Whew! That was close. The Treasury regs on meetings are out and the travel industry heaved a collective sigh of relief. No big problems — just requiring a bunch of procedures. U.S. Travel Association and the National Business Travel Association applauded the new guidelines. Yes, the comment stage is still open, but no one expects material changes. Will go into effect the middle of August.
A great example of how to turn the tide of negative perceptions. What the industry focused on: their value in the overall economy. Which begs the question: how are we experts showing up? Are we showing our value in the bigger picture? Are our descriptions specific? The cutbacks won’t last forever – but the perception of value will last a long time. No more pie in the sky promises. The more specific, the better.
Tags: branding, economy, experts, meetings, positioning, strategy, travel, Vickie Sullivan
I agree with you, Vickie, that it could have been worse regarding “legislative strangulation” on the meeting planners! We are all might apprehensive on the effects it has had on the purchasing departments of speakers and meeting planning services alike. As a meeting planner (myself) that books meetings AND speakers to corporations, they are still holding back, although they have the money for it. I predict they will come around by the end of the year to budget for next year. I’m hopeful!
Regards,
Bruce