From Waikiki to Wailea, planners shopping in Hawaii will find that booking incentives, value-adds and flexibility are the order of the day. From the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) down to the individual property level, there are plenty of initiatives designed to make the most of today’s shrinking meetings budgets.
“We know the pie has gotten smaller and that planners are doing the best they can with smaller budgets,” says Michael Murray, vice president of sales and marketing for the corporate, meetings and incentives division of the HVCB. “We’re addressing this with cost savings to help planners with the bottom line. There are a ton of things going on—hot dates, hot rates, more value-adds through retail merchants. A whole series of programs have been rolled out.”
Murray says the cost-saving initiatives, many of which were launched last year, are already bringing in new business.
“We’ve had more leads from these actions than we’ve had in the 10 years that I’ve been with the bureau,” he says. “They’ve been generating a lot of interest.”
HVCB Initiatives
Earlier this year, the HVCB’s meetings division launched the Added Value Resource Center to its website, www.businessaloha.com. The resource center contains details on the HVCB’s Hot Rates, Hot Dates! offerings, the Hawaii Speakers Bureau, the Green Hawaii initiative and the Free Hawaii program with information on free activities and attractions available to groups.
Under Hot Rates, Hot Dates! are comprehensive listings of value-adds, meetings packages and value dates at resort hotels on all the major islands. Many of the offers are valid through 2009 and into 2010.
“We’ve essentially created a one-stop shop for planners to pick and choose the destination that fulfills their objectives while staying within budget,” Murray says. “Customer feedback tells us there is tremendous desire to meet in Hawaii, but concerns over cost are holding some groups back.”
With input from the island visitors bureaus representing Kauai, Maui County, Oahu and the Big Island of Hawaii, the HVCB devised the Hawaii Free program for meetings. The listings of over 150 free activities and attractions include concerts by the Royal Hawaiian Band at Waikiki’s Kapiolani Park; touring the Wai’oli Mission House Museum in Hanalei, Kauai; attending Art Night each Friday in Lahaina, Maui; and exploring the preserved ancient Hawaiian village at Lapakahi State Historical Park on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast.
The HVCB has also partnered with Retail Merchants of Hawaii, a trade association representing over 2,000 storefronts statewide, and the Attractions Association of Hawaii to offer retail savings to groups. Attendees taking part in the program receive a special flyer qualifying them for merchandise discounts of up to 20 percent or a free gift with a qualifying purchase.
Other savings initiatives in Hawaii include Marriott Resorts Hawaii’s new Meeting Incentive Package, which is offering a 10 percent rebate off the master account at meetings, including charges on accommodations, food and beverage and meeting room rental. Each Marriott property in Hawaii offers qualifying dates for the rebate offer, which is in effect through Dec. 15, 2010.