Are attendees increasingly likely to drive to a meeting rather than fly? Travel industry forecasts and an uptick in regional bookings—corporate as well as association—reported by some CVBs indicate a shift toward more meetings that favor the drive-to market.
With everyone from American Express Business Travel to Runzheimer International and the National Business Travel Association predicting a rise in corporate travel this year—along with higher hotel rates and airfares—it’s natural to assume that some organizations will find it more cost-effective and convenient to meet closer to home.
According to American Express Business Travel’s Global Business Travel Forecast, this is indeed likely to be the case. Among the predictions is that more meetings will be held this year than last, but they will tend to be more regional or even local in nature.
When the widespread objections to airport body scans and pat-downs are factored in, there is even more reason to believe there will be a shift toward more drive-to meetings in the months ahead.
Second-Tier Advantage
One way meeting planners are balancing their needs for space availability and value as the seller’s market inches its way back is to book destinations that have both good drive-in and fly-in access, as well as competitive rates.
"We are seeing tremendous value in tier-two cities," says Steve O’Malley, senior vice president and general manager for Maxvantage, an alliance between American Express Business Travel and Maritz Travel. "Destinations like Indianapolis with good convention and hotel space, and the Raleigh-Durham region have garnered lots of our business in 2010 going into 2011."
Clients such as automotive companies have turned from large national meetings at one location to district and regional events, while pharmaceutical companies are gravitating to hybrid live and virtual meetings in hotel ballrooms and restaurants, he adds.
"Having an expert speak to many people lends itself to satellite broadcasts in hotel ballrooms and restaurants," he says. "Local and drive-in programs can be very effective because you can deliver the message to many from one location."
San Antonio Savvy
San Antonio, Texas, is among cities that have long enjoyed regional association meetings business, primarily from other Texas cities such as Dallas, Houston and Austin. Now it is also seeing an increasing amount of corporate regional business as well, according to Steve Clampton, vice president of sales for the San Antonio CVB.
"We are hearing from a lot of companies that want to stay closer to home, so we’ve beefed up our sales department to four people in the Texas market," he says. "They are doing more calls on corporates than we were doing two years ago."
The city has fared quite well through the recent recession because it attracts a good mix of drive-to business from the military, government, bio medical and tech sectors, he adds.
"Our hotels also are seeing a surge in activity from markets outside Texas," Clampton says. "We have two people in the West Coast markets. They are promoting San Antonio as an excellent corporate meetings market with good weather, hotel variety and golf courses at our great resorts, which can supercharge their people.
"What we are getting are lots of sales meetings at our JW Marriott, Hyatt and Westin resorts," he continues. "Corporates are realizing we have a great meetings and incentives portfolio that includes both resort and downtown hotels at reasonable price points."
San Antonio sells both its drive-to accessibility for about 22 million Texans with its air accessibility, which includes service on Southwest Airlines from the state’s major cities.
Regional Raleigh
Another destination that has long been a magnet for state and regional meetings business is the Greater Raleigh area—and it’s getting stronger, according to Jana Rae Oliver, director of sales for the Greater Raleigh [N.C.] CVB.
"We see an increase in bookings for the upcoming year from both state associations and the corporate market for technical and training meetings in our region," she says.
"We have the unique benefit of being close to Research Triangle Park, so we are known for our high-tech and educational environment with world-class universities in our backyard," she continues. "These industry segments hold numerous meetings with us every year because we are a logical choice for planners who are looking to host meetings closer to home. Our key vertical markets continue to be sustainability; science and technology; medical and pharmaceutical; and higher education."
Those attending meetings in Raleigh have a good variety of site choices, including the new 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center and the connecting 400-room Raleigh Marriott City Center.
Delaware Deals
With a strategic location midway between New York City and Washington, D.C., and a tax-free environment for meeting room rental and food and beverage services, Delaware’s Wilmington/Brandywine Valley region is within three hours’ driving distance from over a third of the U.S. population along the I-95 corridor.
Wilmington is emphasizing its accessibility, including its close proximity to Philadelphia International Airport, in marketing efforts to attract meetings for 2011 and beyond.
These efforts include a transportation meetings incentive package offered by the Greater Wilmington CVB. For events that involve an overnight stay and generate a minimum of 100 room nights, groups may get transportation subsidies for airport and train station transfers; attendee shuttles for off-site events and attractions; shuttles between a central meeting location and hotels; and bus transportation to and from the greater Wilmington and Brandywine Valley area.
"To qualify for our transportation package, planners must contact the CVB before they contract with hotels," says Esther Lovlie, director of sales and marketing for the CVB. "Many groups use the incentive for shuttles to attractions like the DuPont museum estates and our restaurants. One planner used it to take people to the riverfront for a night on the town."
Free parking at some of the city’s largest venues, including the Chase Center on the Riverfront and the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall Conference Center, sweetens the prospects as well. Rail transportation is a palatable access option, too, with AMTRAK offering discount fares to passengers who travel to Wilmington.
Indy Drivers
Indianapolis has gleaned a lot of success as a regional drive-to meetings city, especially with associations, according to Michelle Travis, vice president of sales for the Indianapolis CVB, adding that about 85 percent of those association attendees use surface transportation to reach a city that’s located within a day’s drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population.
According to Travis, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies are prime meetings market targets for the CVB as the city enhances its portfolio with new facilities, sales staff and attractive cost containment components.
The Indiana Convention Center’s expansion, expected to be completed this month, is doubling exhibit space to 566,600 square feet.
Opening in February, a new 1,006-room JW Marriott will expand the city’s lodging portfolio to 12 hotels and 4,700 guest rooms connected to the convention center via climate-controlled sidewalks.
Travis says corporate business has represented only about 5 percent of the city’s meetings bookings until now. The CVB has brought on four new sales people to push that number to 10 percent.
"Our city has Eli Lilly and many other life sciences employers," Travis says. "This business segment’s focus on drivability is very important, as is good fly-in access for internationals and West Coast attendees. We offer them both, along with these grand new facilities."
