The National Middle School Association (NMSA) knows the value of meeting in destinations other than first-tier cities. Along with a growing number of organizations, NMSA is finding that it’s easier than ever to get the "big fish" treatment and plenty of added value for meetings.
"Our organization loves tier-two cities," says Al Summers, NMSA director of conferences. "We’re usually the biggest game in town, and other value they offer in this economy is even greater."
Case in point: NMSA’s November annual meeting in Indianapolis treated its 7,500 attendees to a show floor treat that, according to Summers, would have been impossible without the help of staff contacts at the Indiana Convention Center and the Indianapolis CVB.
"The CVB and convention center staffs bent over backwards to work with local unions and others to make this happen," he says. "They got local students and teachers into the classroom so attendees got an authentic teaching experience. We got free show space for the classroom, and they let us enter the convention center a day earlier than our contract provided—for free."
Successful destinations—like people—are working smarter than ever in today’s market to generate income and book business for now and beyond. While first-tier cities such as Las Vegas and New York are offering some of the lowest rates in recent memory, their smaller competitors are keeping pace by taking creative measures to entice and retain customers.
Successful sellers realize buyers really expect quality services and destination sizzle, along with palatable rates and perks, in exchange for their business. So they are working hard to offer customers what they want, sometimes before they ask.
Customer Giveback
Groups who choose San Jose, Calif., will find numerous promotions regarding hotel rates and attrition, as well as CVB assistance with other meeting costs, according to Dan Fenton, president and CEO of Team San Jose, the city’s CVB.
"We are doing hotel-based promotions that honor certain rates if someone books within the year [2010]," Fenton says. "The hotels also are committed to flexible or no-attrition contract clauses, and hotels are giving discounted or free parking, adding in meals and extra loyalty points. If the buyer signs up two or three years out, we will hold rates from now and we’re not putting in any escalation clauses."
In addition, Team San Jose is assisting groups in raising event funds and offsetting costs in a variety of ways. The bureau hosts opening receptions, and it connects planners and senior executives with local organizations that can be good sponsorship matches.
Fenton says his staff can also secure funds to help offset a group’s meetings expenses, including airfares, from the city’s Property and Business Improvement District.
"We have used this fund strategically for things that really help the client decide to have their meeting in San Jose," he adds.
One of the newest ways the Silicon Valley capital lures meetings customers these days is with the promise of a concert event that fits a prospective buyer’s musical tastes. The practice is aided by the fact that Team San Jose manages several performing arts venues.
"We run four theaters and we tell some clients we’ll schedule a genre of music or a particular artist in one of the theaters if they will support the event," Fenton says. "The planner can present the event idea to attendees with the idea that the city has brought in the event to entertain them."
What Can You Do For Me?
Customization is a strong and successful strategy for Travel Portland, the CVB for Portland, Ore.
"We talk with groups to find out what’s covered by the budget and what’s not," says Michael C. Smith, vice president of sales for Travel Portland. "If we can reduce transport and rental costs, we fine-tune according to their needs.
"With one of our larger groups, we offered to pay carbon offsets for attendees so they would have a more sustainable meeting. We’re also helping some people get good deals with airlines now that many of the carriers are back into the group business."
In Hampton, Va., Lacy Gibson, director of sales for the Hampton CVB, takes a similar approach.
"We ask customers how much they have to spend, and if the customer will be up front about that, we can get very creative with menus and other line items," she says. "We also work with group transportation needs—often because our hotels give back a percentage of revenue to help with that."
Marketing Measures
Events are one way value destinations are helping meetings customers bring in attendees. And there is a plethora of other creative marketing measures coming out of the current economic climate.
In Huntsville, Ala., Charles Winters, executive vice president of the Huntsville/Madison County CVB, says his bureau is offering complimentary housing and on-site registration services, as well as pre-printed name badges, destination information materials and complimentary shuttles between hotels and the airport.
According to Winters, Huntsville’s diem rate of $86 for 2010 means local hotels are already a good value for government groups and others in one of Alabama’s principal cities. He also notes several accolades Huntsville has received from national business publications for being a top city for economic stability, jobs recovery, performance and quality of life.
"We compete very well with major cities across the South for several reasons," he says. "For one thing, we have great air service with five major airlines, and lots of military and federal jobs are coming in. We have the second-largest research park in the country, and if you want to do business with defense contractors, most of them have offices here and in D.C."
Jim Shamblen, an event planner with the 101st Airborne Association, says Hampton’s CVB staff has actually helped his association chapter grow with eye-catching internal graphics design products, including giant hotel banners welcoming the "Screaming Eagles" to town.
"Last year, they made us a deck of cards with our unit crest and the Hampton logo on them," Shamblen says. "They also gave us luggage tags and registration bags with our logo, and books with discount coupons for the city."
Gibson confirmed Shamblen’s report about her staff’s creative capabilities, adding that design for programs, e-blasts, flyers and other media are complimentary.
