Buying Center: Who Chooses Convention Sites?

Abstract

A buying center for site selection is the group within an association that selects meeting and convention sites. A qualitative, exploratory study of the configuration of players in 23 associations' buying centers found three general patterns of decision making, each with a number of variations. In the first general pattern an association board or executive committee controlled the decision, usually in consultation with the executive director or meeting planner. A second group of decision-making patterns finds the meeting planner or association executive choosing meeting locations, sometimes with input from members. A final pattern gives the association's annual-meeting committee or program committee the determination of where to meet. Some associations vary the process from year to year depending on the president's procedural preferences. Knowing how an association makes its decision on annual conferences can assist destination marketers and hotel operators to reach the persons who actually make the decision. It is worth noting that in many cases the association's meeting planner acted as a gatekeeper for information about a potential destination.