Meeting outside the U.S. doesn’t have to be cost-prohibitive, as long as you do your homework and remain flexible
By Richard Kern
Oil prices are sky high. The dollar is at record lows. The economy is sliding into recession. Cutbacks are happening in every sector. Who would be crazy enough to plan a meeting outside the U.S. in an environment like this?
You would.
That is, if you don’t mind doing a little creative transportation planning, timely scheduling and aggressive negotiating. In fact, you could hold your next meeting in the Caribbean, Mexico or even Canada (it is a foreign country, by the way) and attract attendees who might not otherwise feel like going to one of the major U.S. hubs for the umpteenth time. And you probably won’t spend any more than you usually do – if you do it right.
And you wouldn’t be alone. According to a SMERF Meetings Journal survey conducted last year, nearly a third of planners (32%) say they’ve conducted meetings in the Caribbean, Bermuda, or Mexico, and another 17% have gone to Latin America.
Taking Up Space
Particularly for small and mid-sized groups, the possibilities are wide open, since finding event space is less of a logistical problem when you only have a few hundred attendees to deal with. Just about any good-sized hotel can accommodate most SMERF groups, and we all know that booking rooms and conference space at the same property gives you additional leverage.
The trick is choosing the right time of year. Rates during the off-season are obviously going to be cheaper. Late April and May are best for Mexico’s Gulf and Pacific coasts. (The fall is considered off-season as well, but it’s also hurricane season, so keep that in mind.) In the Caribbean, the off-season extends from late April through the fall (the same caveat concerning hurricane season applies here).
Combining the right place and the right time can really pay off. For example, you can take advantage of Cancun’s recent building boom that has created a Hotel Zone lined with world-class meeting properties with state-of-the-art technology and the latest amenities and services available. In this case, meeting in brand-new hotels in resort destinations doesn’t necessarily mean paying hefty prices.
“Here, you can get great rates in five-star hotels,” says Fernando Cervantes, Groups and Conventions Director at the Cancun Office of Visitors and Conventions (OVC). “Many groups get rates of around $125 to $150 a night.”
Also, as of January 2004, conventions, trade shows and meetings in Mexico are exempt from the local tax (IVA), which is 10% on the border and 15% elsewhere for such services as venue rental, lodging and equipment. Food and beverage isn’t currently exempt. The Mexican Congress is also reviewing the possibility of including incentive travel. In addition, expenses for meetings and conventions in Mexico are tax-deductible to U.S. companies. And attendees also receive a full refund of taxes for merchandise over 1,200 Mexican pesos (approximately $110 USD).
The same is true in the Caribbean. Thanks to the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the United States, more than a dozen Caribbean destinations are considered to be part of the North American area for purposes of claiming deductions for expenses incurred in connection with a business meeting or convention. As United States territories, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also fall into the category of tax-deductible meetings destinations.
This tax deduction is a result of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) Convention Tourism Tax Credit that allows U.S. companies to hold business meetings in eligible Caribbean countries or territories and to take applicable expenditures as a tax write-off.
But maybe the Caribbean isn’t your thing. If you’re thinking about Canada, consider places like Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax, Nova Scotia, where there are distinct cultural differences that make these destinations feel more “foreign” and hence provide a better draw. As you might imagine, winters are pretty cold in these parts, so late spring to early fall is probably your best option time-wise.
Proximity will also help you keep costs down. For organizations based in the west, Mexico and Vancouver will probably be cheaper to get to. In the east, Montreal, Halifax and the Caribbean are better choices. But that’s not always the case. Most SMERF meetings pull attendees from all parts of the U.S., so the key determining factor will most likely be transportation and access.
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Flight Plans
Since many of these places aren’t really accessible by car (except maybe Montreal and Vancouver), most of your attendees will be flying in. But that doesn’t mean people will have to spend a lot.
In recent years, the number of regional discount air carriers has grown dramatically. And because they all tend to offer flights to at least one or two destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, you can put together enough viable options to cover virtually all of your attendees. Here’s a sampling of carriers and destinations:
- AirTran Airways flies into and out of dozens of cities east of the Mississippi (as well as three major cities in both Texas and California, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, Phoenix, Wichita and Kansas City) with its major hubs in Atlanta and Orlando connecting to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- ATA Airlines operates primarily out of second-tier cities and airports in the east, south and midwest, flying into Guadalajara and Cancun from its hubs at Chicago-Midway and Dallas-Love Field. It also offers direct flights to Hawaii from a number of cities west of the Mississippi.
- Frontier Airlines flies to six destinations in Mexico (as well as to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada) from more than 70 U.S. cities via its main hub in Denver. Most major U.S. cities are serviced by Frontier, and some flights from midwestern cities don’t route through Denver.
- Jet Blue flies to Aruba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cancun, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and St. Maarten out of it main hub in New York City, and services more than 40 U.S. cities with additional hubs in Boston, Washington, DC, Long Beach and Oakland. Cancun and some Caribbean destinations are also directly accessible from Orlando.
