REPORT FROM THE U.S.—More reports of lavish spending in Las Vegas—this time from the federal government—couldn’t come at a worse time for the U.S. Travel Association, which last week embarked on a 20,000-mile nationwide bus tour to combat negative rhetoric about the meetings industry that’s still lingering from 2009.
The most important element of the Vote Travel campaign is to protect meetings, events and incentive travel from harmful attacks, as well as inform policymakers about the value of the industry, said Blain Rethmeier, senior VP of public affairs for the U.S. Travel Association.
Rethmeier spoke on a conference call Wednesday as the Vote Travel tour bus left the Navy Pier in Chicago and headed to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. He said the bus already was touring the U.S. when news came Monday that the head of the General Services Administration had resigned after reports of inappropriate spending at the agency’s 2010 conference outside Las Vegas.
Rethmeier said the report will not deter U.S. Travel’s efforts to emphasize the importance of business meetings to the travel industry and the overall economy, although he admitted it could lead to more travel cuts by companies who want to avoid the stigma.
“We’ve already been on Congress to meet about this issue,” Rethmeier said. “Obviously there are huge consequences for the government to go out and say negative things (about meetings). This is really the actions of a few, and we don’t believe it presents a problem.”
The Washington Post first reported Monday that GSA Administrator Martha Johnson resigned, two of her top deputies were fired and four managers were placed on leave amid reports of an “over the top” retreat in 2010 at the M Resort Spa Casino off the Las Vegas strip.
“There is no question this was irresponsible behavior, if what we hear is correct,” said Rethmeier about the GSA report. “However, we believe the Obama administration has done a good job putting in policies to prevent these actions. … Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater because we all know responsible travel is beneficial to the economy.”
Benefits for the meetings industry
U.S. Travel’s Vote Travel campaign includes meetings with local elected officials and travel industry leaders across the country. The bus will attend rallies and meetings where local communities will be urged to share the importance of travel to their elected representatives.
On Wednesday, the organization introduced a toolkit for meeting planners and hoteliers that will help walk them through how to convey the message to local politicians. One suggestion from the toolkit, Rethmeier said, is that hotels offer back-of-house tours to politicians if they’re at the hotel for a business meeting. U.S. Travel provides “talking points” in the toolkit and suggests hotel employees share the importance of meetings to the community and share “stories on why their job is important to them.”
“It’s important for them to see it first-hand,” said Candice Knezevic, director of grassroots and industry relations for U.S. Travel.
Rethmeier said U.S. Travel has a Washington ally in Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who “clearly understands the value of government meetings and events.” The organization has met with Norton’s office since the GSA news and discussed the importance of combating negative rhetoric about the meetings industry, Rethmeier said.
There is concern the GSA report will lead to companies cutting back on travel, he said. “We can’t leave anything to chance,” Rethmeier said. “We saw what happened in 2009, and we can’t let that happen again. That’s why it will help to inform policymakers about the importance of meetings travel on the industry and the economy.”
“What we’re going to be doing over the rest of the year is to engage meetings professionals to help promote Keep America Meeting,” Knezevic added. “We learned in 2009, after the President’s remarks discouraging travel to Vegas that we need to have congressional allies at the ready … to help reduce the rhetoric coming out of Washington.”
The Keep America Meeting toolkit is available for download on the U.S. Travel Association’s website.