Chapter News ~ Chapter Chatter
By Margie Sheffer, CHME, CHA
Director of Chapter Relations, HSMAI

HSMAI launched the most exciting new membership benefit on February 2, 2004! It's called eConnect and eConnect is an online service of one-stop shopping for travel and marketing information, research, contacts and best practices. It has been designed with the University of Houston and funded by the HSMAI Foundation. There are six areas to access and four are available to members only. The six areas are:

1. Professional Development and Resources
2. E-Commerce Resources
3. Leading Travel Industry Companies and Organizations
4. Periodicals, Magazines & Journals
5. Research - Trends - News and Current Information
6. Resources for Customer Market Segmentation and Business Development

Number three and four will be available to anyone and number one, two, five and six will be available for members only. This is a huge undertaking with huge advantages to our members.

The term "time poverty" has been around since the late 90's and it is a condition that we know will get worse before it gets better. That's why the timing of this new resource, the eConnect, is so pertinent to us all. In addition to providing quality resources and updated information it will save so much "time."

If you are not already in the habit of checking out your association's web site, www.hsmai.org, please "make" some time to do so. It is filled with usable information and the addition of the eConnect resource will easily become part of your daily routine, especially number six - you can certainly prospect here!

There are so many new niche markets out there. I'm sure you've heard of them but in the past you may not have had the time to explore - this new resource will help you get to those illusive potential markets.

Your HSMAI staff was very busy last fall, working with all the individual chapter boards to help them create a strategic plan for 2004 that will increase your membership value in the chapter. We encourage you to get to know your board and communicate with them on any issues or concerns you may have or would like to have addressed. In addition the best way you can show appreciation for their time and efforts in chapter leadership are to give them the courtesy of responding when they need to send a survey or just get your opinion. Your board does not want to operate in a vacuum, so let your voice be heard.

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Industry News ~ Snapshot

INDUSTRY REPORTS INDICATE A RECOVERY UNDER WAY
Various reports from TIA, American Express, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Bloomberg News and Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell are indicating that 2004 will be a recovery year including a rise in domestic travel in the U.S., but prices will remain lower with modest increases because of the steep discounting that resulted after the downturn in 2001. Business travel should finally rebound from its extended slump, with 2004 growth projected at 4.0 percent. While companies will loosen T&E budget restrictions, many of the cost control measures instituted in recent years will remain in place.

SURVEY SAYS INCREASE OF BUSINESS TRAVEL EXPECTED
A recent survey of 549 US business travelers conducted by Accenture, the consulting company, found 76 percent of them expected their business travel to increase or at least stay the same in the next six months. "The good news is that we're witnessing a continued recovery in business travel," said Julian Sparkes, a partner in the firm's transit and travel services sector. "However, business travelers are migrating quickly towards hotels and air carriers that provide the best value," he said. "Going forward, the focus will be on alternatives that can provide the best value on price and service." Three-quarters of those surveyed also said they would be staying in mid-range hotels as opposed to higher priced ones.

AMERICAN EXPRESS PREDICTS DROP IN BUSINESS TRAVEL PRICES
Overall business travel costs are expected to decline in 2004 which will help fuel modest recovery in travel volumes, says American Express Consulting. In its latest edition of Trends and Forecasts for the Canadian Business Travel Industry, American Express Consulting predicts that overall travel costs for Canadian corporations will decrease as much as 2% this year, as the economy gains strength and the effects of increased competition continue to put pressure on prices, particularly for air travel. - Ehotelier

WEEKENDS OFFER POTENTIAL IN LEISURE MARKET
Date from the Travel Industry Association (TIA) tells us that almost a third of households take 5 or more weekend trips per year; another 20 percent take 3-4 trips. That's a lot of potential. The weekend opportunity is simple mathematics. There are 104 weekend days per year. This represents more than 25 percent of the year available for weekend leisure, six times more than what the typical American has available in paid "vacation days." Our industry's ability to sell weekend travel has been helped dramatically with the onset of the Internet. Most weekend trips are planned with short lead times, and consumers now can make their bookings easily and quickly using online services.

HSMAI ADRIAN AWARDS HONORS MARKETING EXCELLENCE
Marketing excellence in travel and hospitality was on display when the 14th Annual HSMAI Adrian Awards for Advertising, Public Relations and Web Marketing were handed out in New York City Jan. 26 at a gala black-tie event. More than 700 travel and hospitality industry marketing executives, advertising and public relations executives and media attended the annual awards dinner. HSMAI also paid tribute to two individuals who have made lasting impressions on the industry, with the Albert E. Koehl Award presented to Stanley Plog, a trendsetter in travel industry research, and the Winthrop W. Grice Award bestowed on Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman of The Carlson Companies. The evening also saw the debut of the DEPARTURES Magazine Luxury Marketing Achievement Award presented to St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, and the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London was named HSMAI eMarketer of the Year, sponsored by TravelCLICK. In each of the three Adrian Awards categories, one entry is judged "Best of Show," recognizing the most outstanding entry in that individual competition. The 2003 winners were:

