Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd C1
A2
M 009 G
EE
UID
TIN
EF
OR
G
PL
AN
NE
RS
An advertiser supported supplement to
7/13/09 9:15:44 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Ottawa Tourism
www.ottawatourism.ca
The all-new Ottawa Convention Centre will rise
on its existing location in the heart of Canada’s
capital, surrounded by national sites, cultural
treasures, natural beauty and the city’s relaxed
urban vibe. A sweeping windowed façade will
afford panoramic views of Parliament Hill, the
Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Confederation Square and the National Arts
Centre. Delegates will step outside and be just
moments away from recreational paths and the
vibrant ByWard Market shopping and restaurant district. And the facility will be directly
linked to the 180-store Rideau Centre and the
495-room Westin Ottawa.
A bold, modern design, a bright naturallylit interior and magnificent views will offer an
unparalleled setting and support for meetings
large and small. Conceived and designed with
direct input from professional meeting planners, the new Ottawa Convention Centre will
house approximately 192,000 square feet of
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd C2
highly flexible meeting space. The multipurpose
hall with 56,000 square feet of contiguous
space will accommodate up to 6,260 delegates
theater-style, banquets of 4,500 and more than
400 10' x 10' display booths. Endlessly configurable, the center will also offer up to 29 meeting
spaces including a spectacular 14,500-squarefoot ballroom on the top level and a dedicated
formal boardroom for executive meetings and
events. The facility will be outfitted throughout
with the latest in technology and telecommunications and will be fully accessible. Additionally, it will be built to LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) certification
standards and adhere to sustainable practices
when it opens its doors in April 2011.
National sites and attractions surround
the center’s privileged location in downtown
Ottawa, just a 25-minute drive from Ottawa
International Airport and within easy walking distance from 6,000 hotel rooms—1,400
within a city block. Canada’s capital city, its
fourth-largest metropolitan area and home to
the country’s federal government, Ottawa is
a major national center for high technology,
biotechnology and medical research and is also
home to approximately 300 associations. It is
a proven meeting and convention destination,
with exceptional offsite facilities and attractions
and experiences that convince many delegates
to extend their stays.
The capital is easily accessible, with the new
Ottawa International Airport providing service
to 30 Canadian and international destinations.
Ottawa is centrally located between Montréal
and Toronto and just a one-hour drive from the
Canada-U.S. border.
7/13/09 7:43:24 AM
0809CS_01.indd 1
7/8/09 9:41:52 AM
2
one+
08.09
CONTENTS
Editorial support from the staff of One+, with design support
from Sherry Gritch of SG2Designs
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 2
7/13/09 10:22:19 AM
A 2009 GUIDE FOR MEETING PLANNERS
Convention Centers
Inside Front Cover
Ottawa Tourism
Pages 4-5
St. Louis Convention &
Visitors Commission
Pages 6-7
Pennsylvania
Convention Center
Pages 8-9
Branson Convention Center
Pages 10-11
Metro Toronto
Convention Centre
Pages 12-13
Atlantic City CVA
Pages 14-18
Halfway There
Page 19
Scottsdale CVB
Pages 20-21
Gatlinburg Convention Center
Pages 22-23
AmericasMart Atlanta
Pages 24-25
Salt Lake CVB
Pages 26-30
Grow Your Recovery
Strategy
Page 31
Hampton CVB
Page 32
Rosemont Convention
& Tourism Bureau
Page 33
USS Midway
Page 34
Dave & Buster’s
Page 35
Grand Wayne
Convention Center
Pages 36-37
Los Angeles Convention
Center
Page 38
Santa Clara Convention
Center
Page 39
Baton Rouge Area CVB
Page 40-Inside Back Cover
Freeman
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809.indd 3
mpiweb.org
3
7/17/09 1:36:53 PM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
St. Louis Convention & Visitors
Commission
www.explorestlouis.com
Every meeting and group—no matter the size—
gets a warm welcome to the Gateway City. In St.
Louis, meeting planners can enjoy a variety of
complimentary services whether they’re planning
a one-hotel meeting, a citywide convention or
something in between.
The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) offers a variety of complimentary
services and publications to meeting planners
hosting small and one-hotel meetings. To help attendees enhance their experience in the Gateway
City, the CVC offers quantities of the Official St.
Louis Visitors Guide, maps, electronic postcards,
a destination video, an attractions’ highlight flyer
and posters to help build convention awareness
and attendance.
Planners can also access electronic images for
promotional use, a link to the official St. Louis
Web site www.explorestlouis.com, online access
4
one+
08.09
to the CVC’s Membership Services Directory and
a publicity questionnaire that provides convention information to the St. Louis media. Leads
for products and services can be sent to member
businesses at the planner’s request, and the CVC
assists with coordinating professionally trained
and friendly personnel to handle onsite registration needs.
St. Louis adheres to a “top five” service list
that includes everything from facilitating the lead
process and site visit to providing pertinent information for offsite events. A client profile sheet
is sent out to determine the planner’s likes and
dislikes and to obtain emergency information
should something happen during their stay. Prior
to the event, the CVC touches base with each client to make sure they have everything needed for
the conference. Staffers make courtesy visits to
the host hotel when the meeting starts to ensure
things get started on the right foot, then follow
up with a phone call after the meeting to discuss
how things went and if changes are needed for
future meetings.
The CVC also manages and operates the
America’s Center convention complex, which
features the 67,000-seat Edward Jones Dome.
The facility offers 502,000 square feet of prime
exhibit space, 83 meeting rooms, the 1,411-seat
Ferrara Theatre, a 28,000-square-foot ballroom
and the St. Louis Executive Conference Center.
This dual-role provides significant benefits to
clients including the ability to provide prompt
availability and pricing information.
For more information about meeting in St.
Louis, call (800) 325-7962, or visit our Web site.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 4
7/13/09 7:48:17 AM
0809CS_05.indd 5
7/10/09 9:10:24 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Pennsylvania Convention Center
www.philadelphiausa.travel
The Pennsylvania Convention Center, under
the direction of Ahmeenah Young, president
and CEO, is in the process of reaching new
lengths. When completed, an expanded center
will include: 1 million square feet of saleable
space and 700,000 square feet of exhibit space
(including 541,000 square feet contiguous space).
It will be the largest convention center on the
East Coast.
Currently the convention center offers
technology that improves the attendee experience
and supports event efficiency and profitability.
From network options such as wireless
connectivity throughout and gigabit Internet
to digital signage and visual attendance, the
convention center’s technology leads the pack.
Within steps of the Pennsylvania Convention
Center, downtown Philadelphia welcomes you
with nearly 300 restaurants from upscale eateries
to cosmopolitan nightlife, fabulous four-star
finds and quaint BYOBs. Enjoy a meal at a
sidewalk cafe, overlooking the waterfront, or
one try one of Jose Garces’ exciting restaurants.
