The problem with "Around the Block"

Around the Block Booking is when attendees are tricked into booking rooms outside of the official conference room block.

SUPPORT ASSOCIATIONS. BOOK OFFICIAL HOUSING! seeks to shed light about the major impact and financial loss booking outside the official block has on the meetings and medical industries.

Through awareness, support, action and accessibility to Association’s official hotel inventories, we can unite as an industry to protect our Associations, their face-to-face meetings, networking opportunities and education at annual meetings. We urge you to make an impact, book official and secure the sharing of ideas and the exchange of innovation at the global level.

+ Economic Impact
- Housing is a key component to measuring the economic impact of a meeting. Guaranteeing rooms gives an Association the opportunity for better room rates, less expensive food and beverage, and discounted meeting spaces. Without full booking information, Associations lose their negotiating leverage.
+ Customer Service
- Creating ‘peace of mind’ through customer service is important. Guaranteeing rooms gives an Association negotiation leverage over concessions, such as VIP airport pickups, free Internet in rooms, rebates off the master bill, having a pre-set shuttle service, pre-paid meals, etc. which make a difference for an attendee's hectic schedule.
+ Convenience and Cost Savings
- Staying within the room block means attendees may have the convenience of a short walk or free shuttle ride back to their hotel room. Outside the block, extra transportation and/or taxi charges are common.
+ Support the association
- When attendees book inside the block, they are supporting the Association. It is the right thing to do and comes with extra cost benefits for the attendees and the Association. The Association avoids attrition penalties and is able to negotiate better deals on room rates and food and beverage costs, which means that conference registration fees can remain low. Room blocks also help create a sense of community and that translates into Association loyalty, medical networking and sharing of medical knowledge.
+ On-site Benefits
- Staying outside the block means attendees don’t have access to room drops and important announcements. Hotels within the block often have a desk with information about the city and conference and staff on-hand to handle questions, concerns or disputes.

Campaign Groups

How much money are you losing?

Estimate Financial Losses to Associations from International Attendees

Number of Attendees
Total International Attendees	%
International Group Block
Individuals Booked Through Domestic Housing	%
Individuals Booked Through Exhibitor Housing	%
Average Number of Nights
Average Room Rate	$
Average Spend Ancillary Ancillary: f&b, minibar, in room movies, telephone, internet, spa, gift shop, business center	$

Estimate of Lost Revenue from Groups Booking Outside of Association Block

Total Conference Attendees
Total International Attendees
Intl. Atendees Housing Captured Through Official Housing Blocks (Group + Individuals)
International Attendees Unaccounted for
Total Intl. Attendees Included in Domestic Exhibitor Block
Int. Attendees Outside Official Block
Estimated intl. Room Nights Outside Official Block
Estimated Room Revenue not Credited to Association $
Estimated Ancillary Revenue per Attendee (RN x Avg Spend) $
Total Negative Impact $

How it affects you
Steps to take
How it affects you
Steps to take
How it affects you
Steps to take

Associations & Meeting Planners

“Around the Block” booking impacts association revenue both directly, through attrition fees charged to associations for unused pre-contracted rooms, and indirectly through the loss of negotiating leverage. Guaranteeing room blocks give associations the opportunity to negotiate concessions, such as better room rates, less expensive food and beverage, VIP airport pickups, free Internet, rebates off the master bill, having a pre-set shuttle service, etc. Housing is a key component in how this leverage is measured and ‘around the block’ booking decreases the association’s negotiating power- ultimately making the meeting more expensive and more complicated. Higher attendance costs also translate into fewer attendees for the meetings, which in turn mean loss of revenue not only for the Association, but also for the hotels, restaurants, transportation companies and the venue city.

Davide Veglia, President of ABTS Convention Services, estimates that of the 20 Associations ABTS currently services, international ‘around the block’ booking alone account for approximately 50 million dollars revenue loss per year for Associations, without taking into consideration an additional loss of at least 12 million dollars to the venue city associated with lost revenue from international attendees who cannot attend the meetings due to higher costs. These numbers do not even begin to approach the staggering loss in revenue for the domestic market and for the industry as a whole.

Unsolicited or unofficial housing claims often confuse and disappoint members, registrants, and exhibitors and can lead to hidden penalties for them. When attendees stay outside the official housing hotels, they miss out on a big part of the annual meeting experience. These attendees often end up paying more in and disappointed overall with the experience. When these attendees don’t return next year, there is an overall decrease of attendance, a decrease of face-to-face meetings and networking and a decrease in the exchange of information on a global level.

