Yes, going offshore has downsides, but why don’t Australian firms make themselves more competitive?
MICEBTN archive stories issue 54
Thursday, 27 February 2014
A senior executive who has been in the hotel and MICE industry for almost 40 years, has hit out at the high cost of taking MICE groups to Australian destinations.
Alison Petrie, managing director of Perth-based EECW – a major conference and event management company – contends that travel and accommodation in Australia is more expensive than overseas destinations such as Bali.
For example, Petrie cites the cost of a group visit to Broome last year compared with one planned for Bali in 2014. “For Bali, we are looking at air fares as low as A$400 return on a low-cost airline as against up to A$1160 to Broome from Perth return (booked Qantas six weeks in advance - and not school holidays),” she said.
“We are paying A$267 for accommodation per night, including full American breakfast and taxes and charges for up to two people at a five-star resort in Nusa Dua, whereas the same delegate paid A$318 – excluding breakfast – at a five star resort in Broome in 2013.”
According to Petrie, her company looks for value-for-money and accepted that going overseas was not always cheaper. “There are additional risks, such as currency fluctuations, increased service and tax charges (up to 21 per cent in Bali), DFAT warnings and so on.
“In addition, if you are trying to attract sponsorship from the pharmaceutical companies, it is challenging if your venue is a five-star resort on the beach! So to take a conference overseas, especially to a resort venue, you have to work harder to overcome the challenges and attract top sponsorship dollars. It is also more complex to manage – for example, not so easy to pop into the venue for an ad hoc site inspection or meeting, plus there are language difficulties and risks of miscommunication, plus you have added expenses for staff travel, meals and accommodation. You probably don’t have an established relationship, so there could be trust issues on both sides.
“It would be brilliant if Australian venues understood this and presented a value proposition for PCOs that made going overseas a dumb idea.” Petrie, who works closely with business owner Debbie-Ann Scott and is focused on steering EECW forward and enhancing its national presence, is also critical of the hotel industry.
“Hotels still don’t know how to present themselves in the most effective way. Site inspections are not being treated as seriously as they should be – for many decision-makers it’s as significant as reviewing a response to a RFT. When I was DOSM at the Sheraton Perth, we worked really hard to secure MICE business in a competitive marketplace, so that meant being really innovative and creative in our approach. I haven’t seen that repeated,” she said.
“I cannot tell you how many sites where we have not even been offered a cup of coffee! Some BDMs at hotels or dedicated conference venues just don’t get it. Costs nothing and creates such a huge impression.”
According to Petrie, winning business is not about inviting PCOs or their clients to lunch – it’s about providing value for money and recognising the relationship.” I really value the relationship that EECW has with its preferred suppliers and it’s wonderful to see that reciprocated.”
Petrie also called for more industry training which, she said, shouldn’t be seen as the responsibility of the MEA or the PCOA. “It’s up to the employer to manage this,” she said. “There has to be a way we can pool resources and up skill our staff in all areas of hospitality. We have some amazing, experienced and deeply knowledgeable people in the MICE industry so why aren’t we leveraging this to train the new cohort coming into our industry?”
Yes, going offshore has downsides, but why don’t Australian firms make themselves more competitive?
Yes, going offshore has downsides, but why don’t Australian firms make themselves more competitive?
MICEBTN archive stories issue 54
Thursday, 27 February 2014
A senior executive who has been in the hotel and MICE industry for almost 40 years, has hit out at the high cost of taking MICE groups to Australian destinations.
Alison Petrie, managing director of Perth-based EECW – a major conference and event management company – contends that travel and accommodation in Australia is more expensive than overseas destinations such as Bali.
For example, Petrie cites the cost of a group visit to Broome last year compared with one planned for Bali in 2014. “For Bali, we are looking at air fares as low as A$400 return on a low-cost airline as against up to A$1160 to Broome from Perth return (booked Qantas six weeks in advance - and not school holidays),” she said.
“We are paying A$267 for accommodation per night, including full American breakfast and taxes and charges for up to two people at a five-star resort in Nusa Dua, whereas the same delegate paid A$318 – excluding breakfast – at a five star resort in Broome in 2013.”
According to Petrie, her company looks for value-for-money and accepted that going overseas was not always cheaper. “There are additional risks, such as currency fluctuations, increased service and tax charges (up to 21 per cent in Bali), DFAT warnings and so on.
“In addition, if you are trying to attract sponsorship from the pharmaceutical companies, it is challenging if your venue is a five-star resort on the beach! So to take a conference overseas, especially to a resort venue, you have to work harder to overcome the challenges and attract top sponsorship dollars. It is also more complex to manage – for example, not so easy to pop into the venue for an ad hoc site inspection or meeting, plus there are language difficulties and risks of miscommunication, plus you have added expenses for staff travel, meals and accommodation. You probably don’t have an established relationship, so there could be trust issues on both sides.
“It would be brilliant if Australian venues understood this and presented a value proposition for PCOs that made going overseas a dumb idea.” Petrie, who works closely with business owner Debbie-Ann Scott and is focused on steering EECW forward and enhancing its national presence, is also critical of the hotel industry.
“Hotels still don’t know how to present themselves in the most effective way. Site inspections are not being treated as seriously as they should be – for many decision-makers it’s as significant as reviewing a response to a RFT. When I was DOSM at the Sheraton Perth, we worked really hard to secure MICE business in a competitive marketplace, so that meant being really innovative and creative in our approach. I haven’t seen that repeated,” she said.
“I cannot tell you how many sites where we have not even been offered a cup of coffee! Some BDMs at hotels or dedicated conference venues just don’t get it. Costs nothing and creates such a huge impression.”
According to Petrie, winning business is not about inviting PCOs or their clients to lunch – it’s about providing value for money and recognising the relationship.” I really value the relationship that EECW has with its preferred suppliers and it’s wonderful to see that reciprocated.”
Petrie also called for more industry training which, she said, shouldn’t be seen as the responsibility of the MEA or the PCOA. “It’s up to the employer to manage this,” she said. “There has to be a way we can pool resources and up skill our staff in all areas of hospitality. We have some amazing, experienced and deeply knowledgeable people in the MICE industry so why aren’t we leveraging this to train the new cohort coming into our industry?”
Yes, going offshore has downsides, but why don’t Australian firms make themselves more competitive?