- Spirit Airlines is based out of Ft. Lauderdale and flies to Cancun, Central America and numerous Caribbean destinations from that hub. Other Florida cities are also well represented, and Spirit offers flights out of Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Columbia, SC, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Myrtle Beach, SC, New York City, San Antonio and Washington, DC.
- Sun Country Airlines has its main hub in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and offers seasonal flights from there to six destinations in Mexico and four in the Caribbean. The company services 19 major U.S. cities, mostly in Florida and the western states. Dallas, Washington, DC and New York City are also part of Sun Country’s system.
- USA3000 only operates out of 10 east coast and midwestern cities, flying into either Florida or one of 10 destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. The airline offers a mixed bag of direct connections, and flights from Florida cities don’t go south. So far, Cancun and Punta Cana (in the Dominican Republic) are the only destinations accessible from all 10 northern U.S. cities.
Of course, there are a lot of other airlines offering flights to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, and regional carriers like those listed above might not always be the cheapest (or the most accessible). For example, you might find that Air Canada and AeroMexico are just as affordable, depending on the time of year, flight schedules, specials, etc.
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Artful Negotiating
In addition to scheduling and transportation, planners know a lot of other ways to cut costs when it comes to meetings – and most of them apply to meetings in Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean. Susan Friedmann, author of Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies and numerous other books on meetings and trade shows, provides this list of money-saving tips you can use when negotiating:
- Request a discount for on-site payments. When the facility doesn't have to wait for payment because you arrange to pay immediately after the event or as the meeting is ending, they may well be open to a discount for prompt payment.
- Negotiate comp rooms. As part of your discussions with hotel management, negotiate comp or discounted rooms for speakers, staffs and or upgrades for VIPs.
- Negotiate set prices. To help with your budgeting, arrange to pay a specified amount on food and beverages during your entire event, rather than a rate per person, per function.
- Discuss economical audiovisual setups. Limit the number of microphones needed. Check if the hotel supplies a complimentary microphone in each meeting room. Skirt a cocktail table instead of renting special carts for A/V equipment.
- Arrange for one room. For smaller committee meetings that may be held during a larger conference arrange for a buffet luncheon to be held in the same room as the meeting to save on having to rent a separate room.
- Negotiate food. Negotiate paying for food based on consumption. You can then return food without having to pay for it.
- Check for dead stock. Check if the hotel has dead stock wine available (such as wine that in no longer on the wine list). You may be able to negotiate a great price for some really good quality wine.
- Store opened bottles. Find out if the hotel can store opened bottles of liquor from one reception and us them another reception during the same conference.
- Open bottles as needed. As the banquet captain to open wine bottles only as needed. You pay for every bottle that's been uncorked.
Christopher M. Knight’s website, Top7Business.com, provides these additional suggestions from Jeffrey Marks, Chief Operating Officer for Portland, ME-based Eventective:
- Hotels are in the business of selling meals and sleeping rooms. If you’re using a hotel for overnight stays and food and beverage, negotiate to get a deep discount or even complimentary meeting space.
- Think outside the box. Universities, college campuses and churches rent space inexpensively. So do civic organizations. Some have wonderful facilities and offer catering as well. Companies you do business with might be delighted to share their meeting space with you.
- If you’re not wedded to the idea of meeting in a hotel, compare locations that offer food service with those that don’t. Consider hiring your own caterer or doing it yourself from a local restaurant.
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A Perfect Match
Another great selling point for taking your group “offshore” is that there are numerous opportunities to add an all-important community service component to your meeting – especially in places like Mexico and the Caribbean. In fact, SMERF groups have a built-in advantage over other meeting planners and attendees when it comes to creating “socially responsible” team-building events.
Because of their fraternal, religious and/or educational connections, it’s often easier to hook up with a local organization and put together a program where attendees can participate in community projects. For example, church groups and colleges regularly have exchange programs with their counterparts in other countries, and these connections can be very useful in locating projects your attendees can get involved with.
For example, Creative Memories of St. Cloud, MN, took 75 sales agents and their spouses on a trip to Mexico. The central experience of the six-day program in Puerto Vallarta was “El Proyecto Communidad,” where attendees visited the Mexican village of La Cruz de Quelitan. The group was divided into teams to renovate the town’s school from top to bottom. This rebuilding effort reinforced the culture of the organization while creating a true motivational experience for the participants. The program was so successful that it won a SITE Crystal Award for Outstanding Incentive Travel Program.
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‘Wouldn’t It Be Great…’
The great thing about most of these tips is that they also apply to U.S. destinations, and let’s face it – you’re not going to be meeting “offshore” every year. But if you’re like most SMERF planners, you’ve often looked longingly at big corporations and associations that book meetings in exotic foreign destinations and thought: “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if we could afford to do that?”
Well, now you can, as long as you’re confident that your members will appreciate a change of pace – and you aren’t afraid of a few logistical challenges.
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