Post by Legal Beagle on Jul 12, 2009 10:05:22 GMT -5
Officials: Getaway meetings are vital
by Ken Alltucker and Dawn Gilbertson - Jul. 12, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
With its Art Deco pavilion and its storied history, the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa bills itself as the jewel of Arizona resorts and a place for corporate groups seeking the finest touches.
It is also where Social Security Administration this week wrapped up a three-day conference attended by managers and supervisors from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.
Some local media reports last week portrayed the federal agency's Biltmore convention as an example of lavish spending of taxpayer money during tough economic times.
It's the latest example of how corporate and government groups now face scrutiny over trips that were a normal course of business during the boom times.
Social Security officials said they booked the Biltmore for a regional meeting only after comparing prices with California hotels. Resorts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were far more expensive than the Biltmore's summer discount rate of $85 per room. And the federal agency didn't even consider Las Vegas over fears that such a meeting would be perceived as no work and all play.
The meeting backlash, coming months after an AIG meeting at a luxury California resort started the furor over government-funded travel, also was on the agenda of the 2009 Arizona Governor's Conference on Tourism last week in Phoenix.
It has provided another challenge for the state's struggling tourism industry, which already is fighting to fill hotel rooms during the recession.
"This game of gotcha isn't hurting the CEOs of these companies," Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, said. "It's hurting the hard-working people who are so dependent on (meetings) business."
The state's tourism industry is in a deep funk. Hotel vacancy rates are high, and revenue is down. Several resorts have filed for bankruptcy, and hundreds of Arizonans have lost their jobs.
Local tourism officials cited the federal agency's Biltmore meeting as a much-needed injection of visitor spending during the slow summer season.
Doug MacKenzie, spokesman for the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, said, "It is the type of economic stimulus that seems to be overlooked."
The Social Security San Francisco regional office anticipated spending about $700,000 on the convention, which started mid-day Tuesday and wrapped up Thursday afternoon for approximately 675 attendees. It will not know the actual cost until it collects and pays vouchers submitted by employees.
Employees were required to pay their own expenses for entertainment, including a trip to a local casino.
It was the first time that the regional office held such a conference since 2001, and agency officials say the meeting was well worth the expense.
Leslie Walker, the Social Security Administration's regional communications director, said the agency was grappling with a wave of Baby Boomers who are becoming eligible for Social Security. At the convention, managers learned how to train employees on cost-saving measures such as encouraging the public to process documents via the Internet.
Managers also learned ways to support employees who often must deal with an angry public during tough economic times.
"The pubic is very stressed right now," Walker said. "We are getting threats every day in our offices. They are learning how to deal with threats."Arizona tourism-industry officials said the group should be commended, not criticized, for coming to Phoenix in the slow season. Rates are always low in the summer but especially this year. Peak-season rates can top $300 or $400 a night.
Freeman said the industry's lobbying earlier this year helped to quash pieces of federal legislation that would have put curbs on meetings.
Bruce Lange, managing director of the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, criticized the media spotlight on the meeting. He said the Social Security group is training employees and getting a great value at the same time. Meetings mean business, for the groups holding them and the hotels hosting them, he said.
"It's theater and drama as opposed to substance," he said. "It's just not right."
Freeman, a keynote speaker at the governor's tourism conference, said the industry has largely failed until recently to make a case for "why meetings matter." They are critically important to the groups that hold them and support jobs and tax dollars in the destinations where they are held.
He said the industry also needs to change the perception that conferences are more about golf and spas than business.
Most attendees sit in a windowless conference room in meetings from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., he said. Freeman said hotels, resorts and destinations don't need to stop advertising the fun aspects they offer conventioneers but have to make sure they also show the serious side.
Steve Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, joked that they might have to act fast before other travel rites are targeted.
"What's next? Thanksgiving online?"
by Ken Alltucker and Dawn Gilbertson - Jul. 12, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
With its Art Deco pavilion and its storied history, the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa bills itself as the jewel of Arizona resorts and a place for corporate groups seeking the finest touches.
It is also where Social Security Administration this week wrapped up a three-day conference attended by managers and supervisors from California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.
Some local media reports last week portrayed the federal agency's Biltmore convention as an example of lavish spending of taxpayer money during tough economic times.
It's the latest example of how corporate and government groups now face scrutiny over trips that were a normal course of business during the boom times.
Social Security officials said they booked the Biltmore for a regional meeting only after comparing prices with California hotels. Resorts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were far more expensive than the Biltmore's summer discount rate of $85 per room. And the federal agency didn't even consider Las Vegas over fears that such a meeting would be perceived as no work and all play.
The meeting backlash, coming months after an AIG meeting at a luxury California resort started the furor over government-funded travel, also was on the agenda of the 2009 Arizona Governor's Conference on Tourism last week in Phoenix.
It has provided another challenge for the state's struggling tourism industry, which already is fighting to fill hotel rooms during the recession.
"This game of gotcha isn't hurting the CEOs of these companies," Geoff Freeman, senior vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, said. "It's hurting the hard-working people who are so dependent on (meetings) business."
The state's tourism industry is in a deep funk. Hotel vacancy rates are high, and revenue is down. Several resorts have filed for bankruptcy, and hundreds of Arizonans have lost their jobs.
Local tourism officials cited the federal agency's Biltmore meeting as a much-needed injection of visitor spending during the slow summer season.
Doug MacKenzie, spokesman for the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, said, "It is the type of economic stimulus that seems to be overlooked."
The Social Security San Francisco regional office anticipated spending about $700,000 on the convention, which started mid-day Tuesday and wrapped up Thursday afternoon for approximately 675 attendees. It will not know the actual cost until it collects and pays vouchers submitted by employees.
Employees were required to pay their own expenses for entertainment, including a trip to a local casino.
It was the first time that the regional office held such a conference since 2001, and agency officials say the meeting was well worth the expense.
Leslie Walker, the Social Security Administration's regional communications director, said the agency was grappling with a wave of Baby Boomers who are becoming eligible for Social Security. At the convention, managers learned how to train employees on cost-saving measures such as encouraging the public to process documents via the Internet.
Managers also learned ways to support employees who often must deal with an angry public during tough economic times.
"The pubic is very stressed right now," Walker said. "We are getting threats every day in our offices. They are learning how to deal with threats."Arizona tourism-industry officials said the group should be commended, not criticized, for coming to Phoenix in the slow season. Rates are always low in the summer but especially this year. Peak-season rates can top $300 or $400 a night.
Freeman said the industry's lobbying earlier this year helped to quash pieces of federal legislation that would have put curbs on meetings.
Bruce Lange, managing director of the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, criticized the media spotlight on the meeting. He said the Social Security group is training employees and getting a great value at the same time. Meetings mean business, for the groups holding them and the hotels hosting them, he said.
"It's theater and drama as opposed to substance," he said. "It's just not right."
Freeman, a keynote speaker at the governor's tourism conference, said the industry has largely failed until recently to make a case for "why meetings matter." They are critically important to the groups that hold them and support jobs and tax dollars in the destinations where they are held.
He said the industry also needs to change the perception that conferences are more about golf and spas than business.
Most attendees sit in a windowless conference room in meetings from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., he said. Freeman said hotels, resorts and destinations don't need to stop advertising the fun aspects they offer conventioneers but have to make sure they also show the serious side.
Steve Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, joked that they might have to act fast before other travel rites are targeted.
"What's next? Thanksgiving online?"
