Ascend Summer 2019 | Page 27

4 CONSIDER A VENDOR TO HELP SUPPORT YOU EARLY ON MEETINGS MATURITY MODEL Benchmarking Business Intelligence Business Intelligence Integrated Programs Integrated Programs Best Practices Best Practices Spend Visibility Spend Optimization Spend Optimization Electronic RFP Electronic RFP Electronic RFP Static Budget Standard Budget Comprehensive Budget Comprehensive Budget Reconciliation Attendee Registration Attendee Registration Attendee Registration Attendee Registration Manual Meeting Request Meeting Request Meeting Request Meeting Request Meeting Request No Policy Meetings in Travel Policy Meetings Policy Comprehensive Meetings Policy Cohesive Mtgs. Policy w/ Compliance Measurement Level 1 Infancy Level 2 Emergent Level 3 Operative Level 4 Excelling Level 5 Mastery A travel management company handles all aspects of Meetings & Events on behalf of a company. We get preferred deals for your hotel spending and track those dollars in our system. We act as your buying agent to get better hotel rates and added-value amenities like waived resort fees, free parking and free Wi-Fi. Take a look at this Meetings Maturity Model initially developed by the GBTA Meetings Committee. We’ve refined this to align with some of the key focus areas that we help clients manage. We can help advance your program into the operative category by managing the RFP process, budget, registration, and creating a comprehensive meetings policy without a huge amount of work on the client side. 5 ROLL OUT Align your Meetings & Events Policy rollout with a communications plan and a program sponsor. Your sponsor should start with a beta group of meeting planners and make them advocates of your new policy. Don’t forget to toot your own horn. Make sure your co- workers know about - and use - your new Meeting Policy by using the company intranet, webinars and other internal communications resources. Elevating the Art of Business Travel 25