Making her first-ever visit to Atlantic City in June 2016 for her first-ever MPI World Education Congress (WEC), veteran meeting planner Brenda Kay Eckler, now teaching event management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., arrived aware of the Boardwalk Empire’s gilded past—but with wary pre-conceptions about its state today.
As she related in her post-show appraisal (see Zoom In, page 50), negative media had her thinking the city was “an unpopular and unattractive destination.” But count Eckler among the many people—her 2,000-plus fellow WEC participants among them, along with thousands of other delegates and event attendees—enlightened by their discovery of a robust, rewarding meetings destination now on a decidedly positive path, if not trajectory, for the future.
While there’s no denying the ongoing hard news on the municipal and casino fronts, of course, Atlantic City’s evolving, advancing meetings industry is the proverbial flip side of the coin. With attendance figures, room nights and future bookings on the rise, along with significant new investments, upgrades and openings, prepare to be amazed, as was Eckler, by the very real appeal of Atlantic City.
Show and Tell
Since becoming the first president and CEO of newly formed Meet AC in June 2014, Jim Wood has been a voice of optimism for Atlantic City. Under his leadership, Meet AC has likewise generated positive messaging and good news through diverse, innovative strategies.
These include forming new departments to attract sector-specific business, including the Atlantic City Sports Commission and Atlantic City Film Commission, and as Wood explained, leveraging major events to showcase Atlantic City to decision-makers and participants.
“In 2016, Atlantic City hosted an unprecedented four national industry shows,” he said. “Meet AC’s strategy was to reintroduce Atlantic City to the thousands of participants attending these shows, which along with MPI WEC included Health Professions Network, TEAMS Conference & Expo and the 7th Annual Trade Show News Network (TSNN) Awards. Encompassing health conferences, corporate and sporting event planners, and major tradeshow organizers, it was a terrific step forward in the ongoing revitalization of our meetings market.”
Show organizers sharing this enthusiasm included Timothy Schneider, president & CEO of Los Angeles-based Schneider Publishing Company, Inc., producer of TEAMS, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers (see Zoom In, page 52). Reporting overall delegate satisfaction of 96 percent, MPI WEC, its 2016 program of “reinvention and unconventional thinking” inspired by Atlantic City’s transformation, was another win.
Value Propositions
“Hosting MPI WEC was a huge opportunity for Atlantic City,” Wood said, “but with that one opportunity to make a terrific first impression, we needed to get it right. Based on the incredible delegate feedback, we did just that. Selection by an organization of MPI’s caliber also provided us with significant PR value and enhanced awareness of our destination we would not otherwise have had.”
WEC and TEAMS ’16 were among more than 130 confirmed bookings for 2016 (as of April) at Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, the $125.8 million venue opened in September 2015 at Harrah’s Atlantic City. Recently promoted to chief sales officer for Caesars Entertainment, Michael Massari, who “staked my career” on conceiving and pushing for the venue, is “thrilled that the Center has lived up to expectations” as he looks ahead to 2017.
“MPI WEC gave Atlantic City and the Center consistent exposure for almost a year building up to the event,” Massari said. “Bringing in more than 2,000 incredibly influential decision-makers in our industry, the event afforded people the opportunity to experience and immerse themselves in the destination. Impressed by the quality of the conference space and hotel, many MPI members who had never previously considered Atlantic City have since booked with us.”
Momentum remains strong-as of April 2016 the property had nearly doubled its booked meetings and conventions through 2019, bringing in an estimated 300,000 conferees and producing nearly 200,000 room nights. To further enhance the appeal, Caesars’ renovation of some 450 rooms and suites in Harrah’s Atlantic City Bayview Tower is slated for completion by Memorial Day 2017.
Confident investments and positive exposure are also fueling growth and optimism at two other Atlantic City group anchors, Resorts Casino Hotel and Tropicana Casino and Resort.
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Investment Returns
Calling MPI WEC “a grand slam” for Atlantic City, Bill Jackson, Resorts’ director of sales and marketing, said it was also a major hit for the property.
