Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are now offering three different meeting packages for smaller meetings and events.

The packages include:

Full Day ($150 per person):

• Continental breakfast
• Continuous coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea service in meeting room
• Daily lunch buffet
• 30 minute afternoon break with assorted soft drinks, bottled water, cookies and brownies
• LCD projector and screen
• Meeting room from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Half Day, Morning ($80 per person):

• Continental breakfast
• Continuous coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea service in meeting room
• LCD projector and screen
• Meeting room from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Half Day, Afternoon ($100 per person):

• Daily lunch buffet
• 30 – minute afternoon break with assorted soft drinks, bottled water, cookies and brownies
• LCD projector and screen
• Meeting room from 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
• $100 per person

There was a big banking conference at the Phoenix Convention Center in late March, but you wouldn’t have known it from a stroll through the building.

Nowhere did signs welcome the group or point attendees to meeting rooms.

Call it the bailout’s shhhh effect. Businesses and associations, painfully aware of the beating some companies have taken for extravagant gatherings during the financial meltdown, are starting to go incognito.

“We’ve had groups ask us to take down the welcome signs,” said Steve Moore, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, which books groups into the convention center.

Also popular: prominently displaying an event sponsor’s name rather than the host of the meeting.

“A lot of these events within a conference are actually sponsored and paid for by a supplier,” said Andrew Stegen, general manager of the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa. “In the past they may not have told everyone who the supplier is, but now sometimes they give their supplier more headlines because they want people to know, this particular company didn’t pay for it.”

No one is saying such practices are prevalent, and they may never gain steam with the furor over meetings subsiding a bit after a huge lobbying push by the industry focusing on the importance of meetings.

But some businesses clearly don’t want to take the chance of being branded the next AIG. The difference between today and meetings held after 9/11 is public perception, Moore said. There was sympathy for the hotel industry in that aftermath, whereas it’s derision in the worst cases today, he said.

Hotels and resorts are making cosmetic changes of their own to lessen the luxury stigma.

The Fairmont Scottsdale prizes its long-running status as a five-diamond resort and usually touts it at every turn. But it has been holding back this year, making it more of a footnote than the headline in pitches to businesses and groups looking for a place to meet in the fall and winter.

“We downplay it as appropriate,” said Chris Kerr, director of sales and marketing.

Some resorts are downplaying the resort and spa in their names, formally and informally.

Stegen said the Biltmore briefly discussed the idea after hearing of other resorts doing it but decided against it, although he admits that the resort and spa conundrum is not as much of an issue for the Biltmore since most people just refer to it by its first name.

“I just personally feel that you’re fooling the public, and the public is not that stupid,” he said. “Are you going to take it off for a year?”

1. Let your hotel salesperson know what other hotels within their competitive set have received your lead.
2. If you can alter your dates, pattern or both you will pay less than what you would have paid for your preferred dates/pattern.
3. When you can, mandate that attendees stay at the hotels that you have contracted.
4. Negotiate for a higher guest room minimum percentage and “comp” room’s ratio.
5. Consider cutting out lunch altogether so guests can explore the area on own.
6. Invite other AV vendors to bid on your business in addition to the hotel’s in-house AV vendor.
7. Get your speaker’s AV needs in advance and have them sign off on it.  Send them an update prior to the meeting to make sure that there are no changes before they land on site.
8. Purchase supplies and other items on site to cut down on shipping costs.
9. Ask the CVB for free collateral and discount coupons to area attractions.
10. Review your reports every morning to make sure that all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.

Jen Merkel with a mind for meetings adds…

Great tips! I also like to have materials printed in the location of the meeting to save on shipping costs. You can email/upload your files directly to the Fedex/Kinko’s office closest to your conference, and they will have them ready for you when you arrive. Be sure to check them right away, however, in case there is a mistake and they need to be run again.

Linda Elland with a2zmeetingsandevents adds…

~ Find great hotels in Second Tier Cities or find great hotels near a major city with easy access to downtown. Center city hotels tend to charge higher rates and often there are additional taxes to consider which increase the overall cost with no added value. An added benefit is that a second- or third-tier city may need and want your business more than the most visited cities. Additionally, their cost of doing business is often lower for ancillary items so they pass these savings on to you.
~ Consider alternate patterns. Resorts are busiest on weekends and city hotels are busiest mid-week.  Find the best pattern for the venue to secure the best rate.
~ Be flexible! One of the most powerful negotiating tools in this environment is your flexibility with dates, space and city. Even in the tightest market hotels will have holes to fill so openness to suggestions about items such as location, room configuration and date pattern, can save bottom line dollars.  
~ Ensure guests are checked in under your room block to avoid attrition penalties. Organizations are going as far as penalizing attendees for not checking in under the group room block. If an association gets hit with a high bill for attrition, it could force them to lose a substantial amount of money and possibly increase membership rates to compensate for it. This is a good incentive for attendees to book rooms properly.
~ Hotels on a regular basis send “Hot dates” to us. They need to fill and usually offer incredible incentives to clients for booking over those needed dates.
~ Save on meeting room rental by serving food in the room or allowing the hotel to book an evening meal function in that room. Think of every inch in the hotel as real estate and know that revenue is expected to be generated for that space.
~ Get sponsorship from vendors who add value to your meeting attendees.
~ Buying in volume can save. Find out what other groups may be ordering for meals to save on preparation and it should also provide a savings. The same may be true for renting furniture, linens or AV. See if other groups are using similar equipment on days prior or following to save on set up or tear down time and fees.
~ Get outside quotes from other vendors. Often an outside contractor may quote a lower rate to get in the door. Outside quotes may be matched to keep the revenue in house and it really provides a smoother flow for your meeting.
~ Negotiate important concessions into your contract. Do not assume the hotel is going to offer the same things that you may have received prior.  VIP amenities, upgrades to viewed rooms or suites, late check out, staff rooms, etc may be items on your “wish list” that need to be communicated prior to signing a contract.
~ Make sure that your attorney or legal staff reviews all binding agreements. Most employees are not equipped to deal with contracts, agreements and the host of signed documents necessary to produce a quality meeting. While your meeting planning staff is well versed in protecting your interests, make sure that you have consulted with your legal department or procurement group before signing legally binding documents. The extra step will prevent problems down the road that could cause major roadblocks in producing a successful meeting.
~ Carefully manage your guarantees for food & beverage. Often, planners or clients will over-guarantee the number of attendees, in effect throwing money away. If you have a solid group history, this can be like gold when it comes to mining the data necessary to figure out how many people will actually be served. It is also important to consider the time and location of the function in determining the appropriate guarantee. And don’t forget, venues always allow for an overset of 3-5%, which should also be taken into account.
~ Lock in your contract now.  Travel costs are rising but meetings are going strong. Work with your planner to do a thorough site selection and lock in your contract now to protect against the projected future increases. Consider multi-year contracts with performance clauses. Hotels would rather have contracts in place than trade for higher room rates closer in so use that to your advantage.

