When I chat with my European and Asian peers about the financial expectations of my association clients from the United States, I am often met with a sense of incredulity. They would be happy with a profit of $100,000 or less, whereas I expect a profit of $300,000.
rarely quibble about the details. Here in North America,we gothrougheach andeverymeal item. We negotiate for complimentary cocktail parties when our numbersmerit such a negotiation, and we believe it is our duty to examine every cost in detail. It defines us. That fact is a regular irritant tomany ofmyAsian andEuropean hotel contacts who can’t believe that I want to cost out each detail. Many ofmy association clients depend on the
income generated bymeetings in order to survive. These same associationsmeet around theworld because theymust, and theywould happilymeet more times overseas if thosemarkets generated the sameprofits they canrealize intheAmericas. Inter-
estingly enough,more andmore ofmyEuropean and Asian association clients are meeting in the United States,Canada, andMexico—once they realize the profits that can be generated for their organization as a result. So there you have it: a concrete example ofmy
profit expectations for meetings of this size. Charging formeeting space for hotel properties on the international stage putsmany properties at a tremendous disadvantage. We want to meet in your countries, butwe cannot in good conscience pay the extra costs that take profit away fromour association clients without adding value to the meeting package. I look forward to the next round in this ongoing conversation.
James F. Hollan III, CAE, is president and CEO of Annapolis,Md.–based Inter- nationalMeetings Group. Contact himat jimhollan@Inter nationalMeetings.org.