The economic aftermath of the summer's trio of enormous events—the Democratic National Convention in Boston, the Olympics in Athens, and the Republican National Convention in New York—has many asking just how beneficial these mega-meetings really are to their host cities—and the meeting planners who are based there.
According to a study released by The Beacon Hill Institute, a research organization affiliated with Suffolk University in Boston, after the Democratic National Convention in July, the city only saw $14.8 million in revenue—just one tenth of the projected $154-million windfall. These findings, along with the huge, highly publicized debt Athens amassed after this year's summer Olympics, and complaints of skyrocketing RNC-related costs in New York, suggest that the economic advantage brought by such mega-events could be shrinking, due to the rising costs associated with hosting them.
Still, Boston's city officials insist that the DNC was a boon to Beantown and that the Beacon Hill study fails to factor in the value of private events associated with the larger convention. "The city hosted hundreds of private events during the week of the convention," says Seth Gitell, press secretary for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, arguing that these events benefited local businesspeople such as event planners. "We know, for example, that both the Democratic National Campaign Committee and the host committee spent $40 million or more on these events, monies that represent additional income to the city."
Be that as it many, some meeting planners didn't see as much of that additional income as did other local businesses. "Having the [Republican] convention here wasn't the biggest spike [in our business] ever," says Jaclyn Bernstein, owner of New York City-based Empire Force Events. "Venues and caterers were all very busy during the convention, but we found that a lot of the people organizing the events came in with their own planners."
Nevertheless, Bernstein maintains that such mega-events are good for their host cities. "I think it's a great thing for the city. We get a chance to show we can handle it, to show how security works, and how we get heads in beds. But as a planner, I would like to see the people coming here give more business to local planners."