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 More and more second-tier cities are forming partnerships to co-market their destinations and help them compete with first-tier cities, and this is good news for planners as these partnerships can streamline the often overwhelming site selection process.
The Virginia Beach CVB and San Jose, California CVB partnership was originally brainstormed at a Professional Convention Management Association networking session in 2004. “We’re on the East Coast and they’re on the West Coast, so from a location standpoint we don’t compete, but our convention centers are a similar size and our hotel packages offer a similar value,” says Al Hutchinson, vice president of convention sales for the VBCVB. “We figured we’d try it out and see if we had that synergy, and since then it’s a partnership that’s just kept on growing.”
The VBCVB and the SJCVB not only exchange information and refer leads to each other, but they also co-host client dinners and events, which can be a great opportunity for meeting planners. At one event, planners can learn about several cities, and when salespeople from one destination have knowledge of other cities, planners can easily compare and contrast destinations. Also, when a planner has a relationship with a bureau that highly recommends another city, in essence, that bureau is putting its own relationship with the client on the line.
Many of these partnerships, such as the one among Greater Hartford, Connecticut; Madison, Wisconsin; and Spokane, Washington, offer financial incentives for groups. The new Hartford-Madison-Spokane partnership offers up to a $30,000 incentive for planners who book with at least two of the cities. Qualifying planners must utilize the cities’ convention centers, book at least 300 peak room nights, and use multiple hotels for the block. “Each of our bureaus collaborates and works together in catering to groups preferring the amenities, personalized service, and attention that mid-sized cities deliver,” says H. Scott Phelps, president of the Greater Hartford CVB.
Second-tier cities that aren’t part of a marketing partnership also offer a great deal of value for faith-based planners despite the recent economic downturn. “We’re attractive to religious groups because of our affordability and our central location,” says Mike Gunn, vice president of sales for the Greater Birmingham CVB in Alabama. “We haven’t noticed much of a difference here in terms of the economy because we’re still getting 160 flights a day. Thanks to Southwest, we’ve remained a very affordable meetings destination.”
Another perk Gunn says second-tiers offer is that groups can often get a big-city experience and more personalized service while paying less than they would in a first-tier. “When you’re in a second-tier city like Birmingham, you’re paying less, you’re the number one attraction in town, and you don’t get lost like you would in a first-tier.”
Sharon Sears, director of the Seminole County CVB in Florida, says that many religious groups choose the county because it’s a quiet, beautiful part of the state that’s still within driving distance to some of Florida’s top attractions. “Here you can get away from the hustle and bustle you’d encounter in a first-tier city, but we actually sit just 30 minutes from all the attractions and the beaches. Plus, our rooms are one-third the price of Orlando’s.”
Centers of Attention
Here's a look at some recent and upcoming convention center openings in second-tier cities across the country.
Plans for The Music City Center, a new 1.2 million-square foot convention center in Nashville, Tennessee, are underway. The site for the downtown center has been selected, and a master plan for the area around the new center is currently being developed. Funding for the center still has to be authorized. Construction is expected to begin in 2009.
Daytona Beach, Florida, opened its Ocean Center in September after a $76 million expansion took the center from 225,491 square feet to 452,491 square feet. With the expansion complete, the existing building is now undergoing a renovation that is slated for completion by the end of the year.
The Rhode Island Convention Center Complex in Providence, Rhode Island, completed its $80 million renovation in September and now has 130,000 square feet of exhibit space. The renovation included an over-the-street walkway that connects the facility to the Dunkin’ Donuts Sports Arena. The Westin Providence, which is also connected to the center, recently added 200 more rooms, giving it a total of more than 560 rooms.
Anchorage, Alaska’s new $111 million Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center opened downtown in September. The 200,000-square-foot building offers a 50,000-square-foot convention floor and 25,332-square-foot ballroom. The facility also boasts spectacular views of the Chugach mountain range and a $350,000 piece of dangling artwork composed of translucent, yellow figurines of regional animals from belugas to bears.
The Lancaster County Convention Center and the adjoining Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square will open in the spring in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offering more than 900,000 square feet of combined space. The state-of-the-art convention center and 300-room hotel are currently under construction within the facade of the historic Watt & Shand department store site. Located just 90 minutes from both Philadelphia and Baltimore, the center will house a 45,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 9,000-square-foot ballroom.
The Santa Fe Convention Center opened in September, providing 40,000 square feet of event space, an 18,000-square-foot ballroom, 11 breakout rooms, and outdoor meeting areas. The new facility was designed to a LEED Silver certification and is divided into two buildings: the community building on the east end and the convention center on the west.
