Meetings & Conventions: Newsline
IS THE FAST-SPREADING ILLNESS COVERED UNDER FORCE
MAJEURE?
SARS Puts Contracts Under a Microscope
Masked ball: Banquet waiters at the Hong Kong Cultural
Center
Group and convention bookings, already softened by the war in
Iraq, sustained a new blow last month as cases of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, spread throughout Asia and North
America. An ensuing rash of event cancellations raised new legal
questions about cancellation fees.
In Canada, SARS-related fears sparked the Philadelphia-based
American Association for Cancer Research to call off its annual
meeting, which was scheduled for April 5-9 in Toronto. At press
time, the group was working with hotel and airline officials to
limit the financial impact tied to cancellation.
“This is an area of law for which there is very little clear
precedent,” said Henry Schaffer, an attorney with Howe & Hutton
Ltd. in Chicago, who noted that force majeure clauses often are
limited only to situations that would make it either “illegal” or
“impossible” to hold the event.
Meanwhile, parts of Asia, where reports of the illness first
appeared, are reeling from severe drop-offs in bookings. Among
those canceling in Hong Kong was the International Conference on
Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, confirmed Rich Cox,
president of the Piscataway, N.J.-based Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers Signal Processing Society.
While Cox wouldn’t comment about possible penalties, pending
resolution of contract issues, Schaffer said under the narrow
wording of most force majeure clauses, groups would face the
difficult task of convincing a court that a condition such as
decreased air travel made it impossible to hold the meeting.
“Our firm has been using a provision that says ‘illegal,’
‘impossible’ or ‘inadvisable,’” said Schaffer. The last term is
less narrow, giving meeting planners more breathing room, he
pointed out.
Attrition clauses also might come under scrutiny, according to
legal experts, as skittish attendees forgo conferences due to
health concerns. The scenario might force planners to choose
between canceling an event or going forward and shouldering costly
attrition penalties.
To protect against such a scenario for future bookings, Schaffer
suggested adopting an attrition clause that waives or lowers
penalties if an event is held despite extreme circumstances.
• BRUCE MYINT
What Association Executives
Earn
The gender gap in earnings grows in relation to size
of organization, according to a 2001 compensation survey.
Male CEOs
Female CEOs
Trade association
$136,775
$92,125
Individual membership association
$139,241
$85,204
Total staff size:
2 or fewer
$75,000
$60,000
3 to 5
$95,640
$77,000
6 to 10
$116,550
$108,000
11 to 20
$138,200
$126,000
21 to 50
$201,923
$159,280
51 to 100
$237,900
$145,518
More than 100
$287,600
$249,233
Total annual budget:
$300,000 or less
$67,600
$54,789
$300,001 to $500,000
$75,600
$68,579
$500,001 to $750,000
$90,000
$72,800
$750,001 to $1 million
$102,000
$87,525
$1,000,001 to $2.5 million
$118,800
$112,425
$2,500,001 to $5 million
$170,000
$137,100
$5,000,001 to $10 million
$227,750
$160,585
$10,000,001 to $15 million
$225,994
$171,750
More than $15 million
$285,000
$256,269
Source:
American Society of Association Executives
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