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Airport Meetings Put
Associations to Work
By Bob Andelman
(Written in March 1993 for Association Meetings
magazine)
Four years ago, Stephen Lefebvre scheduled the annual one-day
meeting of the executive board and standing committees of the
National Art Materials Trade Association for midtown Manhattan.
He hasn't been back since.
That's no slap at the Big Apple's ability to host NAMTA or
the quality of its accommodations and meeting space. It's a question
of convenience, time and cost effectiveness. Lefebvre is one
of a growing number of meeting planners choosing to hold executive
board, committee, training and small association meetings at
airport hotels.
Whether they're literally located on the grounds of an airport
or in the immediate vicinity, airport hotels nationwide have
maintained their occupancy levels in recent years with greater
ease than their downtown counterparts, according to Robert Mandelbaum,
director of research for PKF Consulting. "In most markets,
airport hotels are doing better than the overall average,"
he says. Fly-in, fly-out meetings are a reason for their success.
There are several reasons for meeting at an airport hotel.
"When we're in a city like Chicago or Dallas, it's a whole
lot easier for our members to fly in, hop a shuttle to an airport
hotel and leave the same way," says Dobby Wall, director
of meeting services for the American Physical Therapy Association.
"It's really practical. That's the only reason we do it."
Wall, who schedules three meetings a year at airports, says she
looks for hotels with complimentary shuttles so visiting association
guests can take at least a brief meal off the airport grounds.
As transportation and lodging costs expand, association travel
budgets are more often than not contracting. And time is an ever-increasing
commodity. So for Stephen Lefebvre, schlepping the 60 members
of NAMTA's committees from outlying airports into midtown Manhattan
for a one-day meeting was no longer an attractive option.
"The cost of bringing everybody in and the cost of their
night at the hotel is borne by the association," Lefebvre
says. "So whatever the association can do to lessen the
cost, we do."
Three years ago, Lefebvre made a decision to move the annual
executive board and committee meetings to the Newark Airport
Marriott, on the grounds of Newark International Airport . "For
what we're doing, it works fine," Lefebvre says. "The
cost of a New York City hotel versus the Airport Marriott is
substantial. It may not be glamorous but it's very functional.
It's a well-maintained hotel and their response to our needs
is good."
Airports work best for short duration meetings - boards, executive
councils, committees and training sessions. They're also popular
for short, but necessary international meetings.
"Our hotel is designed for executive board meetings,"
says Mark Douglass, director of sales for the O'Hare Hilton.
"The second floor has 45 pre-set conference rooms which
can each seat 16 people. We go after executive and planning meetings;
we can't do annual meetings because our largest room is 3,600
square feet." Douglass says the hotel has twice hosted NFL
owners meetings.
Mary Livingstone, conference/trade show coordinator for the
American Association for Artificial Intelligence, chose the Sheraton
Imperial Hotel near Raleigh-Durham International Airport for
the association's 1993 annual fall symposium.
"Our association has members come in from all over the
world," Livingstone says. "Just getting to the hotel
is a big chore for many of them. If you've got international
attendees, they've already gone many miles. They come in at all
hours of the day and evening and it's hard to get into town.
That's why I think a courtesy shuttle is a pretty good selling
point."
Transportation ease aside, Livingstone worked within fairly
rigid instructions before choosing Raleigh. "My boss gave
me these directions: An urban setting. And a rural setting. They
wanted it all. I knew I was looking for something next to an
airport."
Not just any airport will do, however. For virtually any association
to meet at an airport hotel, the facility must be a transportation
hub of some measure to keep airfare affordable. "We chose
Raleigh," Livingstone says, "because it's someplace
different. They have a decent airport, American Airlines has
a hub there and the rates are much less expensive."
In Northern California, where Livingstone is based, the lack
of public transportation makes airport hotels with courtesy shuttles
very desirable for short meetings. "We would never book
a convention if you had to rent a car to get there," she
says.
CITY IN POINT: ATLANTA
The world is coming to Atlanta in 1996 for the Summer Olympics,
but don't expect to see a spate of new hotels - airport or otherwise
- come out of the ground. PKF Consulting's Atlanta office reports
that the airport area has already added 11 new hotel properties
since 1989, bringing the total to 67.
"It's very competitive," says PKF/Atlanta senior
associate Mark von Dwingelo. "All the major chains are represented
at least once." The latest arrival is the Stouffer Concourse
Hotel. "It's literally on the edge of the runway,"
von Dwingelo says. "You look out your window as you're landing
and there's Stouffer."
