Meeting the Budget: Creatively controlling corporate event costs. (Meetings & Conventions).

With Corporate expenses being scrutinized in a shaky economy, offsite meetings and events can still succeed without breaking the budget. But it does take some flexibility in amenities and schedule dates. Being able to determine specific needs in advance will also favorably impact the bottom line.

Take food, for example--an important ingredient for most gatherings. "Instead of steak or prime rib, consider serving roast beef," says Ann Fischer, director of catering at the Executive Inn in Evansville. Likewise, the way chicken is prepared can be scaled back. "A Queen of England chicken breast with walnuts and grapes can easily be substituted with a chicken piccata," Fischer explains. The savings can be dramatic: $22 for a fancy meal versus $12 for something less-labor intensive and made from lower-priced ingredients. This translates into a savings of $500 for 50 people on one meal alone. Regardless of choice, "you still get a house salad, a starch, a vegetable, rolls and butter, iced tea and coffee, and a dessert," Fischer says.

Fischer also shatters the myth that a buffet is often less expensive than a sit-down meal. "For a served meal, we can control the food costs," she states.

Theater seating for the meeting room is also less costly than classroom seating. "You need to rent a larger room for classroom-style seating," Fischer says. In addition, a classroom setting usually entails tables and linen as opposed to chairs only for theater seating. "It takes less time to set up a room for theater style," says Fischer, so labor costs are subsequently less.

Carefully checking lodging rates can also save money. "Sunday or Wednesday may be a low-occupancy night for a particular hotel, so you may have a better chance of negotiating a favorable rate," says Gregg Murphy, co-owner and general manager of the University Inn, Conference Center & Suites in West Lafayette (adjacent to the Cumberland Place Exhibition Center). For a one-day meeting, "have everyone arrive Sunday for a Monday meeting instead of arriving Monday for Tuesday," Murphy suggests.

Flexibility in selecting the month or season of the meeting can reduce costs as well. "Typically, hotels are going to have a busy season or a slow season," Murphy says. "January may be a slow month, for example." Furthermore, try to limit meeting hours to daylight. "The hotel's cost structure is higher during the night," Murphy points out. "Obviously, your dinner entrees are more than breakfast or lunch. Staff may also need to be compensated for overtime because of the late hour," says Murphy, who estimates cost savings of between 15 and 25 percent for day meetings.

Daylight hours also correspond to peak attention spans for most attendees, "Participants tend to be more alert in the morning and afternoon," Murphy observes. In any event, "plan ahead and be flexible. This will allow you to find the best deals. We are a supply-and-demand business, probably more so than people realize."

According to Jim Yarnelle, director of marketing at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, one way to shave costs is "double-dutying the room for a general session and a meal function." Such a room might be arranged in crescent rounds (half rounds) with all participants facing the screen or speaker. Then during a break or breakouts, "the room is magically transformed into a luncheon room," Yarnelle says. By combining activities in one room, multiple requests for audio-visual equipment or staging can also be avoided.

AV equipment can be minimized by arranging for a particular piece of equipment to be used in one location only. For instance, "a video-data projector has a high daily rental rate," Yarnelle says. Therefore, "try to schedule in the same room all presentations that require the projector. This keeps down the cost of duplicate rentals."

Similarly, when planning a reception, "make the expensive food items less accessible," Yarnelle recommends. A shrimp cocktail, at $1.50 per piece, might be strategically placed in an obscure back area of the room or obtainable from only one side of the display rather than from multiple sides. In contrast "less expensive items like cubed cheese and fresh chopped vegetables with dip can be more prominently displayed and easily reachable," Yarnelle says.

It is also important that the complex offers many different room sizes, "so you don't end up paying for a larger room than necessary," says Michelle Koselke, director of marketing at Crystal Food Services in Indianapolis, which caters a number of Indianapolis-area facilities, including The Fountains Banquet and Conference Center in Carmel. Aligning with a location that has an integrated AV system will reduce costs, too. "You're going to pay extra if you or the hotel has to outsource to run wires, provide projectors or put in screens," Koselke cautions.

Meeting planners may be able to slash costs by eliminating an entire day. After a full day, "you can have a nice dinner, followed by a night session," says Hollie Lutz, an assistant director for guest and meeting services at the Indiana Memorial Union Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington. Two or three night sessions are the equivalent of a full day. "Instead of scheduling a four-day meeting, scale it down to three days," Lutz says.

A Saturday overnight stay will often result in cheaper airfare. Depending on the number of airplane tickets, this savings can be significant. Consequently, a conference can be scheduled Friday through Monday, for example.

Doing away with some of the perks, which don't compromise the content and quality of a meeting, should also be considered. "These perks include gifts upon registration, and nice jackets and shirts," Lutz says. Moreover, "fewer welcome baskets are being delivered to hotel rooms."

On the other hand, "we are seeing more audio conference calling," Lutz observes. Travel and hospitality expenses are naturally eliminated for a particular speaker when he or she can address the meeting from a remote location. Offering a continental breakfast versus a hot breakfast to attendees can also reduce costs. Likewise, scale back afternoon coffee breaks to only beverages as opposed to fruit trays and fondue.

For meetings not wedded to a particular city, "I don't believe the lodging rate is necessarily the best issue to play back and forth," says Tricia Hernandez, director of sales and marketing at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville. "The facility's ultimate motive is to have a very successful, well-run meeting." Budget-minded or not, planners should consider hotels that have received awards for service. "What other customers say about your hotel is also important," Hernandez says.

Flexibility is key, however. For example, "during peak times (large city events or big conventions) there is limited inventory available," says Sheila Kavanaugh, director of sales and marketing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center at Historic Union Station in downtown Indianapolis. "If you are flexible, we can put you in just about any rate range. If you book around a holiday, you might save $40 to $50 a night on a room."

It also helps if a meeting can obtain a preferred status with a specific lodging chain. "We have a Priority Club that always provides a better corporate rate," Kavanaugh explains. Volume also plays a role. "You'll be given further consideration if you commit to more than one meeting at our facility," she says.

Entertainment costs can be reduced by booking up-and-coming artists. "These acts provide very good entertainment," Kavanaugh says. This may include local acts at comedy clubs or lounges. "We also ask entertainment bureaus to notify us when a major star is passing our way, perhaps to or from Chicago or on the way to Atlanta," Kavanaugh comments. Typically, "you can reserve these acts for half price."

Finally, avoid last-minute changes to a meeting. "Surcharges will be added if you need to make a change in rental equipment without sufficient notice," Kavanaugh says. Centerpieces, candelabras, table drapes, carpentry and staging should all be finalized at least a week before the event.