The “AIG story” is affecting Maritz
The flurry of financial-institution bailouts is having an indirect effect on Maritz Inc., Chief Executive Steve Maritz told a St. Louis RCGA audience this morning. The problem is that once a company takes taxpayer funds, its travel and meetings practices come under public scrutiny. Exhibit A, of course, is AIG, which has been criticized for holding meetings at luxury resorts in Arizona and California.
Part of Maritz’ business is arranging corporate travel, sometimes as part of incentive or training programs. AIG is one of its clients. And, Maritz says:
The great AIG story that we hear about is hurting our travel business. … That AIG program that Jay Leno and everybody else is making fun of was an incentive for independent brokers.
Research, he says, shows that travel incentives are three times as effective as cash incentives. For them to be effective, though, the travel has to be to someplace nice. That nuance gets lost in news reports and late-night monologues. Maritz adds:
I would argue that if it’s the difference between spending half a million dollars and spending a million and a half, the taxpayers are better off spending the half-million. The problem is that when it comes in the form of ice sculptures and pedicures, Jay Leno just can’t help himself. I get it, and that affects conversations that we’re having with clients. If you’ve got to keep your head down, even though this may be the right thing to do, you can’t do it because of the bad p.r.
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
cc, My friend was the company comptroller. He was one of Bill Maritz’s closest confidants. Then the kids came along, none of ‘em could get along, didn’t have the old man’s vision. Problems always develop when kids get their fingers in dad’s cookie jar. End result is people’s heads get lopped off to save the kids skin. CC, you grow up. I’ve been involved with and forgotten more about Maritz history than you’ll ever know in your lifetime. Quit hiding behind your anonymous screen name when you attack someone.
How can employees expect a bonus when corportate performance is bad enough for a bailout???? Why our government is allowing bonuses to be granted is a conundrum.
What Steve says here makes sense, problem is the economic conditions changed. Let’s say you took a second job to finance a nice vacation you planned then right before the vacation you end up losing your first job. Well you worked all year to save for the vacation, you have the money, what will you do?
Hey CCCCC- I just saw on Fox News that your friends in the government are having a “party” at the upcoming economic summit where they will be serving $500 bottles of wine. I am sure they will be sipping away and discussing increased regulation. Let’s just hope the vino is from california rather than a fine import.
the speech was a drag and there was nothing new that steve maritz talked about ,it was a rehash of his company and its history but there was nothing relevant there about changing to the current climate..etc.also
i did not agree with his comments about the tax payers having to pay half a million or one and half million dollars why should the tax payers pay if it is free market economy ,why subsidize corporations and businesses that dont perform.they should be allowed to go bust.and i think AIG also should have been allowed to collapse atleast we would have known where the mess is instead of continually subsidizing the whole financial fiasco.seems like the little people are ending up subsidizing the rich guys.
Hey CCCCC- I just saw on Fox News that your friends in the government are having a “party” at the upcoming economic summit where they will be serving $500 bottles of wine. I am sure they will be sipping away and discussing increased regulation. Let’s just hope the vino is from california rather than a fine import.
— tlw
tlw, how mis informed are you!!!! the summit which George W is the ring master are the people that call for DEREGULATION, do u have a clue to anything? its people like u that take a morgage with extra $$$( borrowing more than its worth. and that is why we are in the shape we are in.)to buy a pick up truck and the computore ( spelled it so u could understand) and when the ARM ( ajustable rate . because I am sure u havent a clue) adjust up and u cant aford it and want someone to bail u’r a## out. get the facts right . Busch wants deregulation, what a lame a##. and they are not my friends, my friends would have done a bailout with stipulations that would have avoided the mis use of our tax dollars( that is if u even pay them, Or are u on welfare. let the people that made it on their own deal with this not the people that had it handed to them or the ones that just keep saying,”hay I have been hear another year, dont I get an automatic 3% for staying hear all year? and right after u’r post xxxy made a great statement,tlw sorry crysler closed… get an education and move on.
As the old saying goes, BEGGERS CAN’T BE CHOOSERS! Incentives, such as trips, are great. However, if you can’t operate your company without the government assisting you, then you have to play by their rules.
I wish the government would be this restricting with all of their handouts.
If you are in government assisted housing…YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE CABLE TV
If you are on food stamps…YOU SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO BUY TWINKIES, COKE, OR CAPTAIN CRUNCH
There is an apartment complex near me that is government assisted, it has a club house and a pool. I pay 100% of my mortgage, and a 33% federal income tax rate, and I don’t have a pool.
hear, hear, joe bases great comment. right on
I think everyone is missing the point here…the real problem is the government bailing out corporations, what has our country come to?