Despite the apparent abundance of lodging options, von Dwingelo
says the Atlanta airport district has consistently maintained
average occupancies above 60 percent for the last decade. "In
relation to the rest of Atlanta, you've got very competitive
rates in the airport area," von Dwingelo says. The average
room rate for Metro Atlanta was $60 in 1992; at the airport it
was $52.60. "And they're beating each other up for small
to medium meetings.
SOUNDPROOF?
Joan Eisenstodt calls airport meetings "the most under-utilized
resource in the industry."
Not enough planners take advantage of airport hotels, in Eisenstodt's
view. The president of Washington, D.C.-based Eisenstodt Associates
thinks planners don't generally understand airport facilities,
looking upon them as strictly for transients. Planners create
artificial mental barriers to scheduling small or short meetings
at airports when such events could be a great boon to association
members and staffs alike.
"They're convenient, they have excellent space and they're
soundproof," Eisenstodt says. "Planners assume you're
going to hear every plane and you really don't."
Soundproofing is in the ear of the listener, of course.
"I'm going to tell you we're soundproof," says Maryann
McGranahan, director of sales for the new Hyatt Regency Orlando
International Airport. "But you're only going to believe
that and convince other people if you come and hear for yourself."
SPECIAL SERVICES
Convenience is exemplified in Chicago at the O'Hare Hilton.
Renovated from top-to-bottom, the Hilton reopened in July 1992
with an attractive new service: guests flying in or out on American
Airlines could check their hotel bags at Hilton's American satellite
desk when they arrive at O'Hare or confirm their departing flight
reservations at American's satellite desk at the Hilton.
But even before check-in, Marriott offers a service called
Executive Meeting Managers (EMM). Planners of small meetings
can call any Marriott, ask for an EMM and be routed directly
to that person without wasting time talking to secretaries or
intermediaries. "They're not handling any other business,"
says Linn Corfield, director of marketing at the O'Hare Marriott
Hotel. "They can give you all the information you need with
one phone call. We have a motto: 'Handle the call, take no messages.'
If the planner knows what they want to do, we can book their
meeting on the first call."
LOCATION
Chicago and Dallas are often mentioned as popular cities for
quick airport meetings because they're so centrally located and
are major airline hubs. But the same kind of geographic analysis
can work to the advantage of a well-positioned airport hotel
when it comes to attracting state associations.
"We do an awful lot of business with Florida associations,"
says Maryann McGranahan, director of sales for the Hyatt Regency
Orlando International Airport. "The locals drive here and
people from Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Miami fly in. We're
in Orlando, one of the busiest airports in the U.S. There are
hotels and meeting facilities but nothing like what we have here
at the airport. It's not just a place to put your head if your
flight is canceled or you miss your flight."
Located within Orlando's new main airport terminal, the Hyatt
Regency eliminates not only the need for rental cars but there
isn't much walking required either, thanks to new moving sidewalks.
RATES & OCCUPANCY
Robert Mandelbaum says that in general, airport hotels can
beat their downtown counterparts on price, but that's due to
far fewer amenities, from stylish rooms to choice of dining and
shopping experiences. But if you're flying in to work, that shouldn't
be a drawback.
"Downtown hotels tend to be more expensive," Mandelbaum
says. "Airport hotels can't charge as much because their
costs are not as much. It's a relative price savings but convenience
is still the relative point upon which airport hotels sell themselves."
One of the drawbacks of airport meetings can be the lack of
room nights. If everyone flies in and out on the same day as
the meeting, the hotel doesn't make much on sleeping rooms. The
hotel, in turn, will charge an association full rate for renting
its meeting spaces.
But it doesn't have to be that cut and dried. Meeting room
rentals can also be mitigated by food at many hotels.
"If you're going to get a meeting room that would normally
rent for $200 and you're only using two rooms, we're probably
going to want to charge full rental," Marriott's Corfield
says. "But if you guarantee we'll also have a full meal,
we may take that rental down to $150. We look at total revenue."
Here's another angle for the budget-conscious planner, offered
by Mark Douglass of the O'Hare Hilton. He says that Saturday
meetings can be real cost-savers to association members willing
to give up a piece of their weekend. Airfares are cheaper with
Saturday night stay-overs and airport hotels are generally desperate
to book meeting space on Saturdays, so the savings could be significant.
