Few places are as defined by American history as Philadelphia and nearby Valley Forge, where icons like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the Betsy Ross House are synonymous with the destination itself. Yet, refusing to get stuck in the past, the city has transcended its old image and is introducing new museums, it features a high-profile dining scene, and it boasts a vibrant performing arts culture, not to mention a much anticipated convention center expansion that will raise the stakes against its Northeast neighbors.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia holds bragging rights as both the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution and the world’s first computer, reflecting the blend of history and ingenuity that make it such a dynamic city. Add to that its status as home to the first art school and art museum in America, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the "City of Brotherly Love" holds even that much more appeal.
Philadelphia’s historical and cultural depth adds value to the meetings market, especially in a tight economy, when scrutiny lingers on how companies are spending their money.
"Philadelphia, because of its diversity, has not had as big a challenge as cities or destinations in the Sunbelt area—it’s not perceived as a resort destination," says Jack Ferguson, executive vice president of the Philadelphia CVB. "Philadelphia is a very good business address, but you can also have fun here. There is a lot you can do—great entertainment, great restaurants."
In early 2009, the city unveiled its Serious Value for Serious Times campaign targeting the New York and New Jersey markets in response to the difficult economic climate. One emphasis was on the city’s affordable hotel rates compared to New York.
"It gave us an opportunity to make a buzz about Philadelphia, to get in front of New Yorkers," Ferguson says.
In April, the CVB added the position of sales manager for the New York market, focusing on short-term business, which has been a success so far, according to Ferguson, though still not at the level it was a year ago.
"We’re off, but I do think it will come back," Ferguson says. "As long as unemployment on a national level remains double-digit, businesses will be very conservative for meetings and conventions and travel. It’s not recovering like it has in the past."
At the same time, the CVB launched its Bring It Home campaign, aimed at generating group business from local outlets, including healthcare and life sciences, which comprise 50 percent of the city’s group business.
"The campaign was geared to pride and community and then when the economy went south, we stepped it up and made it a mantra," Ferguson says. "It makes sense to keep our hospitality industry moving forward. We spent $130,000 on a campaign and when it was done had $5 million in business from that campaign."
More recently, the CVB rolled out Philadelphia: The Complete Package, designed to showcase the ease of holding a convention or trade show in the city, focusing on accessibility, affordability and its bevy of meeting facilities.
The package refers to how the city is within a day’s drive of 40 percent of the U.S. population and presents the city as a complete package with its cultural, historical and culinary assets.
"It is a cool and slick cosmopolitan way of communicating that Philadelphia is moving forward in the future," Ferguson says.
At the centerpiece of the campaign is the expanding Pennsylvania Convention Center, slated to debut in March 2011, which will grow the facility by 60 percent. The expansion will add 239,000 square feet of space, for a total of 679,000 square feet of exhibit space and a total of seven exhibit halls.
"We wanted the expansion for two reasons," says Ahmeenah Young, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. "One was because we want to go after major trade shows and we didn’t have enough space. Also, this positions us to be able to service two conventions simultaneously."
As part of the expansion, a second entrance is being constructed that will result in the development of North Broad Street and the Convention Center District, featuring the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) and a new Cherry Street pedestrian park and plaza, creating a walkway to Museum Row on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where the Barnes Foundation is scheduled to open in 2012.
The Barnes Foundation hosts the largest private collection of Impressionist works outside Paris, according to Ferguson. The collection includes Renoir and Cezanne, among others. On the same block reside the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its 72 Rocky steps, as well as the Rodin Museum.
"All of a sudden you put an anchor of the Barnes in with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Rodin Museum, and the cultural experience is almost self-contained," Ferguson says.
Hotel offerings are also growing with the introduction last year of Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar, with 235 rooms and 6,000 square feet of meeting space. Le Meridien Philadelphia is slated to debut this spring with 202 rooms and 5,000 square feet of function space. The two new hotels will add more than 430 rooms to the city’s inventory, while the goal, according to Ferguson, is to add 2,500 rooms, bringing the downtown total to about 12,500.
Other properties that have debuted in recent years include the Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center and aloft Philadelphia Airport.
Philadelphia boasts a diverse lineup of additional meetings favorites, including the newly revamped Hyatt at the Bellevue (formerly Park Hyatt at the Bellevue); Loews Philadelphia; The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia; Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia; and Renaissance Philadelphia Hotel Airport.
Though the city ended 2009 with a 68 percent hotel occupancy rate—4 percent lower than 2008—Philadelphia ended the year on a high note with conventions. The American College of Rheumatology, the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Public Health Association each met or exceeded attendance numbers.
In addition, the sports-crazed city hosted the Army/Navy Game presented by USAA and the Modern Language Association, drawing much-needed business, and has secured the winning bid to bring back the Army/Navy Game in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Philadelphia is also one of 18 finalist U.S. cities vying to bring the FIFA World Cup back to the U.S. in 2018 or 2022.
