By Gwen O’Toole

The Executive Assistant Network has released the results of their 2009 survey focussing on events, functions and business travel with some surprising results.

The survey, sent to nearly 2,000 opt-in members of the EAN was met with a 24 per-cent response rate providing 482 opinions on event and conference spending among senior level executive and personal assistants.

The survey reveals exactly what type of events and functions Australia EA’s and PA’s organise, where they go and why.

The extensive report, focussing on a number of event types including conferences, training, parties, teambuilding incentives, product launches and more, provided a breakdown of which aspects are most and least import to organisers as well as allowing them to voice their concerns over the issues they face.

When choosing a professional conference organiser (PCO) or event management company, respondents ranked customer service and peer recommendation as their two highest deciding factors over price, company size and environmental policies.

Customer service from venue staff on the event day again ranked highest among importance of venue choice as well as having a smooth transition from sales and event staff.

Planners also used the survey to clear the air on their most challenging concerns and difficulties when organising an event within a hotel citing expensive audio-visual costs and indifferent or unavailable staff as the largest problems.

Respondents also claimed cost of hotel extras as a concern claiming that hotels often offer inexpensive delegate day rates to win business and make up the cost by inflating other charges.

Event services such as catering and audio-visual companies are, for the most part, selected on venue recommendation or in-house supplier rather than planners choosing their own when the event is held in a convention centre or hotel. For unique venues, planners are more likely to select their own suppliers.

For incentive travel, an overwhelming number of organisers (77 per-cent) opt for the traditional travel agent over using a specialised incentive company.

The extensive report covering everything from event travel to regional conferencing and information on all types of event services can be provided in its full form from the Executive Assistant Network by clicking here.