What groups do you see in the news? Usually it’s larger organizations. If you manage association group sales, these “big fish” may seem hard to book, though they often hold dozens of events each year all over the country. With Knowland, however, it’s easy to break down the logistics of finding and booking news-worthy association groups at your hotel.
On the News
As an example, a major current event for many association groups was the trade promotion authority (TPA) for trade agreements being passed into law. High-profile associations that deal with trade agreements have a keen interest in such events and often make the news to voice their support. Included in this are associations that represent the business, legislative, and regulatory interests of the country’s animal feed industry.
In Association Media
In addition to getting the spotlight from current events, publications such as World Grain feature the latest updates on meeting planners for major association groups. Meeting planners for large organizations (such as the Midwest agriculture association highlighted by World Grain on July 15, 2015) organize more than 40 events a year, from webinars to conferences.
Getting in touch with these meeting planners is a gateway to booking high-profile association groups that could bring revenue-driving events and room blocks to your hotel. The question is: How do you find them? Knowland has the answer.
In Your Hotel
Knowland’s database ties up the loose ends. By searching for groups in the association market segment using the Insight tool’s search filters, you can pull up historical booking data and contact information for meeting planners. Meeting planners like those mentioned by World Grain are consistently updated within Knowland. Therefore, even new planners have updated contact information linked to the groups with which they work. This way, you can reach out directly to book an organization’s event.
By having a strong tool like Knowland’s Insight, users can also strategically plan sales tactics by learning specific information on major organizations (such as associations in the food and grain industry) similar to the following:
- Where the group holds annual events (many are different cities/hotels each year)
- If the group steadily pays rate increases, and dollar amount of paid rates
- How many attendees are present at events
- What kind of vendors are hosted at events and how many
- Whether or not the group holds educational and networking events
- How much square footage the group needs
Give it a try: Current clients can login in on the Knowland site and run a search. If you would like further product training, register for an upcoming webinar.
Don’t have a Knowland subscription, but curious to see how Insight could work for your hotel? Contact the Knowland team.
