Wow, I sure hope we get some extra comp time to amp up our diet/exercise/financial planning/sleep/rehab/stress management/marital counseling/doctor visits/time to take the kids to boot camp!

While I’m always a perfect angel on the road (ahem), I have certainly seen others act not in their own best interests at conferences. So, beast wins.

Or maybe not. Another recent survey of more than 1,000 business travelers conducted by Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott found that, despite all the hassles of traveling for business, we feel pretty good about being on the road: 88 percent report feeling positive emotions—confident, knowledgeable, interested, calm, excited, eager, well-connected, and happy—during a trip. So it brings out the best after all?

Uh oh, again, maybe not. “‘While more than half of frequent business travelers say they work twice as much when on the road, they also experience a certain feeling of freedom,’ said [Shruti Buckley, vice president and global brand manager, Fairfield Inn & Suites]. ‘Sixty percent report feeling free to do whatever they want, which is empowering, as is getting their job done.’”

While I’m sure Buckley meant self-empowerment in a positive way, it’s just as easy to think that’s exactly what underlies all the bad behavior. Give us a little freedom, and we quickly use it to dive to the bottom. It’s the flip side of the Marriott’s survey findings that they’re gaining happiness from meeting new people (affair alert!), and trying new foods (good-bye, waistline), although the 59 percent who say “coming home from a trip is like a honeymoon with their spouse” is a bit more heartening.

So, does being on the road give us the freedom to cut loose and indulge in bad behavior, or does it free us to develop into better homo sapiens?

The Hottest Trends in Event Management: New technology, mobile apps, video conferencing and emerging markets

Biggest Challenges in Event Management: from differentiation and adaptability to changing legislation

Impact of Social Media: Something every industry needs to consider and be adaptable to, it has a great impact on practices and how events can be run.

But seriously, what can we do to keep people’s attention throughout an entire webinar? I know we need to break up the information into small chunks, provide some multimedia, engage in ongoing chat and/or Q&A, but even that doesn’t always keep them engaged. Oh yeah, maybe we just need totally compelling content?

As we move towards the 4th quarter of 2012, it’s time to start searching for trends that will affect the meetings industry in 2013. Each year, we analyze and summarize what hoteliers and travel and meeting industry professionals are saying and doing. We use that information, along with our monitoring of the economic indicators from around the world, to forecast and budget for the upcoming year’s meetings and events—something that has become increasingly important given the financial uncertainty our clients have encountered over the last few years.

Overall, what we’re seeing is positive. Because most meetings and events are planned on average four to six months out, they can serve as good forecasters for the overall economy. Currently, we are not seeing any signs of a downturn, with bookings for 2013 matching those of 2012. With the economies of North America showing steady improvement, significant growth is not expected and should help assist in keeping the meeting line-items spending for accommodations, food and beverage, promotional products, and other soft goods in line. However, according to Carson Wagonlit, a major supplier of air travel, increase consumer demand of airline tickets will cause an uptick in airline fees of 2.8 percent. Plan accordingly when budgeting your airline spend.

Latin and South America continue to grow, especially on the incentives front. Look to Costa Rica and Argentina to provide good value for your money. Fueled by the economic growth, hotels in Brazil are outpacing price increases compared to others in the region, and will not provide as much value as Tier 2 countries.

If you are looking for value, you also should consider Western Europe. The European debt crisis has created uncertainty in markets including Ireland, Spain, and Greece. Tourism boards in affected countries are implementing huge pushes to fill room blocks. For example, Ireland is promoting an event called “The Gathering” to encourage family reunions to fill unused hotels rooms from lost corporate group space on the Emerald Isle. If you have an incentive program for 2013, Ireland will provide tremendous value for your dollar. London’s post-Olympic boom will bring down prices in the city, though it will still be more expensive than lower tiered cities in the region.

Moving down to the Middle Eastern and African countries, economies are relatively steady, which should keep any price increase in hotel, travel, and soft goods modest. Dubai and Abu Dhabi hotel booms are back on track. For companies looking to have meetings in these regions, hotels are outstanding and very Western-friendly.

The Asia-Pacific, which has kept pace with North America, will continue to see modest increases. According to Zacks, “China is set to fuel a recovery in global tourism, and by 2020 is expected to be the world’s most popular travel destination. Both Starwood and Marriott generate their second largest revenue chunk from China. Apart from China, India is another hot spot for the western hoteliers. India possesses a compelling investment proposition with its rising importance as a global business hub, where the demand for moderate-tier as well as upscale branded hotels is expected to considerably outpace the supply. “

Finally, 2013 will show growth in some industries and contraction in others. Consumer product- and technology-based meetings will continue to pace slightly ahead of the economic recovery, though cost containment is still a strong focus. The Sunshine Physician Reporting Act goes into effect in 2013 for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Companies have had more than two years to prepare, but meeting spend will be scrutinized like never before. The great unknown is the physician response to the reporting. Will it affect their decisions to attend meetings? We have seen little in the way of negative indicators in 2012 as data was required to be collected (but not reported for this year). It did not affect recruitment. Continue medical education (CME) continues to see a restriction in grant approvals, which is down as much as 15 percent from 2011. Medical education conferences are looking to other avenues, such as registration price increases, and cost containment to overcome the deficit. (Note from Sue: More on the state of accredited CME funding is here.)

