Image via Lets Meet
Saw this post on the cvent blog which made me happy that the industry leader are still getting out he word that meetings are important.
Bill Marriott, chairman and CEO of Marriott International, took to The Washington Post yesterday to share his thoughts on the state of today’s hotel industry, saying simply to business, “Let’s meet.”
Marriott shares that his Half Moon Bay Resort in California employs 500 people, many of whom used to be seasonal farmworkers. In the past few weeks the resort has seen cancellations from over 32 groups.
“That means we’ve lost millions of dollars of expected business, the city has lost tax revenue and, sadly, some people have lost their jobs,” he writes.
Marriott recognizes that in today’s economy, not all meetings can go on as usual. However, canceling them out of fear of media criticism will have far-reaching negative effects.
“Marriott, like many businesses, is making tough choices,” Marriott writes. “Indeed, we have scaled back on some of our meetings and travel. Making those cuts was the right thing to do. But canceling meetings and events to dodge unwarranted criticism is shortsighted and will have a detrimental effect on the U.S. economy.”
