I know that we represent a variety of venues, but I can't help but address an issue that seems to be facing our college and university venues more than the other venue types we work with. This issue is the imposed moratorium on travel that so many colleges and universities have implemented across the board. But, on campuses, there is always one exception…the Admissions Office.
It makes perfect sense that the department charged with recuiting new students can still travel to college fairs and school visits. While this is a traditional way of recruitment in the world of twitter, facebook, squidoo, etc., it is still a necessary component in a well-balanced marketing and sales plan. What I don't understand is why travel for conference departments is eliminated or deeply curtailed. Is it not the responsibility of the conference department to attract meetings, conferences and special events to the campus to facilitate alternate revenue streams? Sure, there are the less traditional methods of securing business, but nothing beats face to face relationship building and selling.
So if you are an academic venue who is told you can no longer travel to a tradeshow or to make outside sales calls to regional metro areas, pursue this further. Gaining access to travel funds may be your biggest selling job you face!