Family Meetings
All in the Family
A LOOK AT WHY FAMILY-FRIENDLY MEETINGS ARE
GROWING, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO ENSURE YOUR
NEXT EVENT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
W
here does the average employed
American parent spend more of his
or her time — at work or with the
kids? According to the “2011 American Time
Use Survey” conducted by the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics, employed adults spent an
average of 7.6 hours a day working. By comparison, adults living in households with children
under the age of six spent an average of just
two hours per day providing primary childcare.
Those with children between the ages of six and
17 spent only an average of 47 minutes per day
providing primary care. That’s a big difference.
No wonder, then, that many workers might
welcome any opportunity to spend more time
with their families. Smart associations and
companies, eager to boost attendance numbers,
are catching on, and family-inclusive meetings
are becoming more popular than ever.
“We are definitely seeing more requests
and have more conversations these days
about adding more family components to our
clients’ incentive and meeting programs,”
says Megan Barry, lead travel buyer for
Maritz Travel. “Allowing people to bring their
families is helping them drive attendance and
achieve their business objectives and sales
goals at the same time.”
By Deanna Ting
More meeting planners are also incorporating
family-friendly events into the actual meeting
agendas. “It’s not necessarily just about bringing your family and negotiating special hotel
packages and pre- and post-stays,” says Tammi
Runzler, senior vice president of convention
sales and services for Visit Orlando.
The belief that you shouldn’t mix business
with family time is also fading away.
“In the past, [a family-friendly meeting]
might have seemed a little bit more taboo,” says
Runzler. “But people understand that that’s no
longer true; having families present simply adds
a level of quality.”
What’s the ROI?
Many associations and companies are finding
that including families is a win-win all around.
“Having a family-friendly meeting makes
employees more apt to go the extra mile for
me,” says Bruce J. Newman, chairman of the
Business Direct Group, an industry trade group
for B2B direct-marketing companies. Newman
has organized a variety of different meetings
for his own companies. He adds, “In meetings
where my kids have attended, I think they’ve
created more relationships for me, professionally, over networking, than I might have created
for myself. We’re competing for talent and
whatever we can do to add high-value benefits
for the employees, we’re looking to do. It’s a
great trade-off.”
Newman’s philosophy is shared by
recognition expert Roy Saunderson, author of
Giving the Real Recognition Way and president
of the Recognition Management Institute.
“Having the family at a meeting shows that the
company values the employee’s time and they
value the family,” Saunderson says. “Greater
employee appreciation just naturally builds
better employee satisfaction and engagement.
Recognizing employees’ families will only
increase their loyalty, and will give employees
greater peace of mind to focus on the event by
having their families there.”
Barry says that one of her client’s attendees
personally told her that he worked all year to
meet his sales goals, just so he could bring his
family to the company’s annual meeting and
treat his family to a vacation.
•
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ROI
Family-friendly meetings are a win-win
for everyone involved
The cost of a family-friendly meeting is more flexible than you think
Photography: Visit Orlando
More associations and companies are
hosting family-friendly meetings to boost
attendance and increase ROI
A family-friendly property like Maui’s Grand Wailea
Resort (above left) caters to everyone
Six Flags Great America focuses on including kidfriendly activities for its family-friendly meetings
Dr. Mel Borins, a practicing family physician
and author of Go Away – Just for the Health
of It, says vacations have the power to relieve
stress and motivate employees. “Research shows
that burnout decreases during a vacation and
that people are more interested in their jobs
when they return after a vacation,” he says.
“Absenteeism goes down after workers return
from a vacation.”
The concept of holding a family-friendly
meeting ties in perfectly with achieving a better
several vacations a year, this allows our attendees
to have a family vacation experience in
some way,” says Tina Mannices, manager of
continuing medical education at Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia. Every year, Mannices
plans a five-day pediatric cardiovascular medicine meeting for more than 1,300 medical professionals and their family members. This year’s
meeting was held at Universal Orlando Resort.
“[The attendees] think, ‘I know we can have a
nice family vacation in February and I can
“There’s nothing funnier than seeing Mickey show
up and watching all the adults pushing the kids out
of the way to get their photo taken with him.”
Bruce J. Newman, chairman, Business Direct Group
work-life balance. “People are looking for an
overall healthy experience — physical, mental,
spiritual, and what have you,” says Runzler.
They’re looking for somewhat of a richer
experience over the course of the meeting and
that often includes having family there.”
For some families, these meetings substitute
for annual family vacations, and many opt for
pre- and post-stays.
“With us being in a down economy where
people don’t always have the money to take
obtain credits for my license at the same time,’”
she says. “People are trying to save money and
they know they need to do this for their career,
so it’s great that they can combine the two.”