Located below the convention center is the
Reading Terminal Market, a historic farmers
6
one+
08.09
market in operation since 1893.
Getting to the convention center is easy, too.
Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the country
and located within a day’s drive of 40 percent of
the U.S. population. The city’s strategic location
allows for convenient business travel from
anywhere in the world. More than half of the
conventions held in Philadelphia are life-sciences
related. Philadelphia is a cosmopolitan city with
a rich history, great value, conveniences and
easily accessible, which helps drive attendance
and lower costs.
It may be the second-largest metropolis on
the East Coast, but don’t let Philadelphia’s size
fool you. The city’s grid street design is visitorfriendly and highlights its walkability. The public
transit system welcomes you with boundless
modes of convenient transportation. Market
East, situated above the convention center, along
with Suburban and 30th Street stations provide
regional rail, bus, trolley and subway services.
The convention center itself is also centered
between two subway lines for unparalleled
accessibility.
The city utilizes its proximity to Philadelphia
International Airport for more than 1,500 daily
flights covering 29 airlines and is home to the
second-busiest Amtrak station in the country,
30th Street Station.
Staying here is also convenient. Philadelphia
offers more than 10,000 hotel rooms,
including 7,800 within a 15-minute walk of
the Pennsylvania Convention Center, to open
in 2011. More than 30 hotels are available
in a variety of price points and packages
to meet every budget—the most compact
accommodations in the country. An additional
2,500 rooms are proposed in the next few years.
Great meeting spaces are available in most
hotels. The Philadelphia CVB provides complete
meeting packages (www.philadelphiausa.
travel/cmp) designed to make doing business in
Philadelphia easy.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 6
7/14/09 11:17:43 AM
0809CS_07.indd 7
6/30/09 7:45:20 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Branson Convention Center
www.bransonconvention.com
The Branson Convention Center, celebrated its
grand opening in September 2007 and just one
year later distinguished its first anniversary by
winning the 2008 Planners’ Choice Award from
Meeting News magazine. The Branson Convention Center was selected as one of 25 convention
centers by 4,000 meeting planners to earn this
prestigious award.
In its first year, the Branson Convention
Center booked more than 240 event days, significantly more than center executives had forecast.
Bookings, including lots of return business,
continue to be healthy as the convention center
approaches its second anniversary celebration.
Another factor that will certainly have a
positive impact on meeting and convention
8
one+
08.09
business—and the local economy—will be the
new Branson Airport that opened May 11. It’s
the first privately developed and operated commercial service airport in the country. The airport
is expected to open up new markets and dramatically increase the number of visitors—tourists and
meeting guests—to the Branson area.
The Branson Convention Center offers guests
220,000 gross square feet of flexible, high-tech
meeting space. With the capacity to accommodate up to 4,500 at a time, the Branson Convention Center and the adjacent 294-room Hilton
Branson Convention Center Hotel are an exciting
and powerful addition to an area that already attracts more than seven million visitors a year.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 8
7/13/09 7:53:17 AM
0809CS_09.indd 9
6/30/09 7:46:05 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
www.mtccc.com
An Incomparable and Flexible Venue
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre
(MTCC) provides a wealth of flexible meeting
and convention space, easy airline access and a
fabulous hotel package—all right in the heart of
downtown Toronto.
As Canada’s No. 1 convention and trade show
facility, the MTCC boasts more than 600,000
square feet of flexible exhibit and meeting space.
Our 460,000 square feet of exhibit space, 64
meeting rooms (covering 104,000 square feet)
and a theater (which seats 1,330 comfortably)
together make the MTCC the largest, most
renowned facility of its kind in Canada—and
ranks it among the finest convention and meeting
facilities across North America.
offers an Airport Customer Assistance Program
(ACAP) free of charge to physically challenged
passengers. Pearson is one of the few airports
in the world to offer this high level of service
free. ACAP staff will pick clients up at the curb,
the parking lot or at the city bus to help deliver
them to their flight.
Hotel Rooms Expanding
Almost 13,000 affordable, high-quality hotel
rooms are within walking distance of the
MTCC. However, that’s about to change—with
more than four new hotels under construction,
three of which are right in the downtown core,
this number will soon grow. Names such as The
Residences of Ritz-Carlton, Trump Tower and
the Shangri-La will be opening their doors as
early as next year. The advantage is newer product and lots of options for meeting planners
looking to make their room block.
Toronto, Easily Accessible
Canada’s leading international airport—Toronto Pearson International—completed a $4.5 billion redevelopment. Ease of air access is a key
selling feature, with more than 350 non-stop
flights daily; indeed, Toronto is just 90 minutes away for more than 60 percent of North
America’s population. In addition, Terminal 1
10
one+
08.09
Location, Location, Location
A superior hotel package, along with diverse
dining, cultural and entertainment offerings
and countless high quality retail shops, all just
a short walk away, combine to give the center
a distinctive edge. Take a look at the MTCC as
your next meeting venue. We’ll make your event
experience memorable!
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 10
7/13/09 9:13:14 AM
0809CS_11.indd 11
6/30/09 7:46:59 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Atlantic City CVA
www.atlanticcitynj.com
Not all convention/gaming destinations are
created equal. Take, for instance, the East Coast
destination that offers so much more than gaming: Atlantic City, N.J.
Atlantic City is a resort destination with fine
hotels, unique shopping districts, restaurants for
every taste, top entertainment and a first-class
Atlantic City is a resort
destination with fine hotels,
unique shopping districts,
restaurants for every taste,
top entertainment and a firstclass convention center and
was named No. 6 of the top 10
golf destinations in the country
by Forbes.com.
convention center and was named No. 6 of
the top 10 golf destinations in the country by
Forbes.com.
The Atlantic City Convention Center, with
nearly 500,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space and 45 meeting rooms, is one of the
region’s most flexible and popular locations. In
addition, green-conscious meeting planners will
appreciate the center’s leading-edge recycling
and energy efficiency programs, including the
country’s largest single-roof solar system.
Not content to rest on its laurels as a longstanding favorite for conventions and leisure
travelers alike, Atlantic City has continued to
add first-class rooms and special event venues in
the past year.
12
one+
08.09
The Chairman Tower at Trump Taj Mahal
provides 786 large, posh guest rooms, as well as
several meeting rooms. The Water Club, a noncasino hotel linked to Borgata, offers 800 new,
luxury guest rooms as well as 18,000 square
feet of meeting space.
At Harrah’s, the new Waterfront Tower
added 964 well-appointed rooms, complementing an expansion including an Elizabeth Arden
Red Door Spa, new dining and retail venues
and The Pool, a year-round tropical oasis and
event space.
The Chelsea is Atlantic City’s first boutique
non-casino hotel. It includes 331 guest rooms,
two restaurant concepts by Philadelphia’s famed
Stephen Starr, a spa scheduled to open mid-year
and a “social space” with several lounges and a
bar area.
