San Diego, CA – The National Business Travel Association’s (NBTA) Groups & Meetings Committee today published the latest paper in its groundbreaking series, Framework for Success: Strategic Meetings Management Programs (SMMP). The newest paper, A Strategic Approach to Small Meetings, helps corporate travel buyers and meeting planners to define what a small meeting is for their organization and offers innovative strategies for managing them.

NBTA Groups & Meetings Committee Chair, Lee Ann Adams Mikeman, said, “Companies around the world have embraced the SMMP concept, successfully affecting savings on larger and more visible meetings and events. Increasingly, especially in today’s volatile economy, businesses are now realizing small meetings are another significant source of meeting spend. This paper will serve as a road map to tackle that area of spend and tap into unrealized savings opportunities.”

To identify and validate small meetings best practices and emerging trends, the NBTA Groups and Meetings Committee surveyed the industry and found that an average of only one in three industry providers has a small meetings program in place. The whitepaper presents a discussion and analysis of survey findings on topics such as defining what is considered to be a small meeting based on organization-specific criteria and tips for determining best methodology and practices.

Committee Vice Chair, Linda McNairy, commented, “The new white paper will help planners determine what a small meeting is for them, which will provide for a comprehensive policy to mitigate cost risks. A small meeting can be defined by the number of attendees, number of sleeping rooms or budget amount, or it can be defined by complexity, purpose, or some combination of these factors.”

The NBTA Groups and Meetings Committee also updated the paper Building a Meeting Policy to Support Your Strategic Meetings Management Program, designed to provide a discussion of key considerations and examples helpful in building a comprehensive meetings policy. The enhanced guide includes an application that ties each component of the SMMP model together, providing concepts and best practices for each. It also provides insights into recent government actions concerning organizations that have accepted assistance.

Adams Mikeman added, “Companies have come under fire lately for holding corporate events that are perceived as luxurious and unnecessary, and consequently, others have chosen to cancel or downsize meetings to avoid scrutiny. Planners need to be aware of these current events and incorporate current concepts and lessons learned into their policies and procedures.”

The SMMP Executive Summary was also updated to include insight into the importance of managed meetings programs in a global recession. According to the paper, savings between 15 and 20 percent of a company’s total meeting spend can be achieved in the early stages of an SMMP.

The updated SMMP papers will be available on USB drive wrist bands to attendees of the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition at the Discover NBTA booth (#1127). Members of the Groups and Meetings Committee will discuss the new and enhanced papers in Educational Session TA8 – Small Meetings-Big Savings, to be held Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. in the San Diego Convention Center. The papers will also be available on NBTA’s website: www.nbta.org.