Size
Association and corporate buyers may be distinguished by a number of characteristics of the types of demand they generate for meetings. Perhaps the most striking contrast between the two segments is seen in the size of their respective events. Since many associarion events generate high delegate volumes, it is in this sector that a relatively high proportion of the largest meetings is to be found. In the UK meetings market, for example, Shallcmss (1998) remarks that a significantly higher proportion of association conferences have more than 200 delegates than any other sector.
Length
Most surveys demonstrate that association meetings tend to be longer than corporate events, and are more likely to be residential. For example, the UK Conference Market Survey for 2000 indicated that in that year, the average length of an association meeting event was 2.49 days, as compared with 1.63 days average duration for a corporate meeting (MIA, 2000).
It is due to the combination of association events being, generally speaking, larger and longer than corporate meetings that lead times (the period of time that passes from the date a decision is made to organise a meeting until the time when the meeting is actually held) are, on average, longer for association events than for corporate events. This difference is most marked in the case of international meetings: ICCA observes that while the lead time for (international) association meetings is two to three years, and sometimes longer, corporate meetings are planned over a shorter period, usually less than one year (ICCA, 2001). Rogers (1998; p-78) links the difference in length of lead times between the association and corporate markets to the fact that corporate demand for meetings appears to follow changes in the economy more closely than association demand: 'Fluctuations in conference demand are more noticeable in the corporate sector than in the association sector, often because of factors such as lead times. Corporate events, with relatively short lead times, can quickly respond to changing economic situations.'
Spending
It has traditionally been assumed by many that, in terms of actual spending, the more cost-conscious association market usually budgets for lower delegate rates (the cost of venue hire plus meals and accommodation, if required). Whereas this may be true of many association meetings - in particular, where most delegates are paying out of their own pockets - it is by no means the case that all associations are parsimonious in their approach to spending on meetings. Rogers (1998) observes that delegates attending an annual surgeons' conference would expect to stay in accommodation of at least three-star hotel standard, whereas a charity or religious conference would be more likely to require more modest accommodation at the budget end of the spectrum.
The revenue generated by association meetings takes on even greater dimensions when the spending of delegates' guests is taken into account. Although certain types of corporate meetings welcome the partners of those attending, this is much more common in the association market, where attendance is usually voluntary and where delegates' guests are often actively encouraged to attend, as a means of increasing attendee numbers.
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Location
Corporate buyers have a greater tendency than those in the association sector to return to the same destination or venue. As these are often determined by the location of the company's own headquarters or its representations, there tends to be a limited range of possible options from which a venue may be chosen. Consequently a hotel, for example, situated close to one of the company's premises may find that it has a regular contract to provide meetings facilities for that company - on condition, of course, that it delivers consistently satisfactory service.
In the association sector, there is greater flexibility of choice, as attendance at association events is usually voluntary. The choice of a different venue each time can add to the attractiveness of the conference package and therefore boost attendance. Ryan (1999; p.49) underlines this point: '[Association] conference organisers are not destination-loyal; indeed, changing venues is a means of sustaining interest in a series of conferences over time.'
However, one important constraint for locating association events is the obligation to rotate destinations in order, over time, to share out the costs, in terms of time and money, which members have to bear in order to attend. In order to maximise attendance, an association may alternate between different parts of the country, or within a continent, or even globally, depending on the geographical distribution of its members. For instance, for its annual conferences, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) has, since 1991, alternated between northern-hemisphere and southern-hemisphere destinations, such as Mexico (1991) and Brazil (1995). In 1999, the nineteenth ILGA World Conference was held for the first time in an African country, when 200 delegates from 40 countries gathered in Johannesburg to discuss the theme of 'Building Partnerships for Equality'.
A consequence of the system of rotating destinations is t
hat once a particular city has been used as the venue for an association meeting, the same association is unlikely to return there for a number of years.