Cornell University School of Hotel Administration has announced that its dinner, honoring J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr. as the winner of the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award. The award honors J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, Marriott International, Inc. for his transformational leadership and lifetime achievements. The special event will become an annual gathering of the world’s most influential hoteliers to raise funds in support of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration scholarships and programs. The event will be held on June 2, 2009, at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Three Chicago billionaires who helped fund President Barack Obama’s election campaign are fighting legislation he backs that would make it easier for unions to organize hotels they own.

Penny Pritzker, Obama’s campaign finance chairwoman and a director of Global Hyatt Corp., has told the president she is opposed to the measure, known as card check, said a person familiar with the situation. Neil Bluhm, a partner in Walton Street Capital LLC, also opposes the bill, the person said. Lester Crown, chairman of Henry Crown & Co., criticized the proposal in an interview.

For the city’s business leaders who nurtured Obama’s White House bid, card check is a gut check on support for their hometown president. Labor, which spent $100 million on Democratic campaigns last year, made it a top priority to enact a bill giving workers bargaining rights based on signing cards instead of winning a secret-ballot election.

Voting privately is “an American prerogative and shouldn’t be overturned,” said Crown, 83, whose family holdings include the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in Ojai, California, and the Little Nell hotel in Aspen, Colorado. “The recommended legislation is absolutely the wrong thing to do.”

West Virginia businessman Jim Justice has acquired the Greenbrier Resort, scuttling a deal by Marriott International Inc. to take over the landmark.

Justice said his company, the Justice Family Group LLC, has acquired 100 percent of the Greenbrier and 80 percent of the Greenbrier Sporting Club.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has noticed an uptick in the number of conventions coming to the city. In the next month, at least 100,000 rooms will be occupied along the Strip, courtesy of convention goers. That’s welcome relief after Las Vegas lost $166 million from October through mid-March because convention traffic dried up. Vince Alberta of the Convention and Visitors Authority says the average convention goer spends $1200 to $1600 during the time spent in Las Vegas.

With its survival in question, Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. has put the Fairmont Chicago up for sale as it tries to raise cash to shore up its balance sheet.

The Chicago-based real estate investment trust (REIT) has hired Eastdil Secured to sell the Fairmont, a 687-room hotel at 200 N. Columbus Drive that Strategic bought in 2005 for $158 million, or $230,000 a room, according to people familiar with the situation.

The company, which has spent tens of millions of dollars fixing up the Fairmont, is seeking a transaction that would value the property at about $275,000 a room, or about $189 million, a lofty price amid a financial crisis and recession and that have depressed hotel values. One person familiar with the Fairmont estimated it was worth only about $140 million.

Understanding the overall picture that your meeting brings to a  hotel will help you to understand if you are dealing from a position of strength or weakness.  Here are some key areas that hotels use to evaluate your business;

• Room-to-Space Ratio – Does the meeting carry a solid room-to-space ratio?  Simply put a good balance of guest rooms to meeting space (1 to 1 or 1 to 1.5 ratio).  If you are in balance you can expect to be dealing from a position of strength.
• Food & Beverage Spend– A standard plated meal or a glass of wine at a cocktail reception provides a good return on investment to the hotel (in addition to a 22% service charge and tax).  If your meeting has little to no F&B budget you can expect to be dealing from a position of weakness.
• Meeting History– Where was this meeting held over the past three years, at what hotels, and what was the pick up vs. contracted block for each?  If you have a strong pick up history and have held a meeting at a brand that has received your RFP you are dealing from a position of strength.
• Dates – There are certain days of the week that provide value and others that command a premium.  If you can, ask for guidance from your hotel sales contact and consider alternate dates.  If your dates are not flexible, you may be dealing from a position of weakness.

Don’t forget about the bridge. In any negotiation, the ideal situation is win-win – the object is not for the other person to lose. Don’t burn any bridges because you may need to cross them again.

Sue Brush, long-time leader of Westin Hotels & Resorts and a 30-year veteran of Westin and its parent company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., will retire as of December 31, 2009. 

As Westin’s senior vice president and global brand leader, Brush has been responsible for the standards, marketing and strategic direction of the brand, while also helping to launch a number of groundbreaking industry “firsts,” including the launch of the now iconic Heavenly Bed® and the hotel industry’s most prolific hotel retail program.

Nancy London, currently Vice President of Marketing for the Westin Global Brand Team, has been named Westin’s new Vice President and Global Brand Leader.