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Meetings and Hotels: A Review of Leading Research Themes
Carole Sox
Doctoral Student
University of South Carolina/School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management
Columbia, SC USA
soxc@mailbox.sc.edu
Sheryl Kline, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
University of South Carolina/School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management
klines@mailbox.sc.edu
Sandy Strick, Ph.D.
Interim Department Chair
University of South Carolina/School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management
strick@mailbox.sc.edu
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Meetings and Hotels: A Review of Leading Research Themes
Abstract
This article provides a review of the literature that has been published in the field of meetings
and hotels over the past 10 years. This effort is particularly valuable in the sense that it illustrates
that research is still rather limited within this area, which gives room for many topics to explore
for future research. Specifically, 22 peer-reviewed articles have been published in academic
journals over the past decades that are specific to topics on both meetings and hotels. Within
these articles, six main themes have been identified and the articles have been categorized
accordingly. These themes include customer satisfaction; legal considerations; room occupancy;
sales; employee perspectives; and industry analysis and impact. This article will summarize the
research, explore and outline the themes that have emerged, and identify areas for further
research.
Introduction
The meetings, expositions, events and conventions industry (MEEC) (Fenich, 2010) has a
significant impact on local, state and national economies (Lee & Back, 2005). The 2010
Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy study recently released its findings and
stated that the meetings industry (within the United States) directly supports approximately 1.7
million jobs, $60 billion in labor revenue, $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $11.3 billion
in state and local tax revenue (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP., 2011).
In 2009, 205 million people attended 1.8 million meetings (including corporate meetings,
incentive meetings, conferences, conventions, trade shows and exhibitions.) Out of those 1.8
million meetings, 1.3 million were corporate meetings and the overall spending contribution to
the US economy was approximately $263 billion. This includes meeting planning, meeting
production, and travel and tourism related expenses (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP., 2011).
This information highlights the important role that the MEEC industry plays within our
economic environment. In fact, these numbers are projected to increase each year as additional
individuals, corporations and countries further acknowledge this economic impact (Eisenstodt,
2010). Highlighting the economic impact of the MEEC industry offers a foundation for the
significance of research within this area.
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Specific to hotels, 85% of meetings in 2009 were held at venues with lodging. Out of the 1.8
million meetings within the year, 250 million room nights were generated by meetings and out of
the 205 million meeting participants, 117 million were located domestically and travelled over
50 miles or stayed the night when attending their meeting. Those travelling more than 50 miles
accounted for 83 million meeting participants and international travelers accounted for 5 million
participants (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP., 2011). These figures indicate the impact that
meetings have within the hotel arena and offer additional justification for further research with
regard to meetings held within hotels.
The purpose of this paper is to propose a thorough review of all of the academic research that has
been accomplished with regard to meetings in hotels over the past 10 years. Researchers have
investigated this area through several different avenues and approaches. While numerous topics
have been covered over the past 10 years, there are 6 leading themes that appear throughout the
academic research in which the majority of articles can be categorized. These themes are
illustrated in Table 1.
The Literature
While the meetings industry has a significant economic impact on hotels
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP., 2011), there does not appear to be a significant amount of
research contributing to this area. In fact, within the past 10 year, the 22 articles that have been
found related to this topic are categorized in Table 1 below.
Table 1 Literature Review for Meetings in Hotels
Topics Covered
Author
Customer Satisfaction
Lee et al.,(2005); Lee, T. (2009); Oh et al. (2009); Knutson et al.
(2009); Kuo et al. (2010)
Campbell & Shaw (2000); Israeli & Barkan (2003); Choi &
Punishment (2010)
Phillips & Geddie (2005); Hilliard & Baloglu (2008); and Chen et al.
(2007)
Breiter et al. (2004); Toh et al. (2005); Fenich et al. (2009); Soyoung
et al. (2010); Toh & Foster (2010); Kapoor et al. (2006)
Soyoung & Miyoung (2010); Singh et al. (2010); Salazar et al. (2001)
Gregory et al. (2005); Noone & Hultberg (2011)
Employee Perspectives
Industry
Analysis/Impact
Legal Considerations
Room Occupancy
Sales
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The methods in which these articles were found include searching the following platforms and
databases:

EBSCO host:
o Hospitality and Tourism Complete (University of South Carolina)
o Business Source Premiere (University of South Carolina)

Google Scholar

Specific Review of Hospitality Journals including: Cornell Hotel and Restaurant
Administration Quarterly; International Journal of Hospitality Management; Journal of
Hospitality & Tourism Research; International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management; Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education; Journal of Hospitality &
Leisure Marketing; International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration;
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management; and Journal of Convention and Events
Tourism.
