One of the fastest growing segments of the meetings industry may just be that elephant in the room that has long gone unnoticed. Because SMERF (social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal) meetings usually take place regardless of economic cycles, some cities and suppliers take them for granted or regard them as business to pursue in times of near economic desperation.
And while some suppliers aren’t yet paying attention, others are especially attuned to the “R” that’s bubbling to the top of the SMERF market.
Cities that are actively pursuing religious meetings say they see impressive revenues and long-term value in the associated relationships. It’s a trend that’s evident in a wide variety of destinations, including Grand Rapids, Mich.; Atlanta; Corpus Christi, Texas; Kansas City; and Phoenix.
Although religious meetings have long been a staple source of business for cities such as Atlanta, others such as Phoenix have recently stepped up efforts to court this increasingly important market.
According to the latest member survey from the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), over 14.7 million people attended 26,716 meetings conducted by RCMA members in 2006. A similar survey for 1994 tallied just 4.4 million attendees at RCMA meetings.
Furthermore, RCMA reported that a significant majority of religious meetings use exhibits and trade shows. Of members surveyed, 69 percent needed exhibit space in 2006, an increase from 67 percent in 2005. Meetings requiring 500 to 1,000 rooms represented 12 percent of RCMA member meetings.
Southern Capital
Long a popular locale for faith-based meetings, Atlanta values this meetings niche, and continues to court its organizers.
“At this year’s RCMA annual conference and trade show, we had our largest presence ever, with a 20-by 20-island and 16 sponsors,” says Bob Schuler, vice president of sales and services for the Atlanta CVB. “Religious meetings are extremely important to us, and it is the only SMERF segment for which we have a dedicated salesperson.”
Being what Schuler calls “the church capital of the South,” Atlanta offers a welcoming culture for such meetings, he says, along with its excellent accessibility, affordability and broad mix of hotel choices.
“Many of these meetings bring in thousands of attendees,” Schuler says. “In the summer of 2006, the T D Jakes Mega Fest brought in 75,000 attendees. This past January, we hosted 15,000 people at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration organized by presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. For 2010, we are expecting 70,000 people at the Seventh-day Adventist Church conference.”
Schuler says misperceptions exist in some industry corners about how religious meetings attendees spend money. Yes, they do look for the most favorable room rates because most of them don’t have organizations paying their tabs, but they do “use” a destination like other visitors.
“They frequent your attractions and venues just as you want them to, and they do use restaurants a lot,” he says. “One of the best characteristics of these groups is that they are flexible and often willing to meet during business downtimes—like summer here—when hotels are hungry for guests.”
New Planner Group
The Atlanta area was the location of the first annual meeting last January for one of this industry segment’s newest groups, Christian Meeting Planners (CMP). Its founder, Nashville, Tenn.-based Mpact Events, will take the group to Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center in 2010.
In January, the 2009 CMP expo will be in Corpus Christi, a city Mpact president and CEO David King says was “most eager” to host the group, which, according to King, represents at least a million annual attendees at events.
“Corpus is among several second-and third-tier meetings cities which are eager for religious meetings business,” King says. “They had hosted another faith-based event from which they booked several pieces of business, so they know the value we bring to them.”
One of the keys to the selection of Corpus Christi was its bureau’s willingness to be a major event sponsor.
“They have stepped up to help us offset some expenses—a very important point in swaying our decision,” King says.
Another important CMP sponsor that has stepped up with a three-year sponsor commitment is Omni Hotels. Omni is joining hands with the new planner group for its next three annual meetings in Corpus Christi, Atlanta and Fort Worth, Texas, site of a new-build Omni opening in early 2009.
Omni is a good example of a supplier that is willing to build relationships and come onboard with a religious meetings group for the longer haul, King says. Omni will be held up as an example as CMP programs educate suppliers, who are often unaware of the religious market’s needs and attributes.
Religious planners need education too, he adds, because they are often unconnected to the meetings industry. He has been stunned by how many planners there are who don’t know they can contact CVBs for many kinds of assistance.
Grand Rapids Initiatives
The Grand Rapids [Mich.] CVB is another bureau that’s determined to build relationships with religious meeting planners. Janet Korn, vice president of marketing, says the city’s initiatives will get a big boost next January when it hosts the annual RCMA meeting.
“The potential economic impact to our community related to hosting this major industry event is significant,” Korn says. “When we secured the opportunity in 2006 to host RCMA 2009, we booked three large religious conferences. The projected spend by some 14,000 attendees to those three conventions is $4.8 million. We are projecting RCMA 2009 will generate $15 million for us in new meetings business.”
According to Korn, Grand Rapids is a welcoming destination for religious groups, in part because it’s a significant center for major faith-based media companies and other commerce. Standing with the CVB in its marketing initiatives is a committee of members from Grand Rapids’ Christian commerce and educational sectors.
“We believe the religious meetings market to be not only recession proof, but also even better when the economy isn’t so great,” Korn says. “What we have seen is that there can even be increased attendance at these meetings when things aren’t so good.”
Kansas City Sees Value
Kansas City CVA National Accounts Manager Kim Dooley and her associates also see plenty of reasons to pursue faith groups. She says the market already brings at least 40,000 room nights a year to her city, and her team is out to dial up that number with its new and enhanced downtown district facilities and attractions package.
“We’ve always offered easy access in the middle of the country and affordability,” Dooley says. “Now we have a great new 46,000-square-foot ballroom and an exciting entertainment district that’s all within walking distance of downtown hotels.
“One of the greatest misconceptions about religious meetings groups is that they all want cheap room rates,” she adds. “In fact, they often spend more money than corporate attendees. Yes, they do want affordable options because their organizers have to consider the needs of all attendees who pay their own expenses, but everyone doesn’t go for the budget level. And these groups do use the city. While they may not be in the clubs, many are in the restaurants because a lot of these groups don’t have planned meal functions.”
Phoenix’s New Mission
Although Southern and Midwestern cities have been longtime favorite convocation sites for religious meetings, the segment’s growth and economic significance has not gone unnoticed in the West.
About a year ago, the Greater Phoenix CVB launched its faithinphoenix.com website to lure the religious meeting market.
“We set out to create a site that would provide one-stop shopping for religious meeting planners,” says Donald Oswald, national convention sales manager for the CVB. “Of course, we support it with the extraordinary value we can offer them, along with all the facilities, accessibility and attractions to help us become the premier religious-conference destination in the West.”
According to Oswald, the bureau evaluated the meetings niche nearly two years ago and decided that going after it would be a win-win for everyone.
“The religious meetings market is big and growing, and from a business standpoint, they are a good fit for us,” he says. “Typically, they meet in summer when kids are out of school, and they don’t mind coming to the desert in those months because they can get great value and combine a meeting with a vacation. Rooms that go for 300 to 400 dollars a night in February cost a fraction of that in July.”
In the bureau’s first year of its push for faith groups, it booked major meetings that included the 2011 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, with a projected delegate count of 12,000 and 15,000 room nights. The Unitarian Universalist Association’s annual general assembly also booked Phoenix for 2012. That expected attendee count is 5,000 to 10,000 room nights.
Oswald says his bureau’s marketing initiative has valuable support from both the Phoenix mayor’s office and the Arizona governor’s office, as well as the entire local hospitality community.
“We were so successful last year that we’ve created an advisory council of key religious meeting planners,” he says. “We realize this market rides on relationships, and we are looking to our advisors for help in doing even more to attract and serve them in the future.”
