Why People do not join The Conference Bench

We have decided to put together a list of some of the responses we get when calling and e-mailing our prospects to invite them onboard for a FREE trial to try out the system and reports.  Some are actually quite amusing to hear and read as the size of their meeting space gives them a competitive edge in the market, not only in their conference revenue, but with group attached to conference as well. Bearing in mind the vast amount of revenue that can be made from good conference Strategy, we find this quite surprising:

Just a few of our markets to give an example for march 2010 data:

·         London:  €8.87 Million in conference revenue alone – that’s an average of €467,000 per property (19 mostly 5* properties)

·         Frankfurt: €256,781 per property . (total €2,824,600 from 11 properties)

·         Oslo: €375,659 per property (total €6,761,863 from 18 properties)

With that said, we experience that there is a lot to be done in the C&B segment to optimize Revenue.  We have now trained around 80 venues how to use the system and the reports and for the venues that do not yet practice Revenue Management on C&B, they see great potential to maximize this revenue stream.  Forecast and Budgeting on C&B is not always practiced and it is then difficult to set strategies and actions on sales.  But still, our Conference Bench system can tell you where you are strong and weak and see how much money that is generated in your competitive set and in your market. One of the other key benefits our clients have seen is this – is our marketing spend and strategy actually giving us a competitive edge over the compset/market? This information is a BIG surprise for many when they see it for the first time. Market intelligence is the key to success! 

Please find below our list of replies – of course we will never mention where it comes from!

• “we have no time for further tools” – says a conference hotel with over 2000m2 conference space
• “we need approval from our head office” – this one is getting better and better as most major corporate has given a go to their hotels
• “we do not practice Revenue Management on C&B – “first comes first served, so we do not need benchmarking information”
• “we are not sure conference benchmarking information generates the money we invest – well if you do not get on the FREE Trail, you will never know
• “we do not have any competitors, or at least we do not know who they are?” – one of the best!
• “we do not agree with the data guidelines, we only want to benchmark room rental” – we stick tightly to the Uniform System of Accounts to be able to match our data to your P&L statement
• “we do not share information outside our building” – too bad, benchmarking is  proven to give you better decision making stats.  Also to get information, you do need to share, as rooms benchmarking has demonstrated.
• “we do not believe that our competitors are entering the correct data” – this is a tricky one, but as long as data entry is consistent, then at least you can see trend information and get feedback from the competitors and market. This is no different from any other benchmarking program. Also –  why would you enter incorrect data? What is the point in that – this goes for all venues.

Look out for a new blog post soon with the reasons why people have been joining The Conference Bench!