Source: Robin Roth, Senior Contracts Editor, Conferon, Inc.
E-Specs: March 3, 2004

The rooms that you so carefully hold in your room block may be stolen away from you in a new kind of piracy that is menacing the meetings industry. A travel agency or other organization obtains the attendee or exhibitor list and meeting information and, posing as a legitimate association resource, offers hotel rooms at lower rates than the association has published. Then attendees book rooms at non-contracted hotels or rooms at rates lower than the group rate at the contracted hotels. Result – rooms are taken away from your block and you incur higher attrition costs.

Here are some measures you can take to deal with the problem:

• Be protective of your member, exhibitor and attendee lists. Do not publish the lists on the web or share them outside of your exhibitor or sponsorship organizations.
• Reward your members for staying at the official hotels.
• Make sure that your hotel contracts contain terms that allow for all rooms to be credited towards the group pickup, no matter what the rate or how the reservation was made.
• If one of your attendees receives information from a "pirate" organization with an offer of lower rates, send a reply requesting that the organization cease and desist from all further communications. If the name of the association, its acronym or other trademark information is being used, you can mention that such use could constitute a violation of intellectual property laws.
• Instruct your customer or member service area to be suspicious if your organization is contacted by phone with an offer of cheap hotel rooms. Coach them to "play dumb" and obtain as much identifying information as possible.
• Communicate the potential threat to your members and instruct them on the benefits and importance of staying within the block.

Fortunately, if you are not caught off guard, these third parties can be stopped in their tracks.

In the next issue of Contracts Corner, look for the top reasons to communicate to attendees and exhibitors on why to stay within the contracted block.

(Note: This information is not intended to be "legal advice." A qualified attorney should be consulted to review all legal issues.)