Ever wanted to hold a weekend meeting in Las Vegas, but found there were no rooms to be had? Ever wanted to choose Boston or San Francisco for the annual convention, but were discouraged by budget-busting rates?
Well, now could be the time to make those champagne wishes come true. Faced with this year’s dismal attendance projections, not to mention out-and-out cancellations, many first-tier cities are actively courting groups that normally find second-tier cities more in tune with their budgetary needs.
San Francisco Sale
“Our message is that we’re more affordable, and we’re targeting business that we might have turned away during the past two years,” says Lysa Lewin, managing director-convention sales for the San Francisco CVB.
While Lewin says San Francisco is continuing to enjoy strong business from associations this year, particularly medical groups, corporate business is far more worrisome. The biggest loss was the decision by Cisco to cancel its annual convention scheduled for August, leaving the city with 42,000 hotel rooms to fill.
As of late January, Lewin says the city had managed to recover 6,000 of those room nights by contacting a Japan-based group that it previously could not accommodate.
“So we’re getting the word out that this coming August is a really good time for planners to inquire,” she says. “In general, our hotels are more flexible. It’s not so much that they are discounting rates, but we’re seeing more packages being offered, more amenities and value-adds.”
At the same time, the city is emphasizing advantages it believes it holds over many second-tier locations: visitor appeal and plenty of direct air service.
“Our marketing campaign is that San Francisco draws record-breaking attendance,” Lewin says. “We’re in a better position than cities that are not known as leisure destinations. And airlift is a big plus—planners know they can get their attendees here and not worry about it.”
Chicago Select
Likewise, Chicago is also targeting business it might have once turned away, including groups that normally go to second-tier cities.
“We’re looking at groups who might have thought they could only go to St. Louis or Dallas—cities that are perceived to be second tier,” says Mark Theis, executive vice president of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. “We want those groups to see that they can buy up.”
To reel in short-term business, the CTB launched Chicago Select, a two-year program offering value-adds to meetings held this year and next. The perks include a 50 percent discount on convention center rental, savings on DMC services and a 30 percent reduction on airfares with American Airlines.
To ensure that convention and trade show attendance is healthy this year, Theis says the CTB has redirected some of its budget to directly help customers with upcoming conventions and shows.
“We’re doing everything from attendance-building campaigns to creating special-interest packages for specific demographics,” he says. “Engineers will have different interests than surgeons, so we’re targeting efforts to meet and complement the goals of each group.”
While San Francisco is banking on its status as a tourist destination, Theis says it is Chicago’s strength as a business destination that will keep it competitive in the marketplace this year.
“Even though business travel is down this year, people still need to come here because we have so many Fortune 100 companies headquartered here,” he says. “One of our messages is that we’re a good city to hold a business meeting in because we’re not a resort destination—you won’t raise any eyebrows by coming here. And we’re affordable and easy to get to.”
Atlanta Advantage
Atlanta is another first-tier city that is banking on its status as a major business destination to help it through the tough times. According to Mark Vaughn, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for the Atlanta CVB, the city’s growing status as an airline hub is also a big advantage.
“The merger of Northwest and Delta is helping because a lot of international traffic will be rerouted through Atlanta,” he says. “We like to say that Atlanta will soon become the gateway to the world. That’s a help to organizations who want to market their events overseas.”
Although a first-tier city, Atlanta is marketing itself as one that can compare favorably with second-tier locations in terms of cost.
“The price points here are in a wide range,” Vaughn says. “We have sold to all segments in that way, and will continue to do so. Even our higher-end products are relatively affordable and attractive to various types of groups.”
In marketing to planners, Vaughn says hosting MPI’s MeetDifferent education conference last month provided a major opportunity for Atlanta to “show itself off” to the industry.
“We’ve also made a big push with FAM trips, so people can really understand the new Atlanta, which has changed so much in terms of new attractions and restaurants,” Vaughn says. “If you haven’t been to Atlanta during the past three years, you haven’t been here.”
Booking Boston
In Boston, where the CVB kicked off the new year with a short-term bookings incentive available at 17 hotels, budget-conscious business such as government meetings is getting new respect these days.
“New opportunities are opening up for groups who couldn’t meet here in the past,” says Beth Stehley, vice president of convention sales and services for the Greater Boston CVB. “The government market is a good one for us now. We recently did a presentation before the executive board that oversees the Massachusetts state agencies.”
Another tactic is to emphasize the city’s accessibility.
“We’re playing up all of our transportation—the density of our air service, plus Amtrak’s service linking us to the Northeast Corridor,” Stehley says.
According to Stehley, citywide convention business is stable in Boston this year, with medical and education business holding up the best. As in many other cities, corporate meetings held at single hotels are taking the biggest hit.
Vegas Deals
Even Las Vegas, which has long outshone even other first-tier destinations, is feeling the pain of reduced business—both convention and leisure—these days. Exacerbating the situation for this ever-growing city is the fact that 13,000 new hotel rooms are coming on-line this year.
“We’ve seen some meetings canceled, particularly in the financial services area, and attendance at conferences and trade shows has definitely been suffering,” says Chris Meyer, vice president of sales for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. “It’s a total buyer’s market right now. If you’re planning an event right now, you will find lots of deals. Not only are there savings on room rates, but attrition penalties and food and beverage minimums have all but evaporated.”
Even weekends, traditionally filled to capacity with leisure travelers, are now a possibility for groups.
“There is definitely availability on weekends, although we’re still running 90-plus percent occupancies then,” Meyer says. “Hotels are saying they will take anything.”
In true Vegas fashion, the CVA is taking bold steps to keep business coming in, including a recent blitz of face-to-face sales calls at over 1,000 locations. This spring the CVA is conducting sales missions to 340 cities, staging mini trade shows with hotel and other tourism partners.
“We’re asking potential clients across all segments—association, corporate, travel agencies—about their business conditions and how we can book their business,” Meyer says. “We’re getting a lot of real-time information on current market conditions that we’re sharing with the hotel community, so they can create value-adds and see what they should be focusing on.”
The CVA is also going all-out to help convention and show organizers with attendance-building, according to Meyer.
“We developed a robust attendance-building program in 2007, and now we’ve added a convention call program,” he says. “An organizer can send a list of potential attendees to our call center, which will work with the organizer to develop a customized script on behalf of the event. The center calls people to invite them to the show, directs them to the website, tells them about special incentives, and so on.”
Orlando is another first-tier destination that is taking aggressive new steps to win business, including a 25th anniversary promotion on the part of the Orlando/Orange County CVB offering incentives to groups booking business this year. Over 30 local hotels are participating.
“The business community is aware that customers are trying to squeeze as much value out of their budgets, and are responding accordingly,” says Tammi Runzler, vice president of convention sales for the CVB. “There are incredible values on the table for 2009.”