Associations & Meeting Planners

Promote distinct event “official housing” logo or other supplier designation. Be protective of official branding against fraudulent housing parties.
Carefully screen anyone who is requesting your list of attendees and be careful of what you post online without security measures.
If you find out a company is misrepresenting itself as official housing, take swift and aggressive legal action.
Effectively communicate to your members who the official housing agents are and how to contact them. Communicate this loudly and often.
Communicate the benefits of staying within the official housing block- free shuttles, internet, networking, etc. Consider registration/special incentives.
Charge ‘around the block’ fees for attendees who book unofficial housing.
Always include a contractual clause ensuring lowest room rate offered over meeting dates.
Negotiate a price-protection clause into the hotel contract that protects associations against being undercut on the room rate. These may require hotels to cross-reference rooms booked at the group rate to ensure there is a corresponding conference registration. Otherwise, the individual must pay the hotel's undiscounted rate.
Raise awareness. The more people know, the more strength they have. It’s important to remember that attendees just want to get their room booked at a reasonable rate and may not be aware of industry problems with ‘around the block’ booking.

Agents & International Meeting Planners

With rampant ‘around the block’ bookings, Associations find themselves booking smaller room blocks to minimize hotel attrition fees. With a smaller guaranteed room block, associations loose leverage when negotiating concessions such as better room rates, less expensive food and beverage, VIP airport pickups, free Internet, rebates off the master bill, having a pre-set shuttle service, etc. Housing is a key component in how this leverage is measured and ‘around the block’ booking ultimately makes the meeting more expensive per person.

Especially in medical meetings, attendees are often sponsored by pharmaceutical groups who have a set budget. When meetings become more expensive per person, less people are able to participate. Higher attendance costs translate into fewer attendees for the meetings, which in turn mean loss of revenue for the agents and international meeting planners as well as the hotels, restaurants, transportation companies and the venue city.

Smaller room blocks also mean that attendees who are looking to book official housing at specific hotels may be out of luck when the hotel runs out of rooms early in the process. For many attendees, this is a deal breaker- losing revenue for everyone.

Unsolicited or unofficial housing claims often confuse and disappoint attendees. It is not unheard of attendees arriving at hotels to find their rooms don’t exist or have been canceled. When attendees stay outside the official housing hotels, they do not have access to room drops, announcements, free shuttles, free or reduced meals, networking events and other happenings that are a big part of the annual meeting experience. These attendees often end up paying more in fees and transportation and disappointed overall with the experience.

Agents & International Meeting Planners

Download the App. Designed to give easy on-the-go access to hundreds of official hotel properties selected by and for U.S. Association Annual Meetings, it is a MUST HAVE tool for International Meeting Planners. Access entire hotel inventories, guarantee pre-contracted rates and blocks, enjoy onsite support and protect yourself and the Association against unofficial pirate housing claims and hidden penalties from your smart phone or tablet.
Be cautious of unsolicited and unofficial communications offering lower hotel rates than official group rates. Look for distinct event “official housing” logo or other supplier designation.
Book the lowest pre-contracted room rates available exclusively for planners through verified official housing.
Communicate the benefits of staying within the official housing block- free shuttles, internet, networking, etc.
Avoid additional registration or ‘around the block’ fees.
Raise awareness. The more people know, the more strength they have. It’s important to remember that attendees just want to get their room booked at a reasonable rate and may not be aware of industry problems with ‘around the block’ booking. SHARE THIS PAGE

Official Housing & Hotels

With rampant ‘around the block’ bookings, Associations find themselves booking smaller room blocks to minimize hotel attrition fees. When the association runs out of rooms in their block, attendees may be forced to either find alternate housing outside of official hotels and at a higher price than expected.

Higher attendance costs translate into fewer attendees for the meetings, which in turn mean loss of revenue for the hotels as well as for the association, the meeting planners, restaurants, transportation companies and the venue city. This is especially true in medical meetings where attendees are often sponsored by pharmaceutical groups who have a set budget. When meetings become more expensive per person, less people are able to participate.

Unsolicited or unofficial housing claims often confuse and disappoint attendees. It is not unheard of attendees arriving at hotels to find their rooms don’t exist or have been canceled. This looks bad both for the association and for the hotel.

Official Housing & Hotels

Protect the associations against being undercut on the room rate. Do not offer rooms at a lower price during meeting dates.
Offer additional benefits to guests within the official room block- internet, VIP concierge, etc. and make sure guests are aware of these as part of the official room block package.
Cross-reference rooms booked at the group rate to ensure there is a corresponding conference registration. Otherwise, guests must pay the hotel's undiscounted rate.
Make sure any meeting attendees, whether they book through the association's official booking agent or not, are counted towards attrition quotas.
If you see or hear anything that might indicate pirate booking activities, make sure to contact the association.
Raise awareness. The more people know, the more strength they have. It’s important to remember that attendees just want to get their room booked at a reasonable rate and may not be aware of industry problems with ‘around the block’ booking.