The Beijing Laffitte Castle Hotel in the Changping district of Beijing. The hotel has recently become popular as the place where Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett hosted China's wealthiest billionaires at a dinner to share thoughts on philanthropy early this year. Countryside resort bookings have heated up, with December through Spring Festival in February being the peak season for meetings and conventions. [Photo/China Daily]

Meeting organizers speak of big profits to be had, especially in peak season, but big risks too

BEIJING - Despite the freezing cold outdoors, the throngs of visitors to a northern Beijing conference building make for a heated atmosphere as they crowd check-in counters and meeting and dining rooms for annual year's end gatherings and galas.

"December and January is a busy time for us," said a sales manager surnamed Lu with Beijing Laffitte Castle Hotel, a European-style restort. "More than 80 percent of our guest rooms are full every day, and everything is booked every Friday."

Conference venues

The Laffitte is one of a cluster of resorts and hotels in Beijing that serve mainly for conferences. Others are also equipped for entertainment, with hotsprings, swimming pools, skiing and other features.

At least 60 to 70 percent of the business at the suburban resorts - and in some cases up to 90 percent - comes from meetings, with the peak season running from October to just after Spring Festival, said Wang Qingdao, editor-in-chief of Conference Magazine.

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The hotel, which aspires to be the designated conference venue for government or government-related institutions, has recently been best known as the place where Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett hosted China's wealthiest billionaires at a dinner to share thoughts on philanthropy.

"Yes, that helps. But our business has always been great," said Lu, who noted the hotel gets non-stop phone calls about room rates and conference room prices. Reservations made far in advance are needed to get a place in the hotel. "Almost all employers have an annual gala. You need a large space to accommodate all these people. That's what we're here for."

Clients often come with 60 to 70 people, mainly government or government-related institutions, and enterprises, for conferences and accommodations on Thursdays and Fridays, he said.

The Laffitte has 14 conference rooms for 60 to 80 people that cost 3,000 yuan ($454.55) or 5,000 yuan for a half day. To overnight in one of the 505 guest rooms, including breakfast for two, costs on average 500 yuan.

Lu has a sales target of more than 10 million yuan a month during peak season and about 7 million yuan a month the rest of the year.

In downtown Beijing, hotel sales offices are hectic with incoming calls for conference room bookings. "Our conference rooms have been reserved long in advance," said Rebecca Gong, public relations manager at Beijing Landmark Towers Co Ltd, a complex with a rental office building and hotel in eastern Beijing.

With a dining hall that can seat 600 and a location at the East Third Ring CBD area, Landmark Towers considers itself an ideal option for company conferences. And conferences have the added benefit for Landmark Towers of brining diners to its restaurants and raising room occupancy, Gong said.

Many organizations schedule conferences and meetings at the end of each year to solve problems and improve communication and offer incentives, said Wang, the magazine editor.

With the booming domestic economy, government entities and related institutions, organizations and enterprises have expanded the scale of their conferences, fueling the red-hot business.

According to Conference Magazine's research, the average spending for each person is 500 yuan a day. But consumption varies dramatically, and at one conference in Beijing, spending reached last year's record of 10,000 yuan a day for each person.

Economic barometer

Conferences are a barometer of the economy. "Conventions follow the trend of the national economic development closely," said Xu Feng, marketing director of the China National Convention Center (CNCC), which is located in the heart of the Olympic Green. Xu said the center prospered in 2010, with China's economic growth boosting conventions. And it has meetings booked up to 2018.