Money Matters
Just as employees are minding their pocketbooks, so too are employers and associations.
While most organizations are less concerned
about families being a distraction, they are more
concerned about one thing: the bottom line.
“There’s definitely a cost factor,” says Michael
Murray, vice president of the Hawaii Visitors &
Convention Bureau’s corporate meetings
and incentives division. “From the planner’s
perspective, it’s case by case, and it depends on
how much you want to involve the family.”
At the American Pet Products Association’s
(APPA) Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Tracey
Wilson, trade show manager for special events
and meetings, contains costs by limiting
family programming to childcare services for
show days. The APPA started providing childcare services four years ago and, while it does
not actively promote the service, Wilson says the
number of children in the program has grown
over the years. She says that cost and liability
concerns have prevented APPA from adding
additional off-site children’s programming in
the past, but adds, “I don’t rule [adding more
activities] out at all. We’re taking baby steps.”
Newman says that including families in his
meetings doesn’t put him in the red. “I don’t pay
for families to come,” he explains. “I pay
for the attendees to come. During the meeting,
I’m already paying for the hotel room, so what
difference does it make to have an attendee’s
family members in the same room?”
He says that picking the right location can
make all the difference, which is why he’s hosted
four global meetings at Walt Disney World
Including family members at official dining events is
becoming increasingly common at meetings
The American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World
Resort appeals to attendees of all ages
Resort, in years past. “The room configurations
and the dining options at Disney allow me to
design something creative and economic so that
when I add up the total bill, that extra cost is actually very small in the overall context.”
Barry, like Newman, seeks out locations
and venues that offer family-friendly
accommodations such as double-double guest
rooms or condominiums, as well as on-site kid’s
programs. She even saved money at a recent
meeting in Sea Island, GA, by having separate
adult and children buffet lines. “The lighter kid’s
menu was actually less expensive,” she explains.
Traditional family destinations like Orlando
and Hawaii, and major attractions like theme
parks, also add value to a planner’s bottom line.
“That’s our mission every day — to cater
to families,” says Eric Marshall, vice president
of park sales at Universal Orlando Resort.
At Six Flags Great America, Special Events
Representative Krystal Bern says that, because
Six Flags offers so many family options, it’s not
a challenge for organizations of all budgets to
host an event. “We have the space. We have the
activities and attractions. We are really creative.”
At the Conference of Western Attorney
Generals (CWAG) Annual Meeting, families are
always included in the agenda. CWAG Meeting
Manager and Event Coordinator Janine
Knudsen attributes this year’s record attendance
of 850 attendees and family members to the
venue: Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA.
Hosting the event at Disneyland also helped
Knudsen with planning special activities. “I
don’t really need to plan anything else for offsite activities because it’s all there,” she says.
While morning sessions were only for attendees, families were invited to nightly events,
including a private barbecue at Big Thunder
Ranch Jamboree and a preferred viewing area
for the “World of Color” light-and-water show.
Something for Everyone
A planner’s biggest challenge in hosting a
family-friendly meeting might be trying to find
activities that appeal to every age group. But, as
with every meeting, customization and doing
your research are the keys to ensuring success.
“Understand what the client’s goal is for the
event, and how much time they want to spend
with the meeting, and how much free time
is available for families,” Barry advises.
“Find out the approximate number of kids
before sourcing. Ask where that client has been
before. Consider the budget; ask if every meal is
included. No matter what, sit down and make
sure your clients’ expectations are met.”
Newman says even the smallest touches can
leave a lasting impression. “There’s nothing
funnier than seeing Mickey show up and watch-
ing all the adults pushing the kids out of the way
to get their photo taken with him,” he says.
“The impression you leave on an employee by
doing a good job on planning the family part
of a meeting is very powerful. Don’t be shortsighted or short on effort.”
Many planners and industry experts believe
the family-friendly meetings trend will only
grow. Anne Hamilton, vice president of resort
sales and services for Disney Destinations, even
noted that she’s seen some groups inviting
grandparents. Barry says that more familyfriendly meeting groups are beginning to
consider national parks, as well as exotic locales
as far flung as Costa Rica and Beijing.
“I hope [this meeting trend] becomes more
of a norm, and that’s exactly what I’m hearing
from so many planners and exhibitors,” says
Runzler. “I hope it becomes more of a way of
life, and more of a way of conducting business.”
Runzler is not alone. After reflecting on some
of the special family meeting activities she’s
arranged for her clients, Barry exclaims, “I
wish I were a kid these days!” SM
Reprinted with permission from Successful Meetings magazine, September 2012.