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Pirates & Poachers,
by Timothy Schneider, Publisher, Association News
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Los
Angeles, CA – March 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Room-block pirates and
poachers—outfits that actively seek to recruit or divert meeting-goers
away from official room blocks—have become an increasing threat to every
association that plans meetings. Not only do these pirates and poachers
deprive associations of commissions or rebates that they’ve negotiated
with host hotels, they can also cause associations to incur attrition penalties
that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
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A
survey by the Convention
Industry Council found that while the vast majority of meeting planners
have been affected by room-block piracy or poaching, less than 3 percent
of them had developed prevention or mitigation practices. To address that
need, the CIC’s Accepted Practices Exchange developed a dozen ways for
meeting planners to prevent room-block piracy and poaching:
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Provide
information to attendees and exhibitors on the event website and in all
marketing materials that clearly indicates official vendors and their logos.
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Provide
incentives to attendees and exhibitors to stay within the official room
block, including registration discounts or access to services such as shuttles.
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Use a
single system to manage registration and housing bookings. Alternatively,
provide a seamless integrated process that links both systems together.
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Include
an alert about the official room block and potential room-block piracy
and poaching risks in the registration system, preferably with a requirement
that the attendee acknowledge that they’ve seen the notice.
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Conduct
a pre-event audit of reservations and registrations. Notify registrants
who are not booked in the official block and determine if they’ve been
poached.
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In communications
sent to attendees, include requests that they forward information on the
official room block to the housing decision makers (such as procurement
departments and travel managers) in their organizations.
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In consultation
with your association’s legal counsel, obtain and maintain trademarks and
service marks for the organization’s name and events.
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Make copying
logos more difficult by disabling right-click copying, “shrink wrapping”
the logo, or slicing and dicing it into several components.
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Remove
or restrict online access (using a firewall or password protection) to
lists of past, current and prospective members, attendees, exhibitors and
sponsors. Alternatively, remove online lists as soon as the event concludes.
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Request
permission to collect and publish event participant data but limit the
information that is included on any published or posted lists.
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Include
a clause in hotel contracts about room-block piracy and poaching, including
communication expectations.
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Clearly
communicate to anyone with access to participant lists regarding the appropriate
use of the data. Apply “seeding” and “salting” practices to lists in order
to track their use and any misappropriation of your data.
For additional
information, visit ConventionIndustry.org.
This subject will also be discussed at Meetings Quest in Providence, Rhode
Island, and and Oakland, California. For details, visit MeetingsQuest.com
or call 877-577-3700.
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Timothy
Schneider is the publisher of Association
News and SportsTravel
magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating
106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider
Publishing also organizes Meetings
Quest, America's longest-running series of trade shows for meeting
planners, and the TEAMS Conference
& Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers.
TEAMS '15 is being held in Las Vegas, November 9–12, 2015. For further
information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free
877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
The
current issue of Association
News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking
here.
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Media
Contact:
Timothy
Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc. |