Once the off-season mainstay of budget properties in secondary markets, religious meetings have a lot more options available to them these days. Increasingly, destinations and properties are eager to capture what is viewed as a stable and consistent source of business.
According to a recent poll of planner members of the Religious Conference Management Associations (RCMA), religious meetings are taking advantage of their new-found clout by choosing downtown hotels, conference centers and even resorts.
"Sales professionals realize that through the years, the religious segment of the meetings industry has shown to be the one that holds steady," says RCMA Executive Director DeWayne Woodring.
How have religious meetings stayed strong while other industries have tightened conference budgets?
"The religious market hasn’t been hit as hard as other markets because people feel that going to these meetings is the right thing for them to do, personally," says Nikki Moon, vice president of sales for the New Orleans CVB.
Important Business
For a growing number of cities, religious meetings are big business.
"The religious meetings market is extremely important to us," says Mark Vaughan, executive vice president and chief sales officer for the Atlanta CVB. "We’ve brought in, on average, around 40 meetings per year over the past three years, which is more than 100,000 people. We haven’t seen much fluctuation—increase or decrease—in the bookings of those meetings."
Religious meetings have grown increasingly valuable to Tampa, Fla., according to Steve Hayes, executive vice president of Tampa Bay & Company.
"We’ve definitely been booking more religious conventions in the past few years," he says, adding that the city hosted the annual RCMA conference in 2002 and again this past January. "After RCMA in 2002, we were able to track 175,000 room nights booked as a result of that meeting alone."
Stephen Jackson, national sales manager for the Greater Raleigh CVB, sees the same trend.
"I definitely see the market growing in Raleigh," he says. "I think a lot of it has to do with the opening of our new convention center. We’ve seen tons of bookings in the past few years."
Budget Conscious
Although a consistent market, cost is nearly always a major concern for most religious meeting planners, according to Kevin Owens, director of national accounts for the Dallas CVB.
"These days, they are going after value," he says. "They want as much cost savings as the competition for their business will bear, which can include complimentary meeting facilities rental."
Due to cost-consciousness, religious meetings often take place during the off-season.
"A lot of our religious meetings happen during those ‘need’ time periods," Tampa’s Hayes says. "For us, that means summer and early fall when it is pretty hot."
Raleigh’s Jackson is thrilled that faith-based groups book in off-peak periods.
"They really fill in the gaps for us," he says. "Especially in the summer months and in November when we don’t have many corporate meetings."
Community Outreach
One trend seen across the board is that of community outreach.
"I think they are reaching out to communities more than ever before," says New Orleans’ Moon. "I see religious groups doing all sorts of things in the community, from helping sort books at libraries to working in schools and repairing houses. "
Jason Dunn, director of multi-cultural affairs and community development for the Cincinnati USA CVB, also notes the trend.
"The groups are engaging the public by offering concerts and opening them up to the community that may not be part of the convention," he says. "Last year we matched up a group with Macy’s for a gospel concert. The entire city came out in support of the convention."
According to Vern Byrd, operations director for the Center for Youth Evangelism at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., religious groups should always offer something to the community.
"It doesn’t matter what church organization you are from, you should always give something back," he says. "It is good for the community and good for the organization. It gives a group name recognition and offers a ‘wow’ affect."
Future Forecast
What does the future hold for religious conferences?
"I think the religious market will continue to be strong," Atlanta’s Vaughan says. "I am seeing a lot of groups trying to attract a younger audience. For example, we had a huge faith conference here in Atlanta in early January and I think every attendee was under 20 years old. I see that recruitment effort in many religious groups. It shows that these meetings will sustain for years to come."
Bryd believes religious meetings will continue to increase, but possibly grow more regional.
"I do think groups will continue to stay closer to their base and, if there is a local convention, they will opt to go there," he says. "However, I can see expansion in the future and groups planning larger conventions."
Cincinnati’s Dunn agrees.
"I see the religious market growing," he says. "We live in a world where you need hope and you need people to lean on; it is human nature. I think religious people will become closer to God and religious meetings will grow." MFS
Katie Morell (www.katiemorell.com) is a Chicago-based freelance writer.
