A La Carte Meetings vs. Day Delegate Rates (DDR)

Feedback from our users on our data guidelines has been great and the version we use is in line with the Uniform System of Accounts 10th Edition, to make sure the data meets the month end P&L statement.
The breakdown of 8h or 24h delegate rate has been questioned a lot as apparently more and more conferences are now booked “a la carte” meaning they book a conference room with room hire only and then bolt on what they need, when they need it. A lot of our contributors feedback that this is an effect of the economic downturn, where companies want to have their meetings in a venue, but from past experience decide to cut back on all the perceived “extras” of the DDR/24 hr rate.
What is your feeling, is it still that most clients book delegate rates or are they buying a room hire option and then adding on to it? Is this affecting the way you are pricing your room hire, food and beverage options? Is the price of room hire, food and beverage creeping up to make up the difference when the A la Carte option is used? Are you beginning to dynamically price your food and beverage as well as your room hire during busy periods? Please comment below!