We will wax eloquent about every detail of themeetings process except for that thing which is of key interest to all of us: the real income and expense figures for our event.Without that information, none of us has a real sense of how our events perform relative to others.
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An averagemeeting for 1,000 attendees host- ed inNorthAmerica (inU.S.dollars):
INCOME Registration fees Exposition income Sponsorship income
Commissionable roomrates All other income
TOTAL INCOME
$574,250 $93,295 $106,000 $64,230 $55,475
$893,250
Notes on Income Registration fees — Remember that the income figure reflects total registration income, for an average of about $575 per attendee. It has been the case that 70 percent or more of our total attendees take advantage of early-bird and other registration discounts. In other words, this $575 average reflects a scenario in which registration fees start at $795 for asso- ciationmembers before discounts.
Exposition income—This number reflects the total revenue we make from a 10' x 10' (3 meter x 3meter) booth spacewith a basic setup, including a table, chairs, electric, and wireless connection: an average of 47 exhibitors at $1,985per space. (Someof the spaces are includ- ed as part of our sponsorship packages.)
Sponsorship income — This represents our typical sponsors (Gold, Silver, and Bronze lev- els), plus targeted sponsorships of events, includ- ing keynote-speaker session, awards dinner, opening reception, breaks, etc.
44 pcma convene September 2011
Commissionable roomrates—I usually book the commissions back to the association and apply the income against ourmaster account at the hotel. In this case, we average a total of 3,780 room nights per conference, with an average commission of just under $17 per roomnight.
Allother income—This includes extra fees for spousal events, program advertising, some food-and-beverage commissions, pre/post con- cert tours, and othermiscellaneous items.
EXPENSES Meeting space
Food and beverage Audiovisual
Exposition hall Printing
Keynote speakers All other expenses
TOTAL EXPENSE $0
$262,736 $66,521 $26,433 $32,047 $33,000 $89,400
$510,137
Notes on Expenses Meeting space—I did some calculations sev- eral years back and estimated that a three-day meeting for 1,000 peoplewill generate between $1million and $2million in gross income for a hotel.That includes the amount the association pays for meals and services as well as the income fromattendee-rented roomnights, bar bills, roomservice, gift shop, and spa/golf serv- ices. It is always my goal to host meetings at properties that have all ofmymeeting space on site so that I have no cost for renting meeting space. In other words, the hotels want the
Valuing. Far too many associations fail to take advantage of the financial potential of meetings and conferences because they fail to understand the value of their own events. It is the classic case of using a racehorse to pull a hay wagon. More often than not, boards of directors are satisfied with the returns generated by their meetings as long as there is some financial growth from year to year. The only yardstick they have to judge success is their current per- formance measured against their previous performance. The fact is, they have no idea as to whether they are under- or over-performing rela- tive to the industry as a whole.
Profiting. Time after time, I’ve consulted with associations that were quite satis- fied with the $50,000 or $60,000 net profit generated by their annual meeting— until I’ve pointed out that they should be generating a net profit in the range of $250,000 or more on the same event. Many are dubious that such a profit is possible.