Navigating Attrition: Beware of Pirates! By Bruce Harris, President, Conferon Global Services, Inc. Isn’t it special when unscrupulous companies come up with one dandy idea after another to make the job of living up to your hotel contracts more difficult? This comes on the heels of a slight win for associations as they find modest relief from hotel chains that previously put lower pricing on the Web than on their own sites. This new cancer is akin to piracy—with a gentle touch of deception added to confuse meeting attendees and exhibitors. In fact, in the industry the words “piracy” and “scavengers” are being used to describe this new threat. Here’s how it works… A company or travel agency obtains an organization’s list of members, attendees or exhibitors along with the location and dates of their meeting. The names can be acquired from a Web site or when the pirating agency signs up to attend or exhibit. (Note that before the event occurs, they usually cancel and get a refund because they have what they need—the names of your members and exhibitors!) Next, they send an email, letter or fax to those attendees and exhibitors. The communication usually starts out welcoming them to the show and, at times, leads the reader to believe that the sender is part of the association. They use the association’s name and initials—which also adds to the deception. They then list hotels that are offering lower rates than what the group rate is or lower rates at the group hotel. They invite anyone wanting to save money to simply click a link or call the toll-free number and Presto! They receive lower-cost rooms. Many attendees fall prey to this and are lured away from the group hotel rooms, thus contributing to attrition liability. So what can one do to avoid this? The answer is simple. By developing a combined registration and housing strategy that encourages attendees and exhibitors to stay in the group block, this menace will quickly disappear. Pirates only fish where there is opportunity for success, and a good strategy makes for bad fishing! Need help on a strategy? Contact your Account Executive for assistance.