A week ago, Saratoga TODAY publisher Chad Beatty used this space to say enough is enough. He gave voice to the many who feel as he does that if we continue to go negative we'll reap what we sow. Instead, he suggested that we align ourselves with the good things we have going on in our community and acknowledge that Saratoga, despite some of our challenges, has it better than most.
On behalf of the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Executive Committee
and our Board of Directors, we not only concur with that assessment,
we'll take it one step further. In the midst of negative national
pundits and doom and gloom politicians, an issue has come to the
surface which has everything to do with economic recovery - it's
basically an attack on the business of travel, and more specifically,
business travel for meetings, conferences and conventions.
A national campaign, led by the U.S. Travel Association and supported by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Destination Marketing Association International, Meetings Professionals International and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, among others, is currently taking shape to raise awareness that meetings mean business - perhaps you've seen the ad in national publications like USA Today. The initiative essentially contends that because of poor judgment on the part of a few high profile companies (most prominently insurance giant AIG), many other companies, both public and private, including associations that do not receive federal support, are cutting back meetings and recoiling from making meeting planning decisions for fear of ridicule or retribution.
This is a dicey issue. AIG accepted federal bailout money and almost immediately went ahead with an incentive reward program that sent top performing executives to an exclusive California resort. Perhaps not the best decision, considering the economic climate. More recently, Northern Trust was criticized for sponsorship of a major, nationally broadcast PGA golf championship, and here's where it begins to cross the line.
In the midst of these economically challenging times the way business is being conducted is changing, but business can't just stop - to paraphrase Yogi Berra, when we get to a fork in the road, we should take it, not just sit there paralyzed by the decision. The national campaign is reminding politicians that with political rhetoric and short-sighted legislation Congress is "sending a message to TARP recipients and every other business that Congress doesn't want those meetings to happen." They say the results are predictable. Thousands of companies - not just TARP recipients - are cancelling their meetings out of fear.
We're seeing all over - and yes, even in Saratoga, where some meetings have been cancelled and others are falling well short of attendance guarantees. But the greatest threat is stopping altogether and that's where we'll suffer most - when bookings fall off, threatening future business, hurting, ultimately, hotels, restaurants, retailers and meeting facilities that benefit directly from meetings, conference and convention business.
There are always two sides to every story and sometimes the truth is somewhere in the middle. That's the essence of compromise and most times it's the American way. But every once in a while you just have to take a stand. Our stance is in support of strong recommended meetings and events guidelines that have already been developed by the coalition and are available to meeting planners for corporations and associations. These guidelines reflect this new era of increased scrutiny and accountability - and that's a good thing. We're also siding with our tourism industry colleagues in encouraging a stop to the elevated rhetoric.
For every meeting cancelled jobs are lost. According to the coalition, one of out of every eight jobs in this country is linked to travel and tourism. In addition, meetings and events are responsible for nearly 15 percent of all travel in the United States and create $101 billion in spending, one million jobs and nearly $16 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local level. Without the jobs generated by travel for meetings and events, the unemployment rate in the United States would jump from 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent.
Meetings are important to America. Meetings are important to Saratoga - just notice sometime the number of people who walk our streets with nametags on. It's important as a community, a state and a country that we don't just get to that fork in the road and stop.
A national campaign, led by the U.S. Travel Association and supported by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Destination Marketing Association International, Meetings Professionals International and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, among others, is currently taking shape to raise awareness that meetings mean business - perhaps you've seen the ad in national publications like USA Today. The initiative essentially contends that because of poor judgment on the part of a few high profile companies (most prominently insurance giant AIG), many other companies, both public and private, including associations that do not receive federal support, are cutting back meetings and recoiling from making meeting planning decisions for fear of ridicule or retribution.
This is a dicey issue. AIG accepted federal bailout money and almost immediately went ahead with an incentive reward program that sent top performing executives to an exclusive California resort. Perhaps not the best decision, considering the economic climate. More recently, Northern Trust was criticized for sponsorship of a major, nationally broadcast PGA golf championship, and here's where it begins to cross the line.
In the midst of these economically challenging times the way business is being conducted is changing, but business can't just stop - to paraphrase Yogi Berra, when we get to a fork in the road, we should take it, not just sit there paralyzed by the decision. The national campaign is reminding politicians that with political rhetoric and short-sighted legislation Congress is "sending a message to TARP recipients and every other business that Congress doesn't want those meetings to happen." They say the results are predictable. Thousands of companies - not just TARP recipients - are cancelling their meetings out of fear.
We're seeing all over - and yes, even in Saratoga, where some meetings have been cancelled and others are falling well short of attendance guarantees. But the greatest threat is stopping altogether and that's where we'll suffer most - when bookings fall off, threatening future business, hurting, ultimately, hotels, restaurants, retailers and meeting facilities that benefit directly from meetings, conference and convention business.
There are always two sides to every story and sometimes the truth is somewhere in the middle. That's the essence of compromise and most times it's the American way. But every once in a while you just have to take a stand. Our stance is in support of strong recommended meetings and events guidelines that have already been developed by the coalition and are available to meeting planners for corporations and associations. These guidelines reflect this new era of increased scrutiny and accountability - and that's a good thing. We're also siding with our tourism industry colleagues in encouraging a stop to the elevated rhetoric.
For every meeting cancelled jobs are lost. According to the coalition, one of out of every eight jobs in this country is linked to travel and tourism. In addition, meetings and events are responsible for nearly 15 percent of all travel in the United States and create $101 billion in spending, one million jobs and nearly $16 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local level. Without the jobs generated by travel for meetings and events, the unemployment rate in the United States would jump from 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent.
Meetings are important to America. Meetings are important to Saratoga - just notice sometime the number of people who walk our streets with nametags on. It's important as a community, a state and a country that we don't just get to that fork in the road and stop.
Main Menu
Leave a comment