Cvent

In the past we've blogged about how the state of the economy has created a buyer's market for meeting planners. Just how good do planners have it? According to William Kilburg, CEO of Hospitality Performance Network (HPN), this is the best meetings buying opportunity in 20 years.

"Hotels are under massive pressure to do whatever they can to produce some results in 2009," Kilburg said in a statement from HPN. "If you're planning a meeting or conference anytime in the next four years, the time to book is now. During the next six months, there are going to be significant discounts and deals."

As many organizations scale back or cancel their meetings, Kilburg says that planners who commit now can see big results for their organizations for years to come.

Also opening up to planners are more previously difficult-to-secure opportunities in the top-tier market, as high end hotels are offering big discounts to stay in business. All hotel owners are feeling the crunch, however, and thus will be making concessions to get booked, Kilburg says.

"When times are tough, you push management hard to do whatever it takes to get deals done and maintain marketing share," he says. "This is an opportunity to book meetings and help keep the wheels in motion while the industry is recovering from the downturn."

Whether or not you agree with Kilburg's best-market-in-20-years estimate, most experts would agree that planners today can gain a lot of ground in their negotiations. Are you taking advantage of this "window of opportunity"? Learn more about the Cvent Supplier Network to find out how you can better manage your site selection and sourcing efforts to leverage the deals in today's marketplace.