Strength In Numbers:
The Resort Meetings Consortium

Medical Meetings

The only negative about resort meetings, say planners, is the cost. Now, planners can mitigate that obstacle. The Resort Meetings Consortium (RMC), an Olando, FL-based company guarantees it will get planners the lowest group rates available during their meeting dates.

RMC offers a range of services, including site selection and program guidance. Staff members will negotiate resort contracts and handle negotiations with other suppliers such as airlines and destination management companies. A newsletter keeps members updated on resort renovations and value dates, and members also have access to a libarary of resort brochures and videos.

Planners can even earn revenues through RMC's revenue-sharing program. Here's how it works: the consortium earns a ten percent marketing fee from the resort (based on total room revenue), and than passes on ten to 25 percent of that fee to the group, depending on how many meetings the group books through the consortium. RMC will also provide on-site program management and provides destination management services as part of our client benefits package.

"With the seller's market driving the industry, "Janove says, "People need to band together to show their strength." That combined strength is one obvious benefit for planners. While an individual association may bring a resort a $50,000 meeting, "imagine the power of $5 million worth of business in your pocket when you go to specific resorts," Janove points out.

Encyclopedic Knowledge

RMC staff members come from resort or hotel backgrounds and can capitalize on their long-term industry relationships, benefiting both planners and suppliers, says John Washko, National Sales Manager for Bahamas-based Atlantis Paradise Island. Their knowledge helps planners save time as well as money. "A planner may want to do site inspections at three resorts, but with Janove's vast knowledge of different properties, he might say, "These two won't work", says Washko. "He is able to find the right fit. "