Also on the books, this fall, the President’s House will open on Independence Mall, where George Washington and John Adams resided as presidents before the capital moved. During the excavation, slave quarters were discovered, causing some controversy in how the history of the house should be presented. The original opening had been set for July 4.
Another addition to Independence Mall later this year will be the National Museum of American Jewish History. In addition, Philadelphia’s African American Museum recently expanded.
Valley Forge
Less than 20 miles from downtown Philadelphia’s urban milieu, Valley Forge in Montgomery County greets visitors with an array of gardens, wineries and river activities. Its place in American history also remains firmly rooted with the 3,600-acre Valley Forge National Historical Park, where the Continental Army set up its winter encampment of 1777-1778. Today, the park connects the Schuylkill River Trail to the Horse Shoe Trail, part of a 75-mile system linking Philadelphia to the Appalachian Trail.
"Some want not to have the hustle and bustle of a downtown urban center," says Paul Decker, president of the Valley Forge CVB. "We’re selling no downtown traffic, a location right off major highways and no parking costs."
While the region touts its countryside, it is also home to 7,500 hotel rooms, numerous conference centers, several of which are IACC-approved, the new Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and the 150,000-square-foot Valley Forge Convention Center. The center is connected to two hotels: the Scanticon Valley Forge Hotel and Conference Center and Radisson Hotel Valley Forge. Other top choices include Liberty Conference Center at the Crowne Plaza Valley Forge; Dolce Valley Forge, formerly a Hilton; ACE Conference Center; Villanova Conference Center; and Normandy Farms Hotel & Conference Center.
"The biggest news for us is our Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks," Decker says.
The center opened in January 2009 and features 210,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space and large meeting rooms on one floor, plus three flexible halls. Its debut picked up the slack lost with the 2006 closing of the Fort Washington Expo Center.
"We were in dire need of that center," Decker says. "When it opened in Oaks in January, we saw how badly we needed it. We have a total of 50 new and returning shows for the 2010 calendar. We had at least 25 of our previous shows that came back home to Montgomery County in 2009."
Hotels are mainly centered in King of Prussia, such as the 265-room Clarion Hotel Park Ridge, formerly a Sheraton. Last year a 105-unit Staybridge Suites also opened in Collegeville.
King of Prussia also boasts its King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest retail complexes in the U.S.
Off-site options include the Longwood Gardens, Wyeths’ Brandywine River Museum and Chaddsford Winery.
Bucks County
Bucks County’s serene setting along the Delaware River is forever enshrined as the site of George Washington’s famed crossing of the Delaware in the 1776 attack on Trenton, N.J. Centuries later, the same region lured a cavalcade of New York artists and writers, from Dorothy Parker to Bob Dylan. Fast forward and today the county celebrates its past with historic spots like Washington Crossing National Park, while also promoting an active arts scene such as the long-running Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope and James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown.
"Bucks County is known for its history, shopping, quaint towns and villages, and its 12 covered bridges," says Heather Walter, meetings, events and sports marketing manager for Visit Bucks County. "There is a lot of small-town charm. We’re definitely known as a country inn, bed-and-breakfast destination."
It is also a magnet for retreats and small groups.
"We’ve always been a destination geared toward small to midsize meetings," Walter says. "In this economy it has worked to our favor. Smaller associations are still doing retreats and board meetings, and there is a shift to religious events and sports business."
The CVB, which as of this year is doing business as Visit Bucks County, introduced a new website last summer as a resource for meeting planners. According to Walter, venues and hotels began reaching out to the CVB last year to help drive business and began offering value-added packages to planners such as complimentary Internet access and hospitality suites.
The county’s main venue is located at The Sportsplex in Feasterville, a 100,000-square-foot sports facility that hosts trade shows under the name Bucks County Conference and Expo Center. The venue can fit roughly 100 to 120 exhibitors.
Hotel options include the Radisson Hotel Philadelphia Northeast in Trevose, the newly renovated Crowne Plaza Philadelphia Bucks County and the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Langhorne, which sits across from the Sesame Place amusement and water park, open to groups for after-hours events. Homewood Suites by Hilton Newtown opened in February with 104 guest rooms and 1,680 square feet of meeting space.
Last September, the Michener Art Museum expanded with a new 5,000-square-foot, upper-level gallery. Plans are also under way to begin the second phase of an expansion project, which calls for the construction of an event pavilion, in which the patio area of the Patricia D. Pfundt Sculpture Garden will be covered with glass, creating an indoor event space.
Other group options include the former Henry Mercer castles that now house the Mercer and Fonthill museums. The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works museum can host groups. Bucks County is also home to Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, featuring 42 acres of gardens, 6,000 square feet of meeting space, some 75 shops, a half-dozen restaurants and on-site lodging at the 70-room Golden Plough Inn.
The county boasts nine wineries, several with event space, such as Crossing Vineyards in Washington Crossing and the New Hope Winery, which opened last year.
