The No. 1 Thing That Drives Meeting Planners Mad

April 10, 2015

Over the past several weeks, DMAI’s empowerMINT team has been running a March “Meeting Planning Madness” Tournament, giving meeting planners the opportunity to vote on what aspects of their job drive them absolutely mad.

After 400+ meeting planners casted more than 3,000 votes, DMAI declares the No. 1 maddening element of meeting planning as “Waiting on Others to Make Decisions,” which won in a landslide over the runner up “Stakeholders Who Think They’re Planners.”

“Honestly, I was a little surprised by the outcome of our tournament and it has given me a new appreciation and insight in to planners’ challenges,” said managing director of DMAI’s empowerMINT initiative Christine “Shimo” Shimasaki. “I can’t think of anything more frustrating and anxiety-ridden than being responsible for a project with a deadline date and not having complete control. Delays in decisions create pressure on the numerous tasks and other decisions that must be made in a timely manner.”

According to DMAI, the results of this “tournament” give great insight into the causes of stress for meeting professionals, which is valuable information for destination marketing organizations, hotels and venues. Event coordinator was ranked as one of the Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2015 by CareerCast; therefore, understanding the causes of this stress is critical for organizations and companies to have a better working relationship with meeting professionals.

A group of meeting planners helped DMAI determine the list of “Not-So-Sweet-Sixteen” things that drive meeting planners mad. Voting took place from March 16 to April 3 to coincide with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and the final round of voting was held April 1–3.

The tournament was sponsored by Visit Indy, the destination holding the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GHCVB), one of the cities hosting Elite Eight games.

The full list of “Not-So-Sweet-Sixteen” things that drive meeting planners mad included:

  • Being called a party planner
  • Stakeholders who think they’re planners
  • Extensive travel demands
  • Not getting paid enough
  • Emails and more emails
  • Uninformed salespeople
  • Cold calls
  • Seller’s market
  • Hotel walking my VIPs
  • Now who’s my contact?
  • Meeting room changes
  • Surprises, surprises, surprises
  • Inadequate response to my RFP
  • Champagne taste on a beer budget
  • Enough space for my ugly baby meeting
  • Waiting for others to make decisions

www.empowerMINT.com, www.destinationmarketing.org

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