Corporate travel agents have complained in print that when the contracted rate is for a percentage of a published rate, the company's price goes up as soon as the airlines impose a rate hike. Even so, according to the speech that the NBTA's McInerney gave to the House Judiciary Committee last June, of those member companies that reduced fares through negotiation, more than 39 percent reported reduced fares of 5 percent to 10 percent, and 10 percent of the member companies reported reduced fares of 15 percent to 20 percent. For example, if your company makes a lot of trips to the same city, you'd negotiate a rate with, say, a specific Marriott location in that city. But when negotiating car rental contracts, Seligman said, you'd work with the agency's regional representative. That's still a cost-effective measure, but meetings can be conducted even closer to the boarding gate.
Catering is extra.
Rooms in the Pierson M. Grieve Conference Center, in the Lindbergh Terminal at Minneapolis-St. And the center also stocks presentation equipment and provides notary and secretarial services. In February, a stand-alone airport conference and business center opened on the other side of the ocean at London Gatwick. The site also counts catering, administrative support and videoconferencing capability among its services. Barry said the idea of offering a meeting package came from a client who had asked for one.