AMC Institute News Releases

10-28-04

October/November are Top Meeting and Convention Months – Economic Impact on Hotel and Airline Industry Significant

“This is a busy time of the year for us, as our annual meeting is always in late October. With this meeting, along with the other 11 meetings we conduct a year, it’s a challenge to keep up with it all, even with volunteered time from our board members. So, several years ago we brought in an association management company (AMC) to manage the annual conference, from start to finish. Now the AMC assists with our board meeting logistics, educational seminars and other meetings,” said Joe Cattaneo, president of the Glass Packaging Institute.

The time intensive nature of meetings
The M&C Report (www.meetings-conventions.com) noted that the planning timeframe is up 5 percent, with start to finish now averaging two years per event. Coupled with an average of 14 meetings a year for a typical association, association staff resources can be stretched thin, as almost half (48 percent) do not have full time staff devoted to meeting planning, according to the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). Meeting planning companies and association management companies are the professional service firms most associations are retaining to ease their meetings workload.

“Since AMCs already provide a wide range of association services, ranging from accounting to strategic planning, they are well-positioned to offer association clients a specialized service such as meeting planning,” said Dee Ann Walker, chair of the AMCinstitute. Association management companies also bring valuable relationships to the table with hotels, airlines and other suppliers to the meetings industry.

Financial impact on hotels and airlines
AMCs alone book over $1 billion annually in hotel and convention services, according to a study conducted by the AMCinstitute (www.AMCinstitute.org). With the increased volume of hotel rooms follows an increase in airline traffic, as ASAE has noted that 20 percent of the airline industry revenues are generated by meetings and conventions.

From a budgetary standpoint, hotels and food/beverage services represent the top spend category, at 61 percent of total meeting budgets for associations.

Meetings a significant revenue-producer for associations
ASAE confirmed the impact of associations on the hospitality industry, with data showing that over one-third of hotel revenue comes from conventions, expos, meetings and incentive travel. The emphasis on meetings management has a distinct financial advantage to associations as well. According to Convene magazine’s 12th Annual Meetings Market Survey, on average, 34 percent of an association’s revenue comes from conventions, meetings and exhibits.

Walker noted, “The increased demand in the meeting arena, along with the desire of associations to make the most efficient use of human resources, has helped the AMC industry grow 33 percent in the last eight years. Associations see AMCs as ready-made resources to manage an increasingly aggressive lineup of conventions, board meetings, training and educational seminars and professional/technical meetings.”

The trend is expected to continue, since 94 percent of meeting planners surveyed in the report noted that they plan to have the same or larger budgets in the coming year. With non-profit organizations (including trade associations and professional societies) representing 9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the economic impact of these budgets will be felt across the business environment.

Meetings At-A-Glance (Source: Meetings & Conventions magazine’s 2004 Meetings Market Report)

Top Meetings Months for Associations: The 4th Quarter represents the most popular timeframe for meetings, with October and November alone at 28 percent of meetings.

Volume and Dollars Trends: The number of meetings is up 12% over the last two years. Corporations and associations (through in house staff or external firms such as association management companies and independent meeting planners): Spent over $28 billion on these meetings. Corporations and associations almost split the distribution of this $28 billion, with corporate meetings accounting for 52% and  associations 48%. Held over 1 million meetings combined in 2003. For the most part did not see a decrease in their budgets. Over 80 percent worked budgets that equaled or exceeded 2001 spend levels. Looking ahead: 94 percent of association meeting planners forecast same or increased budgets for 2004. Meeting  planners (including in-house, independent meeting planners and association management companies) manage 14 to 17 meetings a year on average. Association Management Companies alone plan an average of 34 meetings per AMC.

Top Spend Category: 56% of the corporate meeting budget was spent on Hotels and Food & Beverage while associations delegated 61% of their budgets to this area.

Top 5 Meeting Destinations: Association meetings (in order of prominence): Washington, DC – Chicago – Las Vegas – Orlando – Phoenix Corporate meetings (in order of prominence): Chicago – Orlando – Las Vegas – Los Angeles – New York City

More Facts About Meeting Planners and and Association Management Companies: 1,945,144 room nights at hotels are booked annually by Association Management Companies (Source: www.AMCinstitute.org)

About Associations and Association Management Companies
The estimated impact on the economy represented by non-profit trade associations and professional societies is 10-12 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Nine out of 10 adult Americans now belong to at least one association.  AMCs are professional service firms that provide association management and other association services through experienced staff, proven practices and shared resources.  The AMC industry has grown 33 percent in the last eight years, with more than 530 association management companies and thousands of offices across the United States.  The average AMC-managed association budget is $677,000 and the range of budgets for AMC-managed associations is anywhere from $25,000 to more than $16 million annually.  AMCs in the United States now manage budgets exceeding $2 billion collectively. 

About AMCinstitute
The AMCinstitute is the marketing arm of the AMC industry, and serves as an information resource for associations, their volunteer leaders, media and others interested in association management.  Contact: AMCinstitute, 414 Plaza Drive, Suite 209, Westmont, IL  60559. www.AMCinstitute.org

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