A Courtyard by Marriott was the first noncasino hotel to open in Atlantic City in more
than a decade. It offers 206 guest rooms, plus
meeting rooms and a boardroom.
“We have something to suit every meeting
planner’s needs,” said Gary Musich, vice president of convention sales for the Atlantic City
CVA. “We’ve also made it easier to get here.”
In addition to daily New Jersey Transit rail
service from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station,
you can catch the weekend ACES train service
from New York City’s Penn Station, which also
offers a stop in Newark.
The Atlantic City International Airport offers convenient flights via Spirit Airlines, with
new service from Boston, plus new AirTran
service from Atlanta and Orlando. Philadelphia
International Airport is just an hour away, with
a variety of car and shuttle services available.
For drivers, major routes link easily to the
Atlantic City Expressway.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 12
7/13/09 7:54:43 AM
0809CS_13.indd 13
7/9/09 9:23:12 AM
Halfway
14
one+
08.09
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 14
7/13/09 8:09:51 AM
There
BY
RICHARD
SINE
Attracting companies
and people to your
event or destination
in a down economy
means working harder
than ever to prove
your value and garner
positive attention.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 15
mpiweb.org
15
7/13/09 8:56:20 AM
I
With meeting planners under greater pressure than
ever to prove the business case for meetings, their
counterparts need to help.
The Internet provides a remarkable opportunity to give prospects a tantalizing hint
of what is to come and organizations are
using that to build communities that can be
steered to meetings, generating a significant
growth in attendance.
The down global economy in conjunction with a meeting industry hit hard by
misperceptions coincides with a technological boom time—that’s a good thing, but it
does complicate marketing matters for the
uninitiated.
With meeting planners under greater
pressure than ever to prove the business case
for meetings, their counterparts need to help
make the business case for events, according
to meetings consultant Allison Saget. That
means marketers have to work harder than
ever to prove their value to prospective clients—they have to understand their clients’
needs, desires and fears and position their
event or destination to fulfill those needs.
For example, CVBs or DMCs trying to
attract a meeting should highlight relevant
businesses located in their cities and describe
them in a write-up, including revenues and
number of employees, then work to make
local industry executives available to meeting attendees. Alternately, destination marketers can work with major companies in
their towns to encourage them to hold conferences locally.
Saget’s book, The Event Marketing
Handbook, argues that meeting planners
must expand their skills beyond logistics
and planning to understand how meetings
can make a bigger impact on the bottom
line. The recession proved her point.
Marketers must work harder to prove
that a live meeting can have a greater sales
impact than a conference call, virtual meeting or other alternatives.
16
one+
08.09
“You have to emphasize the strengths of
face-to-face meetings,” said Corbin Ball, a
technology consultant based in Bellingham,
Wash. “Brainstorming, networking, relationship-building, these are all things that
are done best face-to-face.”
In this economy, meeting your prospects
halfway means reaching out to them aggressively in ways that won’t bust your (shrinking) budget.
Fear Factor
Fear and uncertainty have led to a drastic
change of mindset on the part of meeting
planners and attendees alike. Failure to
perform won’t just lead to a poor performance rating—it could lead to a pink slip.
And appealing to the fearful requires going
back to marketing basics and ensuring that
your focus be on the benefits to the prospective client, rather than the features of what
you’re selling.
“You need to find out what your prospects want,” said Bonnie Wallsh, chief strategist of Bonnie Wallsh Associates. Speaking
as a planner, she recommends that marketers ask her as many questions as possible. “I
want to know how you are going to fulfill
my meeting objectives. What’s in it for me,
and how are you going to make me look
good? Because everyone’s a little afraid for
his or her job.”
Focusing on benefits requires traditional
marketing skills such as asking detailed
questions about prospect needs. As elemental as this practice may seem, it’s come under
threat thanks to the dominance of e-mail.
Phone conversations make it much easier to
learn more about your prospect’s needs and
opens up more opportunities for upselling,
Saget says.
In today’s environment, benefits-based
marketing also requires an empathetic perspective. In January, Hyundai made a PR
splash when it promised that if customers bought new Hyundais and lost their
jobs within a year, they could give the cars
back. (Specifically, Hyundai said it would
allow the customer to return the vehicle
and walk away from most or all of the loan
obligations.)
Marketers in other industries can take a
cue from Hyundai, says Liping Cai, director of the Tourism and Hospitality Research
Center at Purdue University. Like car buyers, organizations are wary of making large,
long-term commitments. To help heal this
fear, marketers in the meeting industry
could offer similar innovative or helpful
options to their clients. For example, a hotel
or resort could market itself to planners
with the promise to not impose a cancellation penalty should a group go bankrupt,
Cai suggests.
“When you make a long-term contract,
you have to put yourself in [the client’s]
shoes,” he said. “This gives people trust and
confidence in you.”
There are many potential variations on
this approach that will make a venue more
attractive to planners. For example, if a
planner fails to fill the room block, perhaps
attrition fees and penalties could be waived
in exchange for a firm agreement to book
future meetings at the hotel. The planner
isn’t penalized and the hotel establishes
future business.
Marketing
Transformed
Of course, while you’re trying to reach
out to prospects, they are reaching out to
you, mostly online. And while all the new
platforms may be baffling and sometimes
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 16
7/13/09 8:10:39 AM
Play Nice With
Your Competition
Cooperative moves like this may
seem counterintuitive when companies are losing business and
hanging on to what they have
for dear life. It is all too tempting to retaliate for lost business
through threats or lawsuits, or
to compete by eating the other
guy’s lunch, but experts say lawsuits and vicious competition are
poisonous in an industry based
on reputation, word of mouth
and long-term relationships.
Meetings consultant Allison
Saget recalls that when the
downturn spurred by Sept. 11,
2001, hit the industry, people
responded by returning deposits
and working together to make up
for lost business.
“[The situation now] is being
treated with vengeance and nastiness instead of coming together
and working it out,” she said.
Instead, professional partnering and mutual protection should
be expanded to enhance existing
marketing opportunities and create new avenues for messaging.
For example, at the first sign
that an event might be cancelled,
Saget suggests that all players
involved sit down and negotiate
issues such as pricing. Another
example, involving attrition
charges: Since it is in the mutual
interest of planner and hotel
to fill up rooms, meeting consultant Bonnie Wallsh recently
worked with a hotel to create a
sweepstakes in which winners
would receive a complementary
five-night stay at the hotel. The
catch? The drawing was open
only to attendees who registered
early and chose to stay at the
hotel.
Consider constructive partnering—for example, hoteliers can
work with a nearby restaurant so
that a meal discount accompanies a hotel stay. Even competitors should be looking to work
together to attract business,
says Liping Cai, director of the
Tourism and Hospitality Research
Center at Purdue University’s
hospitality school. Hotels should
work together in their marketing
endeavors to land large events.
