International Meetings: Perspective continued

successfulwith a similar event. It does, however, give you a sense of what my actual financial expectations are for ameeting of this size. Profit is a key element in our planning, but the most important element is always customer satisfaction. Never sacrifice quality for profit, and never assume qualitymust reduce profit.

ROI Expectations WhenI chat indetailwithmyEuropeanandAsian peers about the financial expectations of my

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James F. Hollan’s original column, published in our April 2010 issue, sparked some back-and-forth from colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic:

James F. Hollan III, CAE, April 2010: “Meeting income is the primary source of revenue for many North American associations.We are not structured the same as most Euro- pean and Asian associations who see meeting income as an additional pool of revenue.”

Ben Goedegebuure, June 2010: “Europe is a diverse place. Currencies, languages, and customs vary widely. Achieving a transparent and productive relationship depends on both the host and the guest.”

Hollan, September 2010: “I want my European and Asian peers to understand why they often don’t make the first cut:When we have many meeting-site options, it comes down to the cost of event space.”

Suzanne Schlanger, CMP, January 2011: “Until the Asian market understands the culture of meeting planning in North America, and works with planners in terms of our expectations, it will remain at a disadvantage with American planners.”

Hollan,March 2011: “The point is that professionals in this lovely region of Spain for some reason think that the local custom of charging for site inspections is typical of the industry. We need to have some agreement about what a site visit is and what is included internationally in order to save both time and frustration.”

Michel Couturier, CDME, April 2011: “Rather than stating ‘Until the Asian market under- stands the culture of meeting planning in North America, it will remain at a disadvantage,’ I say: Until a North American planner understands the culture of meeting planning internationally, s/he will remain at a disadvantage!”

Loretta Lowe, CMP, June 2011: “I am insulted that Mr. Hollan has the audacity to suggest that anyone who doesn’t run their business the way he thinks it should be run is ‘silly’ or doesn’t get it ‘right.’ From a professional point of view, he does an injustice to his clients to eliminate a hotel or an entire destination because of two DMCs that had the courage not to play by his ground rules!”

Read these International Meetings columns and comments in their entirety in our online archives, atwww.pcma.org/Convene/Issue-Archives.htm.

48 pcma convene September 2011 www.pcma.org

association clients from the United States, I am oftenmetwith a sense of incredulity.Theywould be happy with a profit of $100,000 or less, whereas — as illustrated above — I expect a profit of $300,000.Onmeetings in the range of 200 people, they are happy to break even,while I expect tomake a profit in the range of $50,000 to $100,000. They expect to pay for meeting space, and they expect a standard delegate rate fromthe hotel.Theywillingly pay for any extras such as cocktail parties and dinners, and they

GLOBAL CAPITAL: The budget process for an international event differs from one for domestic events in the following ways: Prices quoted do not necessarily include the full range of facilities and services that they do in the United States. Each requirement needs to be disclosed and questioned with regard to associated costs. The cost of foreign exchange must be factored into the budget. The risk/reward relationship inherent in currency exchange should be examined, and the organization must determine how it wants to man- age the risk. Meeting managers need to understand the base currency to calcu- late prices in contract agreements, determine when payments will be made, and specify in what currency. — Professional Meeting Management, Fifth Edition