Recently, I had the privilege of attending the Convene Green Alliance's Focus Forum "Connect with Green". The Focus Forums are educational seminars that include like-minded industry partners from across the meetings and conventions industry- where we discuss what we can do as business leaders to reduce our carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly. This Focus Forum topic "How Technology is Helping Associations Reach New Audiences, Save Money and Protect the Environment" was especially interesting to me as we, the hospitality and tourism industry, face these strange economic times.

As we ride out this economic downturn, one thing has become clear. The state of the hospitality industry, specifically as it relates to travel, has dramatically changed and may never be the same again. Small off-site business meetings as we know them have virtually vanished. Many organizations have reduced if not completely halted business travel and are looking for creative alternatives to getting on a plane or in a car. Cisco Systems, for example, has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by a minimum of 10% starting with a dramatic reduction in air travel. So what are we as an industry to do in order to maintain sustainable development and remain profitable?

The answer, Integrated Technology. The key to making integrated technology successful is to go from passive technology to dynamic and interactive- create an experience for the end user. For example, Webinars, Blogs, Discussion Forums and Social Networking sites call for the audience to participate actively online. Two- thirds of the world's Internet population visits a social network or blog site, this sector now accounts for almost 10% of all Internet time. Integrated Technology must be easy and accessible not only for the client but customers and remote users, decreasing the organizations carbon footprint. By integrating this program into your organization it will create an added value to your business and open up communication channels that might otherwise not be available.

With clients less willing to spend the money for travel costs, many convention centers and meeting facilities are finding creative ways to relay information to their clients and book business. Depending on where the client is in their process here are a few things being done to bridge the gap for meeting planners.

Generally groups visit prospective cities and facilities for a site visit before making their final decision. To eliminate travel costs, many meeting facilities are now offering virtual site inspections, posting past client critiques/surveys and offering online bookings for their clients. For example, www.sitevisit.com acts as virtual guide for meeting planners that either don't have the time or resources to make the trip. Visitors can go online and view the facility, view meeting rooms and specs, without leaving their office. Sites like www.mtccc.com/imapdata/mtcc.html, www.meetingmatrix.com and www.e-fax.com now offer everything from virtual site inspections, room diagrams and e-contracts. Facilities are also taking to their websites to promote their green initiatives with hopes of attracting prospective clients looking to "green" their event. The Charlotte Convention Center plans to create such virtual tour capabilities in the next year.

Additionally, efficiency of response to meeting planners' Request for Proposals is also important as studies have shown that 85% of those who respond first to RFPs win the business.

Once a group has booked their meeting space, the door for opportunity opens even wider. Everything from online registration, integrated hotel room block management, interactive floor plans and meeting room management can all be managed with a click of a button. Marketing, email promotions, radio ads, blogs and digital signage can all reduce an organizations footprint on the city they've chosen. Promotion of this effort is also something that can potentially increase the number of attendees by educating people on the organization they are a part of and reaching a broader audience through an enhanced database.

Feedback is also crucial after an event has taken place. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, a meeting facility must get a response in order to maintain a desired level of customer satisfaction. At www.meetingsintelligenceexchange.com, buyers can view top facilities, top managers and see what type of ratings previous groups have assigned. The future of this process will turn to electronic surveys, an attendee voting system and potential social networks such as twitter.

Social networking is now considered the "word of mouth"- online. The use of networking sites for work purposes depends on a company's culture, but can reach broad audiences and reduce the need for mass mailings which in turn cut costs and reduce paper use and the need for in-person meetings. Again by using these types of integrated technologies, organizations can save thousands of dollars on air, travel and hotel costs as well an invaluable insight into attendee's needs and desires.

So what does the future hold for the meetings and conventions industry? Many believe that unless convention centers and meeting facilities diversify and integrate technology into their business models, they will fail.  Other forms of integrated technology are now becoming more popular, for example, video and web conferencing as well as virtual tradeshows. With the ever changing economic and environmental forecast, now more than ever, organizations are looking for ways to cut spending and reduce their carbon footprint. These technologies are a great way for meeting facilities to stay ahead of the curve and thrive and be sure the CRVA will be on the front lines to effect these changes.