“This is the worst time to
compete in the industry,” Cai
said. “You may win an event, but
lose goodwill with your [peers].”
Instead of stealing business
from competitors, look to expand
by acquiring new business in
areas of the economy that have
been less affected by the downturn, Cai suggests. They do exist.
Groups still booking conferences
include medical professionals,
collection agencies, government
agencies and green businesses.
It is all too tempting
to retaliate for lost
business through
threats or lawsuits,
or to compete by
eating the other
guy’s lunch, but
experts say lawsuits
and vicious competition are poisonous
in an industry based
on reputation, word
of mouth and longterm relationships.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 17
mpiweb.org
17
7/13/09 8:10:57 AM
used by prospects, the onus is on marketers
to use it to assertively prove value and even
create community in ways that drive more
real people to their events or destinations.
Through traditional “outbound” methods such as advertising and direct mail, marketers push messages out to customers in
large numbers, hoping to catch a few in the
net. “Inbound” marketing methods such as
search engine optimization (SEO), blogging
and social media capture people who have
already ventured out onto the Web searching for something like your product. And
it’s increasingly vital to catch prospects on
the Web, because they are making decisions
well before you have the chance to speak to
them personally.
“People are now much more able to
get information about different vendors,
products and industries themselves without
interacting with your company directly,”
notes online marketing firm HubSpot. “By
the time they reach you, they are much
farther along in the sales process, but you
know much less about them.”
With that in mind, Cris Canning, CMP,
is pushing hard to ensure that her property, the Venues at NTC Promenade in San
Diego, gets a prominent showcase online.
“The goal is to get as much real estate on
the Internet as you can, so that when someone wants to find you, you can be found,”
Canning said. “Fortunately, there are plenty
of opportunities to get on the Internet without spending a small fortune. You don’t
need a fancy webmaster or even expensive
SEO services.”
With the help of a high school intern,
Canning has established a presence for the
Venues at NTC Promenade on Facebook,
Digg, Slideshare, Flickr and elsewhere. A
big part of the goal is to make it easy for
prospects to learn as much as possible about
NTC Promenade online.
The next frontier for Canning is to
Heading Inbound
Not everyone can get away with something convince customers to put testimonials on
like “The Best Job in the World” campaign. review sites. Reviews look to be increasBut with the Internet almost universally ingly important to the success of venues
appear gimmicky, they reflect a transformation in the way sales and marketing works.
In essence, the customer is now in control.
“The Web allows people to do research
in a different way,” said David Meerman
Scott, author of The New Rules in Marketing and PR and, most recently, World
Wide Rave. “People [no longer go] to their
mailboxes or even e-mail inboxes [to learn
about products]. They go to search engines.
Smart organizations create something really
valuable and interesting that people share
through social media, which then results in
high search engine rankings and high passalong value for their content.”
A great example of such “value creation”
is the “The Best Job in the World” campaign by Tourism Queensland in Australia
(www.islandreefjob.com). At the tourism
board’s invitation, more than 30,000 people applied for a “job” living on the Great
Barrier Reef for six months and blogging
about the experience—at a salary of about
US$100,000. Promoted not by expensive
advertising but by public relations and
social networking, the campaign resulted in
1,100 TV placements in the U.S. within two
days of launch and a million Web site hits
in two days, according to the PR firm that
handled it. That’s on top of countless videos
and blog posts.
“The impact of these global efforts…
was to cut through the increasingly cluttered
travel market and capture both consumer
and media attention,” said Shana Pereira,
regional director of the Americas for Tourism Queensland International.
Achieving this level of viral success
requires not only creativity, but also a willingness to give up control of your marketing
and messaging.
“It’s an extremely difficult thing for marketers to get their head around,” Scott said.
18
one+
08.09
and destinations. While TripAdvisor is most
popular among tourists, several user-review
sites specific to meeting planners have arisen
recently, notes Ball. These sites include
MeetingUniverse.com and Meetingsintel.
com. Canning is especially intrigued by
Google Reviews, because locations with
more reviews seem to rank higher in Google
Maps searches.
“‘Word of mouse’ is still the most valuable form of marketing,” Canning said.
“You may not remember the last commercial you saw, but you do remember the last
recommendation you heard. When I am
looking for a service, I’ll depend on a recommendation from someone I know first.
But the second most important factor is a
positive review from someone who used
that service.”
Ball notes that more meeting organizers are asking speakers to provide online
previews by posting blog entries, creating
videos or submitting to interviews that are
converted into podcasts. This content is
then being used to help market events via
the Internet.
And meeting planners are leveraging
the online following of their speakers to
boost attendance as well. Scott, the marketing guru, has 11,000 followers on Twitter.
Some event organizers have allowed him
to broadcast a special discount code to his
Twitter followers for events at which he is
slated to speak. The tactic attracts people
to the events who may have never learned
about them otherwise.
With the economy in dire straits and
business travel being slashed, the onus is on
marketers to prove the value of their event
or destination. The good news is that marketers have more ways than ever to make
their case, and can attract business relatively
cheaply using online tools and creative
thinking.
RICHARD SINE is a freelance business
writer.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 18
7/13/09 8:11:13 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Scottsdale CVB
www.meetinscottsdale.com
While the debate continues to heat up on
how to keep America meeting, most of us
understand the intrinsic need to convene
and connect. It’s not hard to understand the
value of coming together to share and gain
new ideas, motivate employees, strategize
for the future and network. Creating a
healthy global marketplace depends on it.
What is now of the utmost importance
is choosing the right meeting location that
creates the precise environment where attendees can get down to business and where
programs can achieve their goals successfully.
There is no question that Scottsdale,
Ariz., is the place to stage serious meetings.
With a diverse portfolio of acclaimed products and services designed to custom-fit any
type of meeting or event, and an awardwinning CVB ready to partner with you
to make it happen, Scottsdale is the ideal
meeting choice for all the right reasons.
The destination experts at the Scottsdale
CVB will act as your extended staff to help
you plan your meeting from site selection
to special experiences. Contact us today at
(800) 782-1117, (480) 421-1004, or www.
meetinscottsdale.com for more information.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 19
mpiweb.org
19
7/13/09 8:11:41 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Gatlinburg Convention Center
www.gatlinburg-tn.com
Gatlinburg, Tenn., serves as the gateway to the
majestic Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, offering groups a one-stop destination
to enjoy four-season fun. With more than 10
million visitors a year, Gatlinburg is a safe and
friendly destination with great meeting space
and reasonably priced accommodations, dozens
of dining options, unique shops and attractions
galore. Surrounded on three sides by the natural
beauty of the National Park, Gatlinburg prides
itself in its mountain heritage, and the arts,
crafts and retail shops of the area reflect that
heritage.
Surrounded on three sides by
the natural beauty of the Great
Smoky Mountains National
Park, Gatlinburg prides itself in
its mountain heritage, and the
arts, crafts and retail shops of
the area reflect that heritage.