Searches were conducted for meetings, meeting planners, conferences, conference organizers,
conventions, groups, SMERF, events, site selection, venues, sales and destinations, all with
hotels, motels or lodging as the additional research components. Searches were also conducted
for meetings in conjunction with literature review and/or research. While numerous articles
appear within these searches that include hotels and meeting as one factor within a study, this
paper attempts to focus on the publications that used hotels and meetings as the main focus of
their topic choice.
As thorough as the search process was, it is still possible that there are articles that may have
been missed. These articles could include those that have been presented at conferences or those
published in journals that are more narrowly indexed. This paper serves to give readers an
overall picture of publications on this topic with the main highlights of each article included
(Barrows and Ridout, 2010).
There will also be a focus on each category mentioned and examined by those articles and
included within those topics. It should be noted that articles have been included that could easily
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fit into multiple categories; however, they have been categorized into one area while attempting
to determine the best fit (Barrows and Ridout, 2010).
Customer Satisfaction
The literature that has been published in the area of satisfaction covers numerous topics related
to the customer perspective. The articles that have been included within this section address this
topic by identifying the customer as either the meeting planner or the meeting attendee.
Lee et al. (2005) article reviews the selling process between the meeting planner and the hotel
salesperson. This study surveyed the members of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and
based on that data, created a model examining the “key relationship selling constructs in a
meeting planner/hotel salesperson context” ( Lee, et al. 2005). This study concluded that there
were certain characteristics of a salesperson, such as power, expertise and willingness that have
an impact on the planner/salesperson relationship that moves the meeting forward.
In another study pertaining directly to meeting planners, Lee (2009) addresses the needs of the
meeting planners and the needs of the hotel’s hosting the meetings. This study also explores
operational issues that hotels hosting meetings commonly face. The findings of this study
conclude that there are definite differences between the meeting planner and the hosting hotels
with regard to requirements necessary and the existing problems that occur when hosting a
meeting.
Another study published in 2009 (Oh et al.), explores the direct and indirect consequences of a
hotel's meeting service performance and breaks the meeting process into four phases, including
sales, pre-event, event, and post-event, of service performance. This study determined that the
event-phase performance was most critical to the overall satisfaction of the meeting planners
holding meetings in hotel venues.
While these studies examine various aspects of the meeting planner and hotel venue relationship,
they both underscore the importance of this relationship to the overall process of meeting
planning within hotels. The relationship between the meeting planner and the hosting hotel
requires the attention of both parties involved. Since this relationship is important to the parties
on both ends of the transaction and can have a large dollar impact (Clark & McLeary, 1995),
exploring and understanding this relationship can offer benefits to all involved. For the meeting
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planning organization, this relationship can have an impact on the final venue decision (Lee, et
al. 2005) which can have a large influence on the number of attendees to the meeting which can
help determine the success (or failure) of the meeting (Lee & Back, 2005). The suppliers, or host
venues, need to understand the meeting planner/host venue relationship in order to continually
position themselves to attract more meetings to their venue (Lee & Back, 2005).
The category of customer satisfaction also includes those articles with research pertaining to the
hotel meeting attendee as the customer. The meeting attendee has also been explored from
various angles. In 2009, Knutson, Beck, Kim and Cha address the guest experience at a hotel
and conference center. This study concludes that there are four main areas that impact guest
satisfaction including convenience, incentive, benefit and environment.
In 2010, Kuo, Chen and Lin explore how hotel service characteristics impact customer
satisfaction at international conferences. This study surveyed 350 conference participants in
Taiwanese hotels and the findings offer information to assist with future strategic marketing and
the training of personnel to further enhance customer satisfaction.
Again, while there are many articles available on hotel guest satisfaction, there appear to be only
a handful of academic articles that pertain to guest satisfaction with regard to meetings in hotels.
These studies can be emphasized by the many industry articles that are topic related, such as the
article “Meetings on a Grand Scale” which addresses customer satisfaction at meetings in hotels
and credits the relationship that is built between the salesperson and the meeting planner as one
key to success (Gines, K. 2007).
Legal Considerations
Legal issues are found in almost every part of the meeting planning process (Hilliard, 2010).
Some of the legal issues that pertain to meeting planning include contracts; local, state and
national laws; employers and employees; the entertainment chosen; and the risk associated with
the event. In almost every part of the meeting planning and execution process, there is an
opportunity for legal complications (Hilliard, 2010). In fact, within the MEEC industry, legal
factors are becoming increasingly important (Hilliard, 2010).
