CVBs, generally perceived as somewhat inflexible, must be flexible enough to compete in delivering real value to associations and corporations currently planning meetings and expositions. While hotels generally took a profit beating in the early 1990s, the pendulum did swing the other way during the later 1990s. Hotels started forgetting about relationships and meeting planners remember. Planners are now poised to get concessions. Speaker bureaus are experiencing both canceled meetings and last minute speaker bookings.
Bureaus can only guard against being disintermediated by delivering more value.
Bureaus need to discover and recommend speakers that are both fresh and value-priced. Meeting planners want more than the same old names. Speaker bureau must offer total solutions to meeting planners, educational and entertainment needs. Deliver even more value by offer a total meeting speaker cost package. This is not yet the case for CVBs.