Hey Congress & The Media: Cancelling Meetings Costs Money Too

This was an old post from early 2009 that apparently I saved as a draft and never actually posted, but it is still worthy:

Some food for thought...hotels charge cancellation fees when you cancel a big meeting/conference. So, this idea that we are saving taxpayer dollars by cancelling junkets to Las Vegas and blackballing every "resort" in the Nation is nothing short of a display of ignorance.

Mr. President and Members of Congress and Members of the Media: Guess what, for all those meetings that were cancelled as a result of the PR bashing, the venues probably still collected a handsome cancellation fees. However, the people that lost-out were the employees of those hotels/resorts that didn't get hours or gratuities they need to feed their families, and the cab drivers, and the airline stewards, and the restaurant waiters, and the dry cleaner, and yes the casino dealers too. They lost their livelihood as a direct result of certain meetings that were cancelled, and they are still suffering the consequences of the anti-meeting media blitz that was sanctioned by the administration.

So, this begs the question - would you like to flush a few hundred million down the toilet in cancellation fees, or would you rather allow and encourage the natural economic stimulus that occurs as a result of meetings? The reality is that meetings and conferences are a spark of spending where the meeting itself is only a fraction of the total economic impact. And, meetings generate results that improve business practices and profit margins and initiate new ideas and R&D spending. Yet, all this considered (or apparently not considered) the meetings/conference/travel industry seems to continue to be badgered by horrendous and misleading press coverage. Frankly, that sucks for the 1 in 8 Americans who rely on our industry for employment.

For those of you in the business - do something about. Get involved. VAHSMP (the Virginia Association of Hospitality Sales and Marketing Professionals) is one of many opportunities to get involved with the big picture of promoting tourism/travel. In addition to offering educational events and networking, VAHSMP in conjunction with the Virginia Tourism Corporation, are a voice for the hospitality industry in Virginia. Find VAHSMP on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

And, while your online, check out http://www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com/ for more information and learn how about getting involved.