Within the theme of legal considerations when reviewing literature (for the past 10 years), the
main focus appears to be various aspects of meeting and hotel contracts. One of the main topics
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investigated within the contracts revolves around the attrition clause. Attrition is defined as the
“difference between the actual numbers of sleeping rooms picked up and the number or formula
agreed to in terms of the facilities contract” (Fenich, 2010).
In 2004, Breiter, Vannucci, Kline and Gregory explored the areas of concern that meeting
planners face with regard to the attrition clause found within meeting contracts. Specifically
addressed was the issue of meeting participants booking rooms outside of the meeting planners
room block impacting the attrition clause within the contract. This study surveyed 143 meeting
planners and found that only one-third paid attrition damages when the room block was not
filled.
In 2005, Toh, DeKay and Lasprogata expanded this study. This study took a qualitative
approach to the data and interviewed 25 hotel employees with regard to the topic of the attrition
clause and how it is addressed with meeting planners. This study found that although the
attrition clauses are included in the contracts, they are rarely enforced. The study found that the
reason that these clauses are not often enforced was due to the potential loss of future business
(Toh et al. 2005). In other words, the hotels did not enforce the attrition clause because they
feared that it would impact the meeting planners bringing future business to their location (Toh
et al., 2005).
In 2009, Fenich, Chacko and Taylor reviewed “Important Elements of Hotel-Meeting Planner
Contracts” and further expanded the topic. This study enlarged the scope of the topic beyond
just the attrition clause and reviewed the entire contract (including the attrition clause). Within
this study, reviewing the entire contract led to a creation of a 9-item checklist. The study found
that there were many disparities between hotel contracts for meetings. This study also addressed
the recommendations of the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) for meeting contracts (Fenich
et al., 2009).
In 2010, Soyoung, Hilliard and Jin expanded this topic again to include international contract
clauses within hotel contracts for meetings. This study acknowledged the difference in contracts
with regard to the country in which the meeting was being planned. The study focused on the
cities of Shanghai, Washington, D. C. and Toronto. The study found that there were significant
differences within the contracts for meetings specific to each country. The clauses of
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cancellation, attrition, force majeure, disability accommodations, dispute resolutions and
deposits were all reviewed and compared. When compared, the study found that these clauses
were significantly different according to country (Soyoung et al., 2010).
Another study in 2010 by Toh and Foster examined a case between the Hyatt Corporation and
the Women’s International Bowling Congress that went to court over contract disparities. This
study examined the results of poorly written contracts between hotels and meeting planners. It
specifies that the attrition clause should work for both the hotel and the client. This case is one
of the few cases involving attrition clauses that went to court.
Backtracking a few years, but falling outside of the “contract” review, Kapoor, Powell and
Abbott (2006) explored the area of “Conventional Disputes, Unconventional Resolutions: An
Analysis of Dispute Resolution in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibition
Industry”. This study explored the relationship between the hotel industry and the convention
industry. Specifically, it explored the disputes that take place within these relationships and how
they are resolved (Kapoor et al, 2006).
While the literature focus within this theme appears to center on some aspect of the contract, it is
important to note that there are many areas outside of the contract that impact the meetings
industry, and specifically impact the meeting/hotel dynamic (Hilliard, 2010). This leaves
significant voids within the research that has been done in this area to date.
Room Occupancy
Meetings are not a hotel’s primary profit center, (Phelan, 2010). The main profit center in most
hotels is the sale of overnight rooms (Phelan, 2010). In fact, meeting space in hotels is often
considered to be a loss leader (Phelan, 2010). Meetings, therefore, are often used to attract
customers to the hotel so that they will also stay overnight. With this in mind, several
researchers have investigated room occupancy at hotels with regard to meetings.
Two articles written in 2010 explore the topic of room occupancy. The first, a study by Soyoung
and Miyoung (2010), explores the connection between meetings at convention centers and the
impact on overnight stays in nearby hotels. This study reviews the performance of the
convention center and the relationship with the demand for hotel room nights. The study found
that the quantity of allotted meeting space, in addition to other performance factors of the
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convention centers, directly impacted the demand for hotel room nights. The findings of this
study are useful to practitioners in that they can use this information to better develop their
revenue management and marketing plans (Soyoung and Miyoung, 2010).
In the second study involving this topic, Singh, Wright and Hayle (2010) explore the role that
events play in the occupancy of hotels in Jamaica. Again, similar to the previous study, the
relationship between events and overnight stays in hotels is examined. This study specifically
reviews events taking place within the hotels (Singh et al., 2010) whereas the previous study
reviewed how meetings at convention centers impact local occupancy rates (Soyoung &
Miyoung, 2010). This study includes a review of economic factors impacting the hotels such as
how events influence the length of stay at a hotel. Seasonality was also considered within this
study (Singh et al, 2010).
