![\"\"](\"http:\/\/hotel-lobbyists.com\/hl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/waste-money-200x300.jpg\" "\\"waste-money\\"")
I\u2019ve expounded on this topic in various ways throughout the last year of blogging but there\u2019s really no shortage of my opinion on this matter nor are my ardent words likely to go away any time soon.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve expounded on this topic in various ways throughout the last year of blogging but there\u2019s really no shortage of my opinion on this matter nor are my ardent words likely to go away any time soon.<\/p>\n
I fully understand the general public\u2019s concern over wasteful government spending particularly as it relates to conferences.\u00a0 Almost two years ago, everyone cried foul when they thought they\u2019d caught AIG spending truckloads of money on another silly sales conference in Arizona.\u00a0 And, in the case of the $16 Muffin about which I blogged just two weeks ago, once again the Washington Post test fails \u2013 the general public\u2019s impression is that the government is spending money wastefully.\u00a0 And perception becomes reality.I\u2019d like to offer an absolutely inane example of what wasteful government spending really looks like \u2013 and how it came to be because perception is becoming reality.\u00a0 A very special and dear account of mine, a government agency, is planning a rather large event in Las Vegas before the end of this year.\u00a0 Las Vegas was not their first choice location for this meeting however it has grown readily over the course of the last few years, and given their desire to host the meeting entirely in one hotel without the use of a convention center, the national options are rather limited.\u00a0 As an advocate for Las Vegas, it is objectively and universally considered to have some of the best conference space in the world and what\u2019s more, because of the downturn in the economy, it\u2019s also one of the most economical places to hold a conference.\u00a0 That said, it took an inordinate amount of vetting to get this program approved for Las Vegas, in about eight months ago.\u00a0 About two weeks ago, my client was approached by one of their keynote speakers who suggested he could not, in fact, be a keynote speaker if the conference was in Las Vegas.\u00a0 Or more accurately \u2013 he would not travel to Las Vegas to be this conference\u2019s keynote speaker.\u00a0 I wonder if Senator Harry Reid would be interested to know that a government employee, whose salary is in part subsidized by residents of the fine state of Nevada, has refused to visit that state because of perception issues.\u00a0 This speed bump caused my client to inquire what the possibility would be to move the conference instead to Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
What.<\/p>\n
Put aside the fact that there is no way one could book a conference of this size in Washington with just a few months notice \u2013 a few years would surely be needed \u2013 but in order to do so, the group would face a cancellation fee approaching $1 million and would obligate their attendees to spend the Washington DC federal per diem for guest rooms – $226, versus the Las Vegas per diem for guest rooms – $99.<\/p>\n
As a taxpayer, I\u2019m appalled even at the suggestion of wasting that kind of money on moving a conference rather than accept the incredible deal that exists for them in Las Vegas.\u00a0 All this because politicians think they\u2019re saying the right thing when they say, \u201cGovernment conferences are wasteful\u201d and to stay out of locations which appear like fun versus business.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re doing business the right way, my personal mantra is that fun can be had anywhere.\u00a0 And it should be.\u00a0 Keep those conferences in Las Vegas and other places where the savings are tangible and I\u2019ll remain a happy and quiet little taxpayer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve expounded on this topic in various ways throughout the last year of blogging but there\u2019s really no shortage of my opinion on this matter nor are my ardent words likely to go away any time soon. I fully understand the general public\u2019s concern over wasteful government spending particularly as it relates to conferences.\u00a0 Almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n