“Group business was the driver of the horrendous year that the hotel industry experienced in 2009, and leaders on a general-session panel at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit don’t see any hope of a recovery until that same business returns”, according to Jeff Higley, Hotel News Now, January 26, 2010.

Almost overnight, group business disappeared when the worst economic times of our life time coincided with the public exposure of AIG and other companies spending lavishly on group business while accepting government bail-outs. As a result, large groups from high profile companies wanted to avoid at all costs the illusion of excess or decadence and cancelled their meetings at resorts, conference centers, casinos, and convention hotels. In desperation, most group properties significantly reduced rates to attract any group business and undercut their competition to gain back this market. But did that strategy work? All data points to the fact that this strategy did not work to reverse the downward trend or, in any meaningful way, impact business. Are there other strategies that could cost effectively impact this segment of the business even in a down economy? This article will address some tips to penetrate this market regardless of market conditions ...