Whatever your meeting needs, the Gatlinburg Convention Center has exactly what
you’re looking for. With 148,000 square feet
of meeting and exhibit space, the Gatlinburg
Convention Center can accommodate groups
large and small. Best of all, it’s within walking
or trolley distance of all the lodging varieties
and activities available in Gatlinburg.
The Gatlinburg Convention Center staff
will ensure that your function goes according
20
one+
08.09
to plan and budget. Our services are just as
impressive as our facility and the activities and
offerings Gatlinburg provides. The experienced
staff can assist you in locating hotel rooms, setting up site inspections and supplying informational brochures. Our kitchen is fully staffed
with an accomplished chef, providing exceptional food, flowers, wine and spirits for groups
from 10 to 3,000.
The Great Hall provides 67,000 square feet
of exhibit space, 60,000 square feet of which
is free-span with a ceiling height of 30 feet. It
can accommodate 6,000 people, 350 booths or
be divided into three separate halls for smaller
events. In March 2006, an additional 50,000
square feet was added with the opening of W.L.
Mills Conference Center adjoining the convention center. This additional space includes a
ballroom and auditorium. The Convention Center Gallery area is 38,200 square feet, including
18 meeting rooms, pre-function space, two
private parlors and a special VIP/media suite.
Meetings in Gatlinburg are enhanced by the
wide variety of accommodation options. Gatlinburg offers more than 12,000 sleeping rooms
including full-service and limited-service hotels
and motels, condominiums, chalets, cabins and
campgrounds. These accommodations are available in a variety of locations: from downtown
overlooking the Little Pigeon River to a mountaintop overlooking the Smoky Mountains to
secluded natural surroundings.
The convention center affords an array of
new opportunities and keeps the Gatlinburg at
the forefront of convention cities in the South.
For more information about the Gatlinburg
Convention Center, please call Sharon Rinehart,
sales manager, Gatlinburg Department of Tourism and Convention Center, at (800) 343-1475,
or e-mail at sharonr@ci.gatlinburg.tn.us.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 20
7/14/09 11:21:33 AM
0809CS_21.indd 21
7/9/09 9:01:33 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
AmericasMart Atlanta
www.americasmart.com
With a heart for Southern hospitality and a
head for business, AmericasMart Atlanta has
been an integral part of Atlanta’s hospitality industry for more than 45 years. World-renowned
architect John Portman’s design and building of
the Atlanta Merchandise Mart in 1962 helped
make Atlanta one of the nation’s major convention and trade centers. Today, AmericasMart
continues to lead with its spectacular facilities,
incomparable service and desirable convenience.
AmericasMart Convention Center Sales has
kept pace with the growth of the city and evolution of the industry. Its purpose is to showcase
AmericasMart’s and Atlanta’s many advantages
to those who plan conventions, corporate meetings, trade shows and special events.
AmericasMart consists of four buildings offering 800,000 square feet of space, including a
new expansion—Building 2 WestWing—which
houses four exhibit halls totaling 220,000
square feet of space, showcasing floor-to-ceiling
windows overlooking Centennial Olympic Park
22
one+
08.09
and other major Atlanta attractions. Other featured space includes a 14-story Grand Atrium
used for groups hosting up to 5,000, a Penthouse Theatre that can seat up to 800 and flexible meeting rooms located in all four buildings.
Planners may select and configure the space and
services they need to create a high-tech, attractive tradeshow, meeting or memorable special
event.
All four buildings within AmericasMart’s
campus are connected by enclosed aerial
walkways. For added convenience, Building 1
is directly connected via enclosed concourse to
the 1,068-room Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel
and is adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Atlanta
and Atlanta Marriott Marquis. AmericasMart
boasts its own MARTA stop—at Peachtree
Center—offering visitors easy access to and
from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport and other attractions throughout the
city.
AmericasMart is the most centrally-located
convention, meeting and event venue in Atlanta,
within walking distance to more than 15,000
hotel rooms, Centennial Olympic Park, the
Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola,
the CNN Center and many fine restaurants and
shopping opportunities.
Experienced in hosting world-class events,
AmericasMart staff members are seasoned veterans at exceeding customer expectations. All
meeting services—including catering, housing,
travel, IT, audiovisual, registration, electrical
services and more—are available in-house,
making AmericasMart a one-stop planning and
meeting destination.
The AmericasMart Convention Center
sales team has the expertise and enthusiasm—
supported by the unprecedented space and
location—to develop and host extraordinary
meetings, conferences and gatherings in Atlanta.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 22
7/13/09 8:12:02 AM
0809CS_23.indd 23
7/9/09 9:31:17 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Salt Lake CVB
www.visitsaltlake.com
Having successfully hosted the world during
the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and, more recently, the world of meeting professionals during
MPI’s 2009 World Education Congress (WEC),
Salt Lake has quickly proven itself as a worldclass destination, both for meeting attendees and
leisure travelers alike.
Those fortunate enough to attend either the
Olympics or MPI’s WEC are now familiar with
Utah’s capital city and know Salt Lake offers
incredible facilities, hassle-free transportation,
award-winning service and endless opportunities
to fully experience the area’s incredible natural
setting throughout the year: 11 resorts within an
hour of the Salt Lake City International Airport
featuring “The Greatest Snow On Earth,” immediate access to thousands of miles of hiking
and biking, an exceptional cultural arts scene,
an eclectic array of restaurants and nightlife and
within hours of the state’s 21 national and state
parks.
One of Salt Lake’s premier selling points
remains its accessibility. The Salt Lake City
International Airport, just eight minutes from
downtown, is served by 13 airlines providing
non-stop service to more than 100 destinations
on nearly 800 scheduled daily flights. In addition to Delta Air Lines, which serves all of Salt
24
one+
08.09
Lake’s top 50 markets with non-stop flights,
Salt Lake City International Airport is served by
most major carriers.
Once in Salt Lake, meeting planners and convention attendees are thrilled with the Salt Palace
Convention Center, offering 675,000 square
feet (515,000 square feet of exhibit space and
160,000 square feet of meeting space in 67 hightech meeting rooms, including a 45,000-squarefoot ballroom). In addition, the Salt Palace
Convention Center is within walking distance of
7,000 hotel rooms and a plethora of dining and
nightlife, while greater Salt Lake offers a total of
17,000 hotel rooms.
And not one to rest on its success, Salt Lake
continues to invest in its infrastructure. Following a multibillion-dollar investment in its
transportation system leading up to the Olympics, including its ever-expanding and popular
light rail system, the community has initiated
Downtown Rising, a blueprint for the city’s future, with several projects now under way. One
such project is the City Creek Center, a mixeduse, US$2 billion renovation of Salt Lake’s core
downtown business district, directly across from
the Salt Palace Convention Center. The 20-acre
project is a sustainably designed, walkable urban
community of 750-plus residences, offices, retail
stores and restaurants that will rise over the next
three years across three blocks in the heart of
downtown. Upon project completion in 2012,
the city will be one of few in the nation with a
vibrant, mixed-use development at its core, with
additional projects sure to follow.
