CVBs want planners to know that it’s good to be small.
Many planners may think that if they are coordinating a smaller meeting, there is no need to reach out to CVBs located in their chosen destination for assistance. The perception exists that CVBs can and will only assist those planning larger meetings or trade shows.
But the truth is starting to get out: CVBs are more than willing to assist planners, whether it’s a group of 10 or 10,000. At the same time, bureaus are offering more value-adds and savings than ever these days.
"I’ve been talking to CVBs…and to be honest I’ve not been reaching out to bureaus when planning smaller meetings," says Bonnie Wallsh, chief strategist for Bonnie Wallsh Associates, a professional meeting management and training firm in Charlotte, N.C. "I’ll be considering them a lot more because I’m finding that they really know their destinations and can do practically everything. You should consider a CVB an extension of your staff."
Big Business
Carla Conner-Penzabene, director of sales for the Detroit Metro CVB, says that small and midsized meetings represent 70 percent of the city’s business.
"We represent every hotel in our region, not just the big convention hotels," she says. "More properties are sized for these groups than for the big trade shows. The truth is that the vast majority of meetings held in Detroit are 100 or 150 rooms a night or less. If you chart out a graph, it’s easy to see that small meetings cannibalize everything else."
Even the big meetings mecca of Las Vegas is aware of the value of small groups.
"Eighty percent of meetings in Las Vegas are those with 500 attendees or less and almost a third of meetings are for less than 100 rooms," says Michael Goldsmith, senior director of convention sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). "Yes, we have three of the 10 largest convention venues in the country. But everyday, we are hosting smaller meetings. They are a huge part of who we are."
To that effect, the LVCVA has a dedicated small meetings manager. The bureau includes three sales executives who handle nothing but small meetings business.
Paul Miller, director of convention sales and service for the Sacramento [Calif.] CVB says that Sacramento has always focused on small meetings business; it’s not a new phenomenon.
"Sacramento is a smaller city naturally," Miller notes. "So giving attention to small groups is right in our wheelhouse."
He says planners that think their groups might be too small to justify working with even a second-tier city CVB are missing out on valuable resources.
One such resource is the knowledge that the CVB has of the destination.
"We are like the Google of Las Vegas," Goldsmith notes. "We know our hotels. We have 149,000 hotel rooms in Vegas. We also know everything that’s going on: festivals, other groups that are meeting here that could affect plans."
"If a planner goes directly through a hotel, they could be missing some critical information that could directly affect their meeting," Wallsh adds.
Wallsh says hotels might know about bigger events in a city and what’s going on in their immediate location, but they might not be the best source on important details like public transit offerings, political goings-on, unique off-site option ideas and other critical elements.
Plus, going directly through a venue means that planners miss out on free marketing for their event. That’s worth repeating: free marketing.
The New Orleans CVB has a vice president of client relations who assists small events planners with everything from developing microsites to save-the-date ideas to complimentary conference materials. The CVB puts together brochures on free things to do while attendees are convening in the Big Easy. The bureau will also produce unique videos and arrange special photo shoots to build excitement for the meeting.
Cost Savings
Another big incentive for small groups to go through the CVB is simply potential cost savings.
The Sacramento CVB’s Miller says that one great way to help planners with costs is to combine food and beverage with other groups meeting at the same time. Two groups may even be able to enter into a joint contract with the hotel.
"Smaller groups can share facilities. It makes it easier to find creative ways to help out the planner," Miller notes.
Of course, planners know that CVBs can direct them to the proper hotel for their events. But bureaus can also make it a lot easier to narrow down the choices, saving a lot of time in the process.
The San Diego CVB’s online proposal system includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that allows planners to compare their shortlist of hotels.
"That’s genius," Wallsh notes. "That’s a lot of time saved because it’s so much easier to see everything at a glance. And it’s free, free, free."
Because they have connections with local businesses and universities, CVBs can also put planners of small meetings in touch with local experts who can make keynote speeches or conduct workshops, Miller notes.
"It’s taking advantage of networks that we already have in place," Miller says. "For Sacramento, it’s politics and our strong universities. How cool is it to be able to get an expert in geological science taking the group out in the field?"
Wallsh has some advice to help planners of small meetings get the most out of their experiences with CVBs.
"Give them as much information as possible," she recommends. "Outline the objectives of the meeting. Give them a profile of attendees, your budget and past history: where you met before, what worked and what didn’t. This will get the CVB involved and excited."
Additional suggestions: Be as flexible as possible with meeting dates, note any hotel brand preferences, find out what is going on in town when the group is meeting and any political issues that may pose problems. All that is advice that’s not all that different for those planning an event for thousands.
"The number one rule is to be open and just listen to the bureau’s suggestions," Wallsh says. "They want groups to be happy, no matter what their size."
