services including strategic and financial management and/or professional meetings management services to multiple clients.”
In effect, this separates independents from fulltime planners at corporations, associations, nonprofits and in government. But MPI does not track how many of its independent members work fulltime from home.
The independent advantage
It is not uncommon, said Tepper, for a laid-off planner to become an independent, then go back to their former employer and retain them as a client.
For the most part, he said, “even though they gave up the salary, they can make more operating on the outside. Independent planners tend to be pretty budget conscious in their own business.
“Because meeting and event planning is akin to general contracting in the construction field, an experienced pro with good connections and resources can do just about anything – even as a one-person, home-based company,” Tepper said.
“Technology has also made the process easier,” he noted.
“You can book a big company if you want; you can shop locally through a variety of meeting search sites funded by suppliers who pay to play, and you can assemble a proposal that rivals just about anyone in terms of quality and impressiveness if you’re creative.”
Often, a meeting is a hybrid event where independents work with staff planners.
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As Jena Warden, an independent planner who heads up JWH Inc. in Alexandria, Va., explained, “I am frequently an extension of the staff team. They may want me to be in charge of all the on-site operations while they do the programming.”
Independent planners can orchestrate any size meeting or event, said Kelly Foy, CEO of Elite Meetings in Santa Barbara, which puts planners together with luxury hotels.
“They know what a meeting holder wants and needs. And, in fact, an independent planner operating out of their home can run a million dollar event,” Foy said.
Foy’s company has started reaching out to independent planners. “We recently held a best practices event for planners and for the first time we invited independents. We need to start catering to them.”
A cyclical business
Lyons said there are cycles that affect the world of meeting planners. “XYZ Corporation will have a team of 25 planners on staff. One day the new CFO says ‘Wow, we have 25 people on staff planning meetings. Are you kidding? We can go to Maritz (a major meeting planning company) or AMR and get this done.’”
Then they get rid of all the staff planners and outsource for a few years — until “another CFO looks at the bills and says, ‘Hey we can do it cheaper in-house,’ and little by little they put a staff back together.”
Even so, observers agree that structural changes and the advance of technology make it likely that more planners will thrive independent of larger entities.
Said Lyons: “Those planners who might have initially felt isolated, alone and vulnerable are now finding their peers through social media and other networks and they will become a permanent part of the landscape.”
Compensation for independents
There are a number of approaches to and models for compensating independent planners.
According to Foy, independent planners frequently earn commission from hotels for rooms bookings.
Lyons said independents typically charge a fee. The fee might be linked to the size of the meeting or the scope of the planner’s responsibilities.
“Independent planners can charge less because they have the expertise and experience, but not the overhead,” Lyons observed.
Because of the focus on costs, said Foy, “there will be an industry shift, as has happened in real estate with independents competing with the traditional 6% realtor commission. It’s the same as what happened when Charles Schwab brought down commission fees on stock trading.”
Next installment: Why Independents Love What They Do – and How They Make It Work.
