Corporate Meetings make sense of Stimulus Bill

Over the past few weeks our industry has been faced with the real possibility that government regulations would hinder corporations from using meetings as a legitimate business tool. As you know, several events have come under intense media scrutiny because they were being held by companies that were in so much financial trouble that they were reaching out to the US Treasury for support.

There is much debate on whether the coverage of these events was fair but regardless, they have created an environment of outrage and potential regulation that we fear will have unintended consequences. Last week, congress approved the following language within the stimulus bill:

20 ''(d) LIMITATION ON LUXURY EXPENDITURES.-The board of directors of
any TARP recipient shall have in place a company-wide policy regarding
excessive or luxury expenditures, as identified by the Secretary, which
may include excessive expenditures on (1) entertainment or events; (2)
office and facility renovations; (3) aviation or other transportation
services; or(4) other activities or events that are not reasonable
expenditures for staff development, reasonable performance incentives,
or other similar measures conducted in the normal course of the business
operations of the TARP recipient.


What this means is that the Secretary of the Treasury is going to establish a definition for ‘excessive or luxury’ expenditures. It is likely these regulations, while not having a legal bearing on non TARP companies, will influence the meetings policies of many organizations. This process will take weeks or even months and will give ample time for our industry to make our voices heard. What the industry has done to begin to address this issue is create a voluntary set of meeting guidelines to act as a model for companies and hopefully the Treasury Department.

These voluntary guidelines and speaking points are available through The American Hotel and Lodging Association. Read the points and understand the restrictions being placed upon the meeting industry. It is your duty, as a meeting planner, to inform your clients on pending legislation that may affect them tomorrow or in two years.