For information on all Salt Lake has to offer
as a meeting destination or simply as a place to
get away from it all while still having it all, visit
www.visitsaltlake.com.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 24
7/13/09 8:12:12 AM
0809CS_25.indd 25
7/8/09 12:01:08 PM
GROW YOUR
RECOVERY
STRATEGY
26
one+
08.09
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 26
7/13/09 8:12:23 AM
W
Preparing
for the
Inevitable
Economic
Upswing
BY
ELAINE
POFELDT
While many meeting professionals struggle
with declining corporate budgets, Tami Forero
has been busier than ever. Her company, Forte
Events in Colorado Springs, Colo., which specializes in corporate and nonprofit meetings,
saw its best year in 2008 and projects close to
US$1 million in sales for 2009, its fourth year
in business. She has built her company from a
one-woman show to a six-person operation at
a time when many players in the industry are
struggling to stay afloat.
“I almost feel guilty, because so many people are hurting right now,” Forero said. “We’re
the most expensive people around as far as our
services, but we know how to explain to clients why our services are worth it.”
Having spent most of her 17 years in the
industry as an internal meeting planner for
corporations such as BankAtlantic in Florida,
the veteran knows how to make her company
invaluable in uncertain times. Her growth
strategy centers around helping clients get
more out of their events at lower costs, without cutting into her profits. Rather than discounting her rates, Forero has instead invested
heavily in site surveys to find towns and properties around the U.S. where she can offer clients luxurious events at lower prices than they
would pay in glitzier destinations.
Sometimes, she has encouraged clients to
hold events in her home base of Colorado
Springs, where her relationships with local
vendors help her to negotiate better prices
than she can get elsewhere. Often, she says,
clients are so happy with these less-soughtafter venues and destinations that they request
the same one the following year.
“We shock them and that’s why we get so
much work,” she said.
But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. While
big corporations may ask their internal meetings teams to handle more events in house,
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 27
mpiweb.org
27
7/13/09 8:12:51 AM
Forero realizes from her own experience
in planning about 90 events a year that
there is only so much a corporate team
can tackle effectively.
“It’s really hard to come up with two
events a week,” she said.
So she has made the Forte Events team
available to help corporations with meetings and events that have fallen through
the cracks, supporting their teams with
L
Barometer, sponsored by the MPI Foundation and American Express.
So how do you come up with your
own recovery strategy when you’re coping
with the fallout from the worst downturn
since the Great Depression? If history is
any guide, professionals in every industry
who take the time to find creative ways
to help others cope with tough economic
challenges often emerge in the strongest
BUILD YOUR
PROFESSIONAL CAPITAL
Sharpen your professional skills. Although
Eisenstodt has trained many in the industry during her long career, she makes time
to keep attending educational conferences
so she can bring her clients cutting-edge
knowledge and new planning techniques.
Recently, she traveled to the International
Association of Facilitators conference,
ook at every single contact as someone who can help
you, and make your meetings—and your long-term
prospects—different,” Eisenstodt said.
hourly consulting work, such as troubleshooting planned events. On top of this,
her company has branched out into “idea
brokering,” providing overextended corporate planners with creative concepts for
events they are too busy to dream up.
“That’s been a huge niche for us in this
economy—working with big corporations
that can’t rely on the services from their
internal planners,” Forero said.
Like many seasoned meeting professionals who have weathered earlier recessions, Forero realizes that there’s no time
like the present to poise her company for
growth. U.S. President Barack Obama
and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have recently pointed to the first
signs that the recession may be slowing.
And Forero and many other veterans are
realizing they’ll be in a stronger position
if they find realistic and creative solutions
to challenges that are likely to linger for
some time—such as tight corporate budgets, increased media scrutiny and new
trends, including the move to lower-priced
virtual meetings. Indeed, senior-level planners project a 6 percent dip in business
in 2009, compared to last year, according to the February 2009 MPI Business
28
one+
08.09
positions when a rebound finally comes.
Consider what happened in the airline
industry during the grim days that followed Sept. 11, 2001. With major airlines
reeling from a sudden drop in business
from terrified travelers, low-cost carriers
ramped up their capacities. They enticed
travelers back into the skies with great
deals, making sure to keep flights full so
they remained profitable. Today, more
passengers are using these carriers than
before the tragedy, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Transportation.
Whether you are looking for a job,
working around the clock in a corporate
gig or hustling to grow your own business, the first step to position yourself
for a recovery is to step back and take an
honest look at what you bring to the table
professionally.
“A recession is when you take stock
of how you’re doing business,” said Joan
Eisenstodt, a 40-year-veteran of the field
and founder of Eisenstodt Associates,
a hospitality and meetings consultancy
from Washington, D.C. “But people in
the industry are so busy figuring out how
to survive that they’re not thinking about
what the future brings.”
certain that building her own professional
capital was worthwhile.
“That’s one of the things that people
get nervous about in a recession: Can
I spend the money to improve my own
skills?” Eisenstodt said.
Doing so is always a good investment,
she says.
“It’s showing employers or clients that
you have new skills to bring to the table
that others might not have,” she said.
And with technology-driven trends
such as virtual meetings reshaping the
industry, keeping up can mean the difference between sitting on the sidelines and
thriving.
Other veterans are positioning their
teams for recovery by attracting new talent now, when job seekers are plentiful.
After working with her staff to create a
recession-survival strategy that included
reducing daily office expenses and negotiating better prices with vendors, Joyce
Landry, CEO and co-founder of the cruise
event specialist Landry & Kling, recently
expanded her team.
“We now have several employees who
work remotely and are utilizing long-term
outside contractors for more projects—to
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 28
7/13/09 8:48:43 AM
expand our staff while keeping our
expenses to a minimum,” Landry said.
Forte Events’ Forero hired a wedding
planner in January as part of her growth
plan for the recovery and is already seeing ROI.
“She’s doing really well,” said Forero,
who is now ramping up for another new
pursuit: funeral planning.
YOUR NEW RECESSION
MANTRA: DIVERSIFY
It’s not lost on longtime meeting professionals that a recession can be a good time
to add to the mix of services you offer—a
goal that often gets put off during economic booms.
“A lot of companies get into a specific
niche, where they are very successful,”
said Roy Podell, who has worked in the
industry for 30 years and now serves as
creative director of Atlas Travel International’s Meetings + Motivation division,
based in Milford, Mass. “The problem is
when things go south and that niche gets
heavily impacted.”
So, although Podell’s division gets
about half of its business from Atlas’ corporate clients, he doesn’t want to depend
too heavily on that revenue stream. To
diversify, he has expanded his team’s
offerings from conventional, full-service
meeting planning to à lá carte work on
tasks such as site selection. His employees
handle both group and individual incentive programs, instead of specializing in
just one. And they have branched out into
registrations for both user groups and
meetings.