Salazar, Semoon and Girard (2001) explore the connection and relationships found between
attendance at special events and conventions, hotel room occupancy rates and attendance at local
attractions. While this study is broader in scope than the previous two studies discussed, it
specifically looks at hotels, events and attractions within Mobile, Alabama (Salazar et al. 2010).
Using factor analysis and regression analysis, they determined that there is a direct correlation
between the events, attractions and conventions held within Mobile, Alabama and the increase in
hotel occupancy rates within that city (Salazar et al., 2010).
While the majority of meetings tend to take place on the property of the meeting participants
(conference rooms, office spaces, etc), the second most popular place for meetings to take place
is within hotels (Phelan, 2010). This fact paired in conjunction with the economic impact that
meetings within hotels have on room occupancy, set the stage for various areas in which further
research can be explored.
Sales
While at first glance the 2005 study by Lee et al. could easily fit into this category (sales), the
authors have distinguished the selling relationship between the meeting planner and the sales
person as falling into customer satisfaction while the specific theme of sales is intended to
include those articles that pertain to revenue management with regard to group sales.
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In 2007, Gregory, Kline and Breiter reviewed how the group sales process has utilized online
selling options such as the Internet and Websites. This study concludes that while these tools are
being utilized within the industry, convention hotel managers do not see an increase in revenue
from these tools.
Noone and Hultberg (2011) analyze “The Role of the Revenue Management and Sales Functions
in Group Revenue Management”. They explore the relationship between the revenue
management department and the sales department in hotels and conclude that there are several
enhancements that can be made to assist with improving the relationship between the two
(Noone & Hultberg, 2011). The relationship is specifically examined with regard to group sales
opportunities, thus it includes meetings within hotels. Two of the recommendations that came
from this study included additional training and further education as necessary components of
staff training (Noone & Hultberg, 2011).
Employee Perspective
Another theme that emerged when articles over the last ten years were identified and compared
appeared to fall under the category of employee perspective. Within the category of employee
perspective, articles were identified that explored how employees are impacted by meetings and
events within hotels.
In 2000, Campbell and Shaw conducted a pilot study in which the satisfaction of meeting
planners was reviewed in conjunction with hotel employee interaction. This study highlighted
the relationships that the meeting planners develop with the hotel employees as they go through
the meeting planning process (Campbell & Shaw, 2000).
In 2003, Isreali and Barkan published a study in which hotel events were reviewed with regard
to their impact on employee satisfaction. This study focused specifically on events planned for
employees and concluded that these events added benefit to the overall employment experience
(Isreali & Barkan, 2003). Employee events allow for social interaction with peers and colleagues
that assists in job satisfaction (Isreali & Barkan, 2003).
Another area within the category of employee perspective was explored in 2010 when Choi and
Dickson researched how management-training meetings impact hotel turnover and satisfaction.
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While this article could easily fall under a separate category for articles on management with
regard to hotels, it does seem appropriate to include it within this area since it directly discusses
training meetings and their impact on hotel employees. This study reviewed the benefits that
management-training meetings have on the rate of turnover among employees and their job
satisfaction. The study concluded that training meetings and programs held in hotels could lower
employee turnover and improve customer satisfaction.
Within this theme internal meetings/events are addressed as a way to increase job satisfaction
(Isreali & Barkan, 2003). At a time when companies are cutting back due to budget restraints,
our industry could benefit from information that provides justification for company meetings and
offers a return on investment. If internal meetings are related to job satisfaction, we could see a
true benefit from these efforts not only within the companies, but also within the industry.
Industry Analysis and Impact
The last theme identified, industry analysis and impact, is really a catchall for the literature that
did not fall perfectly into a specific category other than following the pattern of analyzing
specific topics that had a direct impact on the meetings industry. Phillips and Geddie (2005)
analyze meetings on cruise ships. Specifically, the literature reviews the factors that influence
meeting planners to choose a cruise ship for a meeting over a hotel. This study explores how
cruise ships are now better positioning themselves in the market to obtain a share of the
corporate and incentives meetings that take place each year (Phillips & Geddie, 2005).
The second article within the category discusses security issues within hotels for meetings
(Hilliard & Baloglu, 2008.) This article reviews the physical features of a hotel in terms of
safety and investigates how security influences a meeting planners’ decision to choose a hotel as
a meeting location. The study concluded that there are three dimensions to security features
within hotels, including visible security features, training of staff and general safety features.
The study also reviewed the perception of meeting planners with regard to safety certifications
and the meeting planners’ willingness to pay more for a certified hotel (Hilliard & Baloglu,
2008).
