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The HBAA is to launch its latest study in a series of White Papers for the conference and meetings sector. Titled ‘Meetings plastic: Drastic or fantastic?’ the paper looks at the growing presence and consequences of credit card payments in strategic meetings management.
Researched and written by respected business travel journalists Mark Frary and Betty Low, the paper explores the relationship and ramifications of company credit card usage among hotels and venues, agents and corporate clients.
Quantitative and qualitative research was conducted across the HBAA’s membership whose collective buying power accounts for £2.3bn in the meetings and events sector. Conducted between June and July 2011 the research looked into credit card transactions, merchant fees and the financial implications on agents, corporates and venues.
Agents involved in the research included Zibrant, Grassroots HBI and Inntel; venues represented in the White Paper include IHG and DeVere. Corporate research was carried out with AstraZeneca and Deloitte, both recognised for their major global meetings and events programmes.
The HBAA is respected for its thought leadership and guidance in emergent issues in the meetings and events sector. Previous White Papers have included TOMS and Agency Commission Models.
HBAA Executive Director, Peter Ducker said, “As the White Paper underlines, credit cards are coming to the fore as traditional billback takes a back seat. The purpose of the paper is to understand what the business implications of cards are in the outsourcing process. We respect that our member agents operate different financial models and have created the paper in response to demand for them to understand new meetings cards from American Express, Mastercard and Visa”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