“The diversification came about as a
result of listening to our clients’ needs and
adapting to the marketplace,” he said.
To make sure his eight-person team
can handle its broad responsibilities, he
has always hired employees with an eye
for those who like to tackle the unfamiliar.
Not only does his approach bring his team
challenging opportunities for professional
growth, but it has paid off financially.
“It’s not going to be a banner year, but
we’re weathering the storm because of
our diversification,” he said.
And once the economy turns around,
he believes his division will be in a stronger position than before.
STRENGTHEN BUSINESS
RELATIONSHIPS
Finding new ways to bring more value to
clients is also a good way to position yourself for a recovery, and Forero’s approach
to site selection isn’t the only way to do it.
After starting her career working with
technology firms in the late 1990s, Sharona Meushar, president of Tel Aviv-based
Sharona Marketing Media Events, learned
to help her corporate clients run highquality events on tight budgets during
the technology market collapse. To that
end, she arranges partnerships to share
the cost of meetings with other noncompeting firms, so her clients don’t have to
reduce quality to save money. In February,
for instance, she helped her long-time client, Access Partners, a banking solutions
provider, to reduce its overhead at a conference in Bahrain, by arranging a partnership in which it shared expenses with
two other firms. Result: Access Partners
maintained a high-end presence without
the usual price tag.
“If you’re going to play host to an
event, I advise my clients to not go cheap
on the drinks and foods,” Meushar said.
“It doesn’t serve the purpose. It’s better to
partner up. You’ll make the company and
its solutions look better.”
Meushar has also generated repeat
business by helping clients on very tight
budgets to come up with high-impact ideas
that cost little to implement. For instance,
when a telecommunications client hired
Meushar to help with its presence at an
electronic communications convention
held near Amsterdam in 2006, Meushar
arranged a field trip to its server farm that
turned out to be a big hit with company
guests.
“People were thrilled about it, and the
only cost was the bus ride,” she said.
Even meetings with more traditional
formats can be an opportunity to bring
more value to clients without higher
costs. For instance, when Warren Levy,
president of Compelling Meetings in the
Philadelphia area, planned a law firm’s
annual partners meeting two years ago,
he persuaded his client to opt out of the
traditional approach to panel discussions.
Instead, he enlisted a moderator to pepper the speakers with tough questions on
new developments in the industry and to
encourage them to elaborate on points of
disagreement. The firm got such positive
feedback from its partners that it hired
him to plan the following year’s meeting.
Running a meeting this way takes an extra
effort to get panelists to buy into the idea
in advance, he acknowledges.
“The challenge is you have to pick
speakers who are willing to do that,” he
said. “There are some panelists I describe
as inert. They want to make their point of
view known and go.”
Giving attendees more opportunities
to interact with speakers informally can
also add value to client meetings without
a higher price tag, Levy says. At a recent
healthcare-related meeting for a global
consulting firm, he arranged in advance
for the speakers to sit at tables among
the senior executives who attended when
they weren’t at the podium, to foster more
offline discussions.
“It would have been interesting to have
them there just to speak, but it’s much
more revealing and original to have them
interact with everyone,” he said.
Levy believes such measures are necessary at a time when many executives are
questioning whether they should bother
attending certain meetings at all.
“CEOs have made the decision that
their time is too valuable to attend meetings, unless they are going to be interacting with people who are critical to them,”
he said.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 29
mpiweb.org
29
7/13/09 8:15:29 AM
REAP THE REWARDS OF
EASING CLIENTS’ PAIN
Responding to clients’ challenges with
flexible solutions can also build loyalty
that will serve you well when times are
better, say longtime meeting professionals.
Kevin Priger, who began working in hotels
22 years ago and became senior sales manager at Macon (Ga.) Marriott City Center
in March, recalls a recent situation when
a corporate client approached his previous employer to see if it could cancel the
contract for a big event. The vice president
of the client’s company came in to explain
that while he wanted to go ahead with
the gathering, large meetings in its budget
L
While few industry veterans recommend across-the-board price cuts in a
recession, some say that an occasional discount for a struggling client that you want
to work with long term can pay off.
Eisenstodt describes a group that
wanted training at the end of the month.
“They said they had only so much to
pay. It was one-third of what I normally
charge,” she said. “We talked it through.
I had the dates open, I was willing to do
it and it was a subject I liked. They paid
a few of the expenses I would normally
include in the fee, and I came down on
my price.”
When making decisions like this, it is
to get short-term business and keep longterm business and relationships?’”
Although it may be tempting to play
hardball to get better rates from desperate
vendors and suppliers during a recession,
taking a more moderate approach now
may be a wiser approach for the long term,
Eisenstodt says. If they go under because
they can’t turn a profit, you’re likely to
suffer from lack of the services you need
during periods of higher demand.
“The hotel can’t lose money on everything,” she said.
With her phone ringing all day with
cold calls from suppliers hoping to drum
up business, Eisenstodt takes a few min-
ike many seasoned meeting professionals who have
weathered earlier recessions, Forero realizes that there’s
no time like the present to poise her company for growth.
were coming under intense scrutiny as the
economic situation deteriorated.
“It blared on the radar,” Priger said.
The VP said he would prefer to have
several smaller meetings that would have
the same outcome.
Realizing that the company was in
a tight spot, the hotel came up with a
replacement contract that allowed the client to pay the cancellation fee but apply it
to several smaller meetings. Ultimately the
tab came out to be about the same. While
the hotel could have taken a tougher position with the contract, Priger believes that
would have driven the client elsewhere in
the long run.
“I believe this is a relationship business,” he said. “If we don’t have a longterm view when we face these downturns,
we’re going to be abandoned by these
customers.”
30
one+
08.09
essential to consider the financial impact
on your company carefully, Eisenstodt
says. To avoid future misunderstandings,
she made it clear during the negotiations
that the discount was a one-time thing.
“If they had not said they would pay
the additional expenses, I couldn’t have
done it,” she said. “It would have been
much too great a loss for me.”
You should also think through the
effect your decision to cut prices will have
on your clients’ willingness to pay full fees
in the future, she adds.
“I’m getting e-mails from all kinds of
organizations saying, ‘Register now for
our conference. We’ve reduced our registration fee,’” she said. “What if I registered
six months ago, and now you’re offering
it at half price? Where’s the fairness? You
have to look at the implications of what
you do. It’s about saying, ‘What can I do
utes to talk with them, even if she has no
immediate need for their help.
“They may know another vendor
where I can get a better rate for something,” she said.
Being helpful to others in the industry
even when there’s no immediate payoff is
a time-tested way to position yourself for
a recovery, Eisenstodt adds.
“Look at every single contact as someone who can help you, and make your
meetings—and your long-term prospects—different,” she said.
