From my observation of all the groups I've worked with during my career, during their free time, attendees pretty much want what all tourists wanta destination that's convenient to navigate, offers value for their tourism dollar, and provides opportunities for unique experiences.
Meeting those first three requirements certainly falls to the organization, corporation, or association planning the meeting, especially when it comes to tangibles such as educational opportunities, after-hours event planning, and speaker selection.
But the second set of requisitesconvenience, value, and experiencesare often best addressed on the local levelfrom transportation and logistical considerations to bundled hotel and space rates to creating unique experiences that exceed a visitor's expectations.
How a city's meetings and convention community interprets and responds to these needs can make or break its attractiveness for repeat conventions and leisure visits, word-of-mouth buzz and, ultimately, the overall health of the city's convention industry.
In cities across the country, the increased competition for meetings and conventions has hospitality communities focusing more than ever on how to best provide visitors with the convenience, value, and experiences they demand.
This is good news for meeting planners, who can expect cities to pay extra attention to these offerings. Here are some of the initiatives planners should look for:
ConvenienceMore convention locations are creating one-stop shops for meeting planners, providing a single point of contact for hotel, meeting space, transportation, and other needs for staging an event in their cities.
In Atlanta, for instance, when a meeting planner contacts the sales department of any of the six hotels that are part of The Convention Collection at Centennial Olympic Park located downtown, a standard e-proposal is quickly generated through a preferred destination management company, confirming pricing and availability at the desired hotels and venues. Other cities have similar collections that, despite unique hotel brand offerings, act as a unified force and work towards a common goalbringing convenience and value to the customer.
ValueAs the economy softens and competition strengthens, more convention destinations are bundling their offerings at competitive prices, packaging transportation, food, and lodging, and meeting spaces together at a lower rate than if negotiated separately.
Again, determine whether the location you are considering has a cooperative collection that includes hotels, restaurants, and meeting spacesyou'll get a better deal.
ExperiencesWhile most meeting goers are obviously interested in the professional aspect of a convention or trade show, they also cite "having a great experience" in the destination city as a top priority. When researching locations, consider the surrounding area and what it offers.
Are there top-rated restaurants and bars? Galleries or museums? Sports arenas? Interesting or historical neighborhoods or must-see attractions? Are they all within a short walk or cab ride away from the primary meeting space?
As the convention business becomes increasingly competitive, cities will have to develop more creative approaches to the marketing of their destinationand explore exactly how they take into consideration the convenience, value and unique experiences it can offer its visitors.
Michael Sullivan is the director of sales and marketing for the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta.Originally published Sept. 1, 2008For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
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