The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded the Phoenix Convention Center a silver certificate for its green efforts in the West Building, an addition with 157,000 square feet of meeting space. The building uses high-efficiency irrigation, low-flow toilets, and an elaborate recycling program. More than 700 peel-and-stick solar panels were also just added, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 95 metric tons a year. Recycled material from the demolished Phoenix Civic Plaza building was also used in the West Building’s construction. In September, the convention center awarded restaurant space to three new restaurants, a Southwestern cuisine concept, a deli station, and a family-owned pizzeria. The new center will open in late December, boasting 690,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Another new green property is the Jackson Convention Complex, which consists of the completed Mississippi TelCom Center and the Capital City Convention Center, which will open in January in Jackson, Mississippi. Built to green-facility standards, the complex will feature 128,000 square feet of meeting space, two full-service concession areas, two boardrooms, 10 meeting rooms, Wi-Fi capabilities, and state-of-the-art sound. The complex will be located within walking distance to many downtown hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Louisiana Repairs Damage
Area CVBs say business will be back to normal quickly.
While Hurricanes Gustav and Ike didn’t leave nearly the damage of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana still felt the storms’ impact; however, local CVBs report that the area fared well and will soon be functioning at top capacity.
No damage to the hospitality infrastructure occurred, according to the New Orleans Metropolitan CVB, and hotels were largely undamaged with many reopening the same week. However, some minor flooding and wind damage was reported. “We fully expected at least minor flooding in the city due to extensive rain. This is a New Orleans norm even in non-storm times,” the NOMCVB said.
“We are 100 percent intact and the city is open for business. We didn’t even lose power,” says Mae Johnson, sales manager for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Johnson also reports that the facility is undergoing several upgrades, including new TV monitors and the addition of laptop and cellphone charging areas, which will be completed in January. “We’re excited about these renovations and are looking forward to hosting several faith-based groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Missouri Synod.”
While New Orleans reports little damage from the hurricanes, the city of Jefferson, Louisiana, just fifteen minutes away, was hit harder. “The upper part of Jefferson fared well, but the southern part around Grand Isle took a beating,” says Violet Peters, president of the Jefferson CVB. “We’re going to have some challenges, but it’s a resilient community and we’ll have the job done soon.” Peters also says there was flooding in Lafitte, one of Jefferson’s top tourism areas. “We’re doing everything we can to make repairs, and we’re posting updates on our website to keep visitors informed.”
Jefferson boasts two convention facilities: the Alario Center, which will have 70,000 square feet of convention space in the spring, and the Pontchartrain Center, which has more than 73,000 square feet of convention space.
About an hour away in the capital city, Baton Rouge is also recovering from the hurricanes. “This was the hardest we’ve ever been hit,” says Renee Areng, vice president of the Baton Rouge Area CVB.
“We had power outages and a lot of trees were down, but our downtown, the hotels, and the attractions all fared well and everything is open and doing business,” says BRACVB President Paul Arrigo. Areng says the Baton Rouge River Center will soon undergo an expansion, which will be completed by 2011, but no details are available yet.
Case Study: International Women's Council
When Celestine Peters, president of the International Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, first decided to take the annual meeting of the International Women’s Council to Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 2005, she anticipated transportation and hotel issues; however, she was pleasantly surprised when the event went off without a hitch. “I thought having so many hotels would be an issue because we’ve never really done anything like that before, and in Virginia Beach we had to use five or six different hotels. I thought people would be upset about being separated from each other, but they loved having their space. And the CVB did a superb job, especially with the transportation. The buses ran from the hotels to the convention center nonstop.”
The International Women’s Council conference, a four-day event that brings 3,000 women together from across the globe, typically meets in first-tier cities, so when a constituent suggested Virginia Beach, Peters was wary. “I thought we’d have issues getting everyone where they needed to be. One of the greatest challenges was that the airports weren’t nearby and we had to coordinate ways to get everyone to the correct hotel, but it was really simple. I had a great group of people together and everything worked out.” The large number of attendees over the age of 70—about 500 of them to be exact—was another one of Peters’ concerns. “I knew we needed to have plenty of places where they could stop and rest at the convention center, and the staff was excellent. There were chairs everywhere and plenty of quiet space to accommodate our seniors. The hospitality we received was great.”
“We’ve been fortunate to have several faith-based groups host their meetings here, and I think that’s because you get a true sense of customer service from our CVB,” says Al Hutchinson, vice president of convention sales for the VBCVB.
But Peters says what was most memorable about meeting in Virginia Beach was the overwhelming response from attendees. She says they suggested having another event there even before the 2005 conference had ended. And they did. In 2007 the International Women’s Council returned to Virginia Beach, and in 2009 they’ll convene there again.
“We’ve had conferences in bigger cities like Philadelphia and Atlanta before, but I think we all liked the relaxing surroundings of Virginia Beach. The difference between meeting in a first- or second-tier city comes down to the atmosphere and hospitality. We liked not being in a crowded city with tall buildings because we were able to stretch out and enjoy ourselves. That’s why we keep going back.”
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