  » Advertising Best of Show: Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts - Fallon Worldwide (agency)
  » Adrian Public Relations Best of Show: Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - M Booth & Associates (agency)
  » Web Marketing Best of Show: Radisson Seven Seas Cruises - Zentropy Partners (agency)

TIA STUDY SHOWS TRAVEL BY MINORITIES ON UPSWING
America's three largest minority groups spend $90 billion a year traveling, according to a newly released study by the Travel Industry Association. Some 300,000 households were surveyed in 2002 for the Minority Traveler study. It shows that "in any given month of 2002, an average of 28% of Hispanic and 22% African-American households reported taking a trip," said Suzanne Cook, TIA's senior vice president, research & technology. "This generated 77.1 million person-trips by Hispanics, 75.2 million person-trips by African-Americans." Asian-Americans were noted for having an "above-average propensity to travel" with 37% taking trips during an average month in 2002, translating to 33.1 million person-trips. Minority travelers accounted for 18% of all person-trips taken in 2002. Travel by Hispanics, now the largest minority group in the U.S., "has grown significantly," jumping 20% between 2000 and 2002, Cook noted. Overall, she added, the travel patterns of minority travelers mirror that of all travelers. - Travel Weekly

HOSPITALITY INTELLIGENCE REPORT ON WEB SITE PERFORMANCE
Two of the most respected names in the hospitality-related online world, iPerceptions and hospitality eBusiness Strategies, announced the upcoming release of a new strategic report for the hospitality industry. The RUSH Report, a hospitality intelligence report on user satisfaction and web site performance will provide the industry with an in-depth analysis of key aspects of website performance and user satisfaction. The report is based on feedback from over 72,000 actual website visitors to hotel brand websites. Hotel brand executives, hotel general managers and directors/managers of eCommerce, Sales and Marketing, and Revenue can evaluate web site performance and online usability, compared against an industry average, and where necessary make website adjustments in order to convert lookers into bookers. The RUSH Report data is based on actual feedback from everyday users of hotel branded websites.

ASSOCIATIONS TO CONSOLIATE TO BENEFIT ALL GROUPS
The boards of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE), the ASAE Foundation, and The Center for Association Leadership have agreed in concept to a consolidation that would enhance their ability to advance the association profession. During the past four months, a Joint Leadership Team (JOLT). The new structure would consolidate all the current activities of the four organizations into two entities: ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership.

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National Events & News

HSMAI's Affordable Meetings®
This show provides meeting planners with free educational workshops on topics related to affordable meeting planning as well as the chance to liaise with a variety of suppliers from hotels and resorts to CVB's, destination management companies, airlines, etc. > Read More...

Contact: HSMAI's Affordable Meetings®
c/o George Little Management (GLM), Ten Bank Street, White Plains, NY 10606-1954
Beth Petersen, show manager, (914) 421-3377; Fax (914) 948-2918
Email: beth_petersen@glmshows.com; www.affordablemeetings.com

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Selling Tips Should Your Sales Letter Be Long or Short? by Kevin Nunley www.drnunley.com (888) 429-6203

It's always a controversy. Some people like short sales letters for email and web sites, while others like to go long.

Usually you can figure out what is best for you by doing a little testing. Some people do fine with short copy while others only make sales if their page is 900 words or more. If one thing works for you, keep doing it and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

I have found short copy works very well for prospects who are in a big hurry. If you have a lot of prospects who make up their minds fast, then buy quickly on an impulse, use short copy. Drawing your sales pitch out paragraph after paragraph will only frustrate them and lose the sale.

For people in a hurry, get right to point. Tell them what you are selling, how much you want for it, what the product or service can do to improve their situation, and finally, how they can buy it.

On the other hand, most people--something like 70%--won't buy unless they have lots and lots of details at their fingertips. These are the folks who buy best when they have a nice long sales letter in front of them.

If your prospects will sit still to read three, six, even twelve pages worth of copy, by all means give it to them. Anyone who reads that many pages will want to order, even if it is to ensure they didn't waste their time reading.

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Email Tip of the Month Dam the spam, dump the junk! by Heinz Tschabitscher www.email.about.com

For a more useful and less frustrating email experience, Outlook comes with a pretty -- dare I say surprisingly? -- effective spam filter.

The Outlook junk mail filter is even turned on by default. It is not operating at its highest efficiency, though, by default. Here's how to correct this and get the most out of Outlook's anti-spam arsenal.

To can spam effectively with the Outlook junk mail filter:

  » Select Tools | Options... from the menu.
  » Go to the Preferences tab.
  » Click the Junk E-mail... button.
  » Make sure High is selected under Choose the level of junk e-mail protection you want:.
  » Click OK.
  » Click OK again.

When it determines an incoming message to be spam, Outlook automatically places it in the Junk E-mail folder -- out of the way of your Inbox, but ready to be reviewed and recovered easily.

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