Experient has confirmed that it and three other large group-booking
firms have been granted "a temporary exemption" from Marriott
International's commission cut from 10% to 7%, which goes into effect March 31
for group bookings in the U.S. and Canada.
David Peckinpaugh, president of Maritz Global Events, which
includes Experient and Maritz Travel, said, "We have been informed by
Marriott that we, along with three other intermediaries, have been granted a
temporary exemption."
He declined to discuss the terms of that exemption,
including how long it will apply.
A spokesperson for Marriott said that the company was not
exempting any companies from the commission cut, but rather was honoring
existing contracts.
The other three firms with a temporary exemption reportedly are
HelmsBriscoe, ConferenceDirect and HPN Global. HelmsBriscoe and
ConferenceDirect have not responded to requests for comment.
Bill Kilburg, chairman and CEO of HPN Global, a site-selection company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., confirmed that his firm is one of
the exempt.
Commenting on the commission cut, Kilburg said, "Real
estate is a cyclical business and at this point in the cycle with their
footprint, the decision makes sense to someone at Marriott."
Kilburg added, "We are sitting back watching this
unfold as we are sure there is plenty more to follow."
While noting that his firm had not been informed in advance
about the commission cut or its temporary exemption, Peckinpaugh says the move was
not unexpected.
"We have foreseen this for a number of years," he
said. "The potential change in the model has been on our strategic plan
for, probably, five years. We've been looking at the market, understanding what's
going on, and figured at some point somebody -- and most likely it would be
Marriott after the Starwood acquisition -- would try to make a change. We didn't
know anything in advance, but at the end of the day we were really not that surprised."
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Source: Successful Meetings