“Hosting the ‘Big East Reception’ during the event allowed Resorts to expose many Northeast and Mid-Atlantic planners to our new unique all-digital, technically sophisticated conference center,” Jackson said. “Opened in 2015, the venue, along with our new All-Inclusive Meeting Package (AMP), produced a major uptick in 2016 group business.
Primarily coming from the corporate market, meeting and convention room nights are up 30 percent over 2015.”
The trend looks to continue, based on resoundingly positive feedback from planners experiencing the new center for the first time.
“Typically enjoying a 70 percent or higher customer return and retention factor, our 2016 successes should bode well for 2017,” Jackson said. “Based upon our current booking pace, we expect meeting and convention room nights to increase another 10 to 15 percent in 2017.”
Well-received, too, is the AMP offering.
“Corporate meeting planners especially like the ease of planning and certainty of knowing their exact spend with no hidden costs or budget-breaking surprises,” Jackson said.
By January 2017, bandwidth and IP addresses dedicated to meetings and conventions will be upgraded from 500 attendees on multiple devices simultaneously to over 1,000. By May 2017, Resorts expects to complete Phase 2 of the $25 million refresh of all of its Ocean Tower guest rooms.
Tropicana is reaping the rewards of $90 million in enhancements, including the complete refurbishment of its North and Havana Tower guest rooms.
“The feedback from our meeting and convention groups, experiencing these renovations for the first time, has been incredible,” reported Jim Ziereis, Tropicana’s assistant vice president for hotel sales, who also saluted MPI WEC.
“Contributing to a successful 2016, this has generated repeat sales and great referrals from planners,” Ziereis continued. “Many groups impressed by the renovations have rebooked for 2017 and beyond. Additionally, groups that have met with our competitors in Atlantic City and elsewhere in the Northeast are calling for site inspections after reading about our renovations, many resulting in contracted business.”
Set to refresh its 20,000-square-foot Grand Exhibition Center in 2017, Tropicana has also introduced Escape AC, a compelling teambuilding exercise involving strategizing how to escape from rooms at the property.
Promising Panoramas
Reversing the trend of recent years, additions outnumbered subtractions in 2016. In fact, other than this October’s closing of Trump Taj Mahal, this was a renaissance year for Atlantic City.
“We strongly believe the Taj Mahal will be repurposed and reopened sooner rather than later,” Wood said. “Looking ahead, the former Revel Casino is set to reopen in 2017, and we remain optimistic that the city’s finances will improve in short order.”
Closed in 2014, Showboat Atlantic City Hotel reopened in July 2016 with 872 updated rooms, and reported plans for additional meeting space and restaurants. Steps away at the iconic Steel Pier, a $14 million, 200-foot high observation wheel with climate-controlled gondolas is scheduled to open in early 2017.
Completing its full acquisition of Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in August, the MGM Resorts International lion now roars in Atlantic City. Since opening in 2003, Borgata has continually evolved to maintain its market-leading position in the destination, and 2016 was no different, with more than $50 million invested into capital initiatives, including the new $14 million, 18,000-square-foot Vegas-style Premier Nightclub, and Borgata Beer Garden & Outdoor Pool.
Next year sees the addition of 25,000 square feet of meeting and convention space on two levels, with celebrity chef Michael Symon joining peers such as Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck with his own fine-dining concept.
Also in the Marina District, plans are approved for Golden Nugget Atlantic City to transform an unused restaurant into two event-capable 2,400-square-foot villas.
“Meet AC’s primary objective remains driving more business into the Atlantic City Convention Center, Boardwalk Hall and our hotel and casino hotel properties,” Wood said. “We have set some very aggressive goals for 2017 and beyond, which we believe can be achieved based upon the level of interest we continue to see in our marketplace.”
In 2014, the 1930 landmark Claridge Hotel, once dubbed “The Skyscraper by the Sea,” reopened fully refreshed with 500 luxurious guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of new conference space, for a total of 100,000 square feet. Rebranded as a Radisson this October, the 24-story property also offers VUE Rooftop Bar & Lounge, the city’s first rooftop bar. Offering knockout views from its spacious deck plus indoor space, this event-capable venue seems a fitting symbol of Atlantic City’s renaissance and bright horizon.
Think you know Atlantic City? At VUE and all along the Boardwalk, the era of fresh perspectives has begun.