Overall, 2013 looks to keep pace and may even grow faster than the prior year. Meeting buyer confidence is understandably guarded, but we are definitely seeing a sign of encouragement as the global recovery continues to take hold.

The board kept telling us our original flight was on time, however, so my husband went to check to make sure it didn’t somehow come back online despite the e-mails. The woman he asked told him that yes, the flight was still delayed beyond anything useful to us, but it was too much of a bother to change it because she would have to do it manually. Then the TSA guy started complaining to me about how all the rule changes make his life such a pain and went on a rant about the powers-that-be.

And so on. We tried to remain true to our sunny selves, but it was just ugly, and doubly so for happening in a place that I have always experienced about as good an attitude on the part of the people who work there as is possible in a stressful place like an airport.

So I’d like to take the opportunity to ask that, before we shoot off a sarcastic reply or roll our eyes or snort in derision or take out whatever we have going on on those around us, let’s all take a deep breath and try to connect with the people we’re dealing with as fellow humans on a journey together. While I did shoot off a complaint (did these companies and organizations know how their front-line staff were behaving? They should), I also tried not to react to the nastiness in kind.

Let’s start off with a baseline of kindness and proceed from there. It not only will make life a bit sweeter for the people were dealing with, but we’ll find our own moods starting to lift a bit too.

Thanks to CNN for the pointer.

Not surprisingly, at least to me, he found that some fonts did make the content seem more believable than others (the most believable font tested was Baskerville, the least was Comic Sans).

What fonts do you use in your conference marketing materials?

(Image by tarrytown at Flickr.com)

In this week’s guest blog, Andy McNeill, president and CEO of American Meetings, Inc, offers some ideas about off-site venues you should consider the next time you are looking for a unique way to wow your constituents.

Photo: Setting up for a private reception at the Rodin Museum in Paris

Whether planning an event around the corner or around the world, here are some ideas for unique off-site venues for receptions, dinners, and parties:

• Museums—Many museums accept after-hours buy-outs of their space. Just imagine how excited your attendees will be dining in front of world-renowned statues and art. Availability can be limited, especially for popular spots, so plan early.

• Yachts—Super yachts are great for receptions and private dinners, and they offer an amazing tour of the local waterways. Consider yachts for smaller groups; they also are fantastic for incentives.

• Stadiums—Have a big group you want to impress? Try lighting up Wrigley Field or Dolphin’s Stadium just for them. Many stadiums are seeing the value of off-day venue rental, and, believe it or not, it is not as expensive as you might think. Just remember that many have catering contracts in place, which may restrict the food selection, so you want to plan with the catering company well in advance.

• Warehouses&#!51;Warehouses can be a great choice for a rough and rustic off-site event. They are not without challenges&#!51;warehouses don’t always have the staple services or equipment to put on an event, so you may be bringing in supplies&#!51;but if different is what you want, this may be the choice for you.

• Mansions and homes&#!51;Many of the world’s greatest dwellings are vacation homes. Consider a mansion or high-end home for a private party, particularly in cities that don’t have a lot of traditional venue options such as hotels and restaurants. Partner with a great caterer and you’re are on your way to a truly unique event experience.

• Cultural Spaces—Work with the local cultural commission to find those special places in your conference city. From restored historic buildings to government public spaces like old train stations, you’ll likely find lots of interesting options. An added benefit: Cultural spaces usually are very affordable, and they can give attendees the real feel of the city.

• Retails Stores—From department stores like Macy’s and Neiman Marcus to smaller, more intimate antique shops, retail is becoming a hot option for dinners and receptions. Tie in a gift card for the attendees as a unique takeaway and you will have some very happy attendees. Stores love the exposure, and often the venue will offer space without a fee.

• Gardens—From local parks to botanical gardens, cities love to showcase their outdoor space. Ask the local parks department what unique venues they have…you may be surprised. Also a very affordable option, having an outdoor event (weather permitting) is a great way to get your attendees in the open air after an all-day conference.

• Airplane Hangers—Looking for a blank space to make your own? Try an airplane hangar. With its high walls and sprawling cement floors, hangers can be turned into almost anything. Be sure to know the security requirements at the hanger area, as you don’t want your attendees waiting in line. Consider smaller executive airports that have the space, but not necessarily the heavy security of the larger airports.

Off-site events are all about creativity, and venues are a great place to start.