As many professionals are learning,
the more people you have on your side
in an unpredictable economy, the better.
ELAINE POFELDT is a freelance business writer.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 30
7/13/09 8:15:48 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Hampton CVB
www.visithampton.com
Delegates convening in Hampton, Va., are greeted
by scenic vistas, exceptional facilities, world-class
attractions and an eclectic array of shopping and
dining, all within close proximity to the Hampton
Roads Convention Center. Located in Southeastern Virginia, where the Chesapeake Bay meets one
of the nation’s busiest harbors, Hampton—at the
region’s hub—presents meeting planners with exceptional value.
There are 2,500 hotel rooms within walking distance of the 344,000-square-foot Hampton Roads
Convention Center. The center connects by covered
walkway to a headquarters-quality Embassy Suites
Hotel and shares its campus with the iconic Hampton Coliseum. The convention center presents 35
flexible meeting spaces, including a 108,000-square-
foot divisible exhibit hall and a grand ballroom
seating 2,000.
Hampton is also home to the US$13.5-million
Boo Williams Sportsplex, boasting two indoor
pavilions for amateur sporting events with spectator
seating for 4,000. Unique event venues such as the
Virginia Air & Space Center, the Riverside IMAX
Theater and other dynamic local and Southeastern
Virginia attractions present scores of entertaining
opportunities for delegates to explore and enjoy.
For more information on meetings in Hampton,
the center of Hampton Roads, contact Hampton
CVB Director of Sales, Lacy Gibson, at lgibson@
hamptoncvb.com or (757) 722-1222 and toll free at
(800) 487-8778. Or go to www.visithampton.com
and www.thehrcc.com.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 31
mpiweb.org
31
7/13/09 8:18:49 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
Rosemont Convention & Tourism Bureau
www.rosemont.com
Location Smart Rosemont Illinois,
“the Town Built For Conventions.”
Located only three minutes from
O’Hare airport. We have our
Donald E. Stephens Convention
Center. At almost 1 million square
feet, it is among the largest in the
nation. With its 100-plus trade and
consumer shows, it is the busiest in
the Midwest. A climate-controlled
Skybridge links our convention center
to hotels, restaurants and our 8,000
car enclosed parking garage. Along
with the more than 4,000 hotel
rooms conveniently located across
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 32
the street. Our “Expo Smart
Location” boasts “world class”
restaurants, our 4,400-seat Rosemont
Theatre and an 18-screen “state of
the art” movie theater. Our “safe
suburban campus setting” is only 20
minutes from downtown Chicago.
Choosing the Stephens Convention
Center is “Money Smart” too!
Our Rosemont Exposition Service
provides “Big City Services” at lower
than national average prices. See
how smart we can make you look for
choosing Rosemont.
7/14/09 11:22:58 AM
A 2009 GUIDE
USS Midway
www.midway.org
Imagine your event’s guests experiencing life at sea
without leaving port. It’s possible aboard the longestserving U.S. Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century.
The USS Midway Museum, located along
downtown San Diego’s Embarcadero, is less than a
mile from the convention center and within walking
distance of downtown hotels.
The flight deck is available evenings for up to
3,000, featuring more than 24 restored aircraft and
unparalleled 360-degree views of San Diego’s harbor
and skyline. Approximately 50,000 square feet is
available. In addition, the massive 25,000-square-foot
hangar deck is available for up to 1,500, providing
meeting planners with unmatched flexibility.
Midway also has smaller event spaces, including
the officers’ wardroom, the “Dirty Shirt Locker” and
even a space once called the Potato Locker. There are
no ballrooms aboard the Midway.
Midway also features more than 300 adjacent
parking spaces, unique adaptability for themed
events, mini-docent tours, flight simulators, a gift
shop and unmatched year-round weather.
The USS Midway is a venue like no other on the
West Coast. For sheer drama, nothing can match
a private event aboard a historic aircraft carrier in
“Navy Town,” San Diego.
For more information, visit www.midway.org
or contact Pat Pfohl at (619) 398-8257 or ppfohl@
midway.org.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 33
mpiweb.org
33
7/13/09 8:21:22 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
Dave & Buster’s
www.daveandbusters.com/specialevents
Dave & Buster’s makes event planning easy. Meetings, parties, conferences—you can fit a lot inside
Dave & Buster’s. Whether it is a private party for 20
or a corporate seminar
for 2,000, Dave &
Buster’s has a number of
arrangements to accommodate your event.
One or more of our
areas may be combined
for large groups, or
the entire store may be
reserved for an exclusive “Buy Out.” Every event
deserves great food—our buffet menus are freshly
made by a talented team of chefs and are designed to
coordinate with your event, timetable and budget.
Our unique entertainment options are a great way
to add excitement to your
event. We have several teambuilding activities to choose
from. You can also charge
up Dave & Buster’s Power
Cards for fun and games in
our Million Dollar Midway
packed with a vast array of
state-of-the-art games and
simulators. Just give our Special Events Team a call to
start planning your next event.
Our unique
entertainment options
are a great way to add
excitement to your
event.
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 34
7/13/09 8:22:10 AM
A 2009 GUIDE
Grand Wayne Convention Center
www.grandwayne.com
Among the Midwest’s most advanced meeting options with 225,000 square feet of flexible
space, Grand Wayne Convention Center offers a
50,000-square-foot carpeted, multipurpose exhibit
hall, two elegant ballrooms, 18 meeting rooms and
30,000 square feet of public areas, a 12,000-squarefoot kitchen with the capacity to serve 3,000 guests
in a single banquet setting and the power and expertise to create any event.
Further features include individually climatecontrolled meeting rooms; automated, remote, dimmable lighting; a theater-quality sound system; drop
screens with remote operation; data and telecommunications in every room; and wireless and wired
options throughout.
Every event and meeting space is fully equipped
with the most accommodating features; every inch
of space is richly appointed, while spacious corridors and pre-function areas lend a natural flow,
allowing multiple events to occur without interruption or sacrifice of any amenity.
Grand Wayne Center’s floor plans offer hundreds
of meeting and convention configurations, all with
easy visual and pedestrian flow. And, the attached
Hilton hotel completes a package of superb convenience for both planners and guests.
Visit www.grandwayne.com as a useful reference for floor plans, capacities, policies/procedures,
contact information and more.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 35
mpiweb.org
35
7/13/09 8:23:24 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Los Angeles Convention Center
www.lacclink.com
While Los Angeles may be known as the entertainment capital of the world, it is also becoming one of the nation’s greenest cities.
The award-winning Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC), at 867,000 square feet, is
the largest solar-generating building in North
America. The building features 3,400 solar
panels that supply 15 percent of the energy
needs of the expansive South Hall (enough to
power 2,300 homes). In addition, the LACC’s
145,000-square-foot West Hall third level
roof is now a “cool roof.” The roof is a white
colored, reflective surface that reflects and emits
the sