Advantages And Disadvantages Of Independent Meeting Planners

For years, many corporations have started to rely on a third party planner to take up responsibility for meeting-planning. These third party associates are known as independent planners. An independent planner business mostly relies on how they handle their reputation in dealing fairly, relationships, and referrals from other corporations. They are known for ensuring that “all parties are aware of all contract provisions, including those for commissions” (Toh, Dekay and Yate,s 2005). They also make sure all parties involved, like hotels, treat clients fairly. Although hiring independent meeting planners have become an important part in the hospitality industry for corporations, there has been little research done in the field of independent planners. The purpose of this article, is to go in-depth and examine the different representative group-sales agreements, different ways a planner can be compensated, and what their true role is at an event (Toh, DeKay and Yates, 2005).
The author visited the web sites of relevant professional organizations and conducted interviews with several meeting planners and hotel room division managers to understand more

With the many methods an independent meeting planner can be compensated, certain problem areas have been identified based on the literature and what the interviewed planners have specified. Commission payment method can be an immediate conflict when it comes to choosing a hotel for meeting events for clients. Different percentages of commission from hotels to independent meeting planners can influence a decision of which venue to choose. While 37 percent of planners say that the choice of venue does not rely on how much commission they are paid through a hotel, 43 percent stated that it does influence their decision. Because of this, most planners flat out refuse to accept commission because they see it an