"We try to use that as a selling point," Douglass says.
"Associations save overall by paying less on rooms and
airfare."
CHART
Selected Airport Markets
Hotel Average Daily Room Rates
1992 1991
Dallas
Airport $65.18 $65.20
Metropolitan Area $61.02 $60.05
Houston (Intercontinental)
Airport $53.43 $54.36
Metropolitan Area $61.61 $60.16
Atlanta
Airport $52.60 $54.79
Metropolitan Area $59.72 $61.46
New Orleans
Airport $51.57 $50.09
Metropolitan Area $81.45 $77.64
Los Angeles
Airport $53.36 $55.85
Metropolitan Area $75.25 $76.75
Denver
Airport $60.62 $59.56
Metropolitan Area $58.62 $57.07
Chicago
Airport $67.88 $68.57
Metropolitan Area $86.47 $86.82
Phoenix
Airport $61.65 $59.98
Metropolitan Area $70.64 $69.52
Philadelphia
Airport $69.25 $69.25
Metropolitan Area $88.50 $89.25
San Francisco
Airport $65.51 $65.05
Metropolitan Area $83.72 $83.31
SOURCE: PKF Consulting
WHAT'S NEW
Chicago: O'Hare International Airport will open a $489-million
new international terminal this summer. It will be served by
22 carriers and cover more than 1-million square feet. A fully
automated people mover transit system will link the new terminal
to domestic terminals.
Denver: An entirely new regional, Denver International
Airport, will open in December 1993. It will be the world's largest
in terms of size - 52 square acres - and will feature a translucent,
cable-tensioned membrane roof made of a Teflon-coated fabric.
Located half an hour from downtown, DIA is twice the distance
of old Stapleton International Airport but it will be linked
to Interstate 70 by a new 12-mile expressway. There are no hotels
under construction near the new airport, so it will be served
- in the interim, at least - by hotels at Stapleton.
Dallas-Fort Worth: Two new parking garages - 3,000
slots in all - opened at the American and Delta terminals in
1992.
Atlanta: Three major projects are in the works for
Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, which opened in 1981:
1) A $300-million international concourse will open in Spring,
1994, with 24 gates. 2) A 3-story atrium is being built between
the north and south terminals to house a food court, retail and
offices. It will be ready by late '94. 3) The existing concessions
areas are being refurbished and expanded. One likely attraction:
the largest airport bookstore in the country.
Orlando: Instead of scheduling it as an intermediate
stop on the way to somewhere else, Orlando International Airport
has become a major destination for virtually all carriers serving
the airport. That has translated into more non-stop and direct
flights, both domestic and international.
Ten-thousand new parking spaces were created in recent years,
plus a five-pad heliport atop one of the new parking decks. Also
new is a computerized multi-user flight information system which
pulls information from the computers of all airlines serving
the airport, sorts flight data alphabetically and posts and updates
it constantly. And a corridor of land through the 14,000-acre
airport has been set aside to connect the airport and Disney
World via magnetic levitation -- "maglev" -- train.
Atlantic City: A $17-million expansion of Atlantic
City International Airport is in the works to start later this
year, including $12-million in improvements to the airport terminal.
It is expected to generate interest by more national carriers
to begin daily scheduled service.
Selected Airport Markets
Hotel Occupancies
1992 1991
Dallas
Airport 73.8% 68.5%
Metropolitan Area 64.7% 60.7%
Houston (Intercontinental)
Airport 58.6% 56.7%
Metropolitan Area 62.5% 62.6%
Atlanta
Airport 64.9% 64.1%
Metropolitan Area 63.1% 60.3%
New Orleans
Airport 74.1% 66.1%
Metropolitan Area 71.1% 67.2%
Los Angeles
Airport 67.9% 70.1%
Metropolitan Area 61.1% 63.2%
Denver
Airport 64.3% 63.2%
Metropolitan Area 64.0% 61.7%
Chicago
Airport 69.3% 65.2%
Metropolitan Area 62.8% 62.3%
Phoenix
Airport 67.0% 63.6%
Metropolitan Area 63.9% 60.8%
Philadelphia
Airport 62.0% 65.0%
Metropolitan Area 63.0% 60.0%
San Francisco
Airport 71.2% 67.4%
Metropolitan Area 67.9% 66.4%
end
©2000,
All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced without the
express written permission of the author.
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