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In 2003, the SARS epidemic caused significant economic losses within the hotel industry. In a
2007 study by Chen, Jang and Kim, the economic losses were attributed to thousands of meeting
cancellations that were a direct result of the epidemic (Chen et al., 2007). This study researched
the impact that this epidemic had on the hotels in Taiwan. This study concluded that in order to
avoid such economic losses in case of future epidemics, hotels should better advertise the
situation as temporary as found by this research (Chen et al., 2007).
Conclusion
While six themes of research did emerge as this analysis of literature since 2000 was executed, it
was surprising how little literature has been written with regard to meetings and hotels. This
analysis provided an opportunity to recognize that there are ample prospects available for
additional research within this area.
The most literature found within the themes was conducted within the legal considerations
category and most of that research was contract specific. It did appear that at least three of the
studies conducted (Breiter et al., 2004; Toh et al. 200; Fenich et al., 2009), focused on the same
topic, but were not necessarily built upon each other. In fact, Fenich cites Breiter (et al. 2004),
and Toh and Foster (2010) site both Breiter (et al. 2004) and Toh (et al. 2005) within their
articles.
Within the (legal considerations) literature reviewed, attrition was either focused on or
mentioned in the majority of the articles. Since 85% of meetings in 2009 were held at venues
with lodging resulting in the generation of approximately 250 million room nights
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP., 2011) the financial impact that meetings have on hotels is
obviously significant. Based on this financial impact alone, future research is necessary within
the area to benefit both the practitioners and academics working within hospitality.
Suggestions for Future Research
While there a numerous industry articles covering some aspect of meetings within hotels over the
past ten years included in publications such as Convene; Meeting News; Successful Meetings;
and Meetings and Conventions, there appears to be very little scholarly literature written within
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this area. In fact, the clear majority of citations within the scholarly articles that have been
written to date are within industry magazines, trade publications and books. One example to
further illustrate this point can be found within the Fenich (et al. 2009) study. Within this article,
31 references were cited and out of those, only 11 came from peered-reviewed publications.
Within those 11, only 2 were articles written specifically about meetings within hotels.
The current research leaves ample research opportunities when reviewing meetings and hotels. It
appears that researchers interested within this area have many directions from which to choose in
order to pursue research opportunities. While there is a bounteous supply of topics and areas to
address, however, there appears to also be a gap in the literature with regard to theoretical
underpinnings and framework (within the area of meeting in hotels). There are theories that have
been applied to the meetings area of study and also to the hotel area of study, but few that work
together to bridge or link these two areas.
Future research could easily be expanded within any of these topics, and could easily venture
outside of these topics as well. Within these topics, studies could be done to further advance the
existing research or review topics that are currently missing. Some of these categories could also
be combined for additional research opportunities. In this case one could combine customer
satisfaction and room occupancy. For example, when room occupancy increases (due to large
meeting in hotels) does customer satisfaction then decrease?
Some additional areas for future research could include, but are not limited to, unique venues and
hotel room occupancy impact; format change within hotel meetings in order to stay cutting edge
to attract additional meetings to the hotel venue; and the impact of the increased convention sizes
compared to the frequency of hotel meetings, and the economic impact that has on hotel
occupancy rates (Phelan, 2010).
Since the scope of literature from the year 2000 is so small, there is also great opportunity for
research outside of the six categories identified. In a recent study conducted by Meeting
Planners International (2010), some of the current trends of meeting planners include planning
meetings closer to home. The study found that fewer meeting attendees are willing to travel to
their meeting destinations, so this might be a good area to explore as this could directly impact
hotel occupancy. The topic could be investiaged further by exploring attendee percentage
change in correlation to travel distance to the meeting location.
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Another area that the MPI study (2010) uncovered as a current trend is the focus on hosting
sustainable meetings. Interestingly, there did not appear to by any literature about sustainable
issues with regard to meeting in hotels. This could easily open up a door for research
opportunities, such as how do hotels alter current procedures when hosting a green meeting? Are
(sustainable/green) meeting packages encouraged and or supported within hotels? Since this is a
current focus, it would seem that it would be extremely valuable to have some literature available
addressing the impact of sustainability within the meeting/hotel relationship.
To conclude, there has been little research conducted and/or published exploring the area of
meetings and hotels. The meetings, conventions, exhibitions and incentive travel industry
support an estimated 1.7 million jobs just within the United States (Eisenstodt, 2010). This
significant economic contribution supports further exploration of the meeting/hotel relationship
which could have substantial benefits for both academics and practitioners. There is great
potential for future research within this area.
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