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HBAA Corporate Forum addresses industry issues

At the HBAA’s Corporate Forum, speakers addressed the issues and challenges which face today’s meetings industry professionals.

At the HBAA’s Corporate Forum on Monday (10 December 2012), speakers addressed the issues and challenges which face today’s meetings industry professionals, in particular the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme (TOMS) and related matters, Strategic Meetings Management Programs (SMMPs) and procurement.

Sessions took place throughout the day, giving presenters including representatives from Zibrant, Saffery Champness, Conference Care, 3sixty Global, Compliant Venues and delegates from Hays and Citrix, among others, the opportunity to discuss issues affecting the meetings industry.

At the forefront of discussions was the concept of providing return on investment from meetings spend; Conference Care director and HBAA Marketing Committee Chair Andrew Deakin presented the pros and cons of SMMPs as laid out by the Association’s most recent White Paper. In his session, Andrew revealed that corporates who opt in to an SMMP could expect a revenue benefit of 12-25 per cent.

Chris Peacock, Chairman of the HBAA, said: “We decided to hold this event in order to bring corporates and our agent members together to address some of the key issues which face our industry now and will do so in the future. The quality of speakers was superb, and I hope that attendees came away with the sense that they had gained a better understanding of SMMPs and how they can gain return on investment from their meetings spends.”