As the country heads towards more serious effects of recession, sectors which were expecting to come out of it unscathed, are also feeling the heat. Slowdown or not, big names of the corporate world, can't do without their regular conferences. Whether it's a dealers meet, team visiting from a branch office or a regular training programme for the employees – big companies hire professionals to organise such events and conferences.But what has been taken as a cost-cutting step by the corporates, have indeed hit the corporate conferencing segment in a hard way. Omkar Vadhavkar, consultant, Pegasus Conferences and Services, says, "There is a very significant drop in the corporate expenditure. Our clients, who used to prefer nothing less than five-star hotels for conferences, are going for three and four-stars hotels and resorts. Earlier, they used to opt for out-station location for their yearly conferences, now they want it in the vicinity of Pune."For those in corporate conferencing segment - big names, means big conferences and huge returns. For such city-based entrepreneurs, although it is business as usual, even after recession, there is a prominent change in the requirements coming from the clients. The same thought is shared by Amitabh Pal, managing director, Raw Enterprises, who said that the precautionary measures taken by the corporate, had reduced their income by 20-30 per cent. He says, "Except a few cancellation of conference orders, our old clientele are still with us. But yes, the specifications demanded by them are different now. Interestingly, our growth in the first half of this financial year was good but I am afraid things might be gloomy in the coming six months." Pal is also into event management, so as an alternative he is trying to balance things with managing private functions and weddings.On the corporate front, since it is imperative to hold various meetings and employee-oriented programmes from time to time, they are open to other available options. Informs Mustafa Raj, Head — HR and Administration, Foseco India Ltd, "We haven't compromised on the number of conferences, as they were already planned. But we are definitely optimising on the cost associated with such events. Right now, what we are looking at is - basic comfort and decent ambience, at a better rate."But is it possible for any economy to maintain its equilibrium in all situations? At turbulent times like these, you cannot stick to the tailor-made paradigms. Like Shalu Richard, partner, Corporate Culture, who has preferred to make the best of the worst. She says, “Certainly the situation is grim at present but the effect is a kind of mixed. A couple of my clients have put the plans of conferences on hold for coming six months. But on the other hand, there are a few companies who want to benefit from the situation, as the rates of the hotels have come down. In fact after recession, there is a major demand for holding motivational programmes for the employees. So, in a way it is working in our advantage.” Believe it or not, the mantra reverberating from the corporate conferencing segment is that if you are able to survive this mayhem today, you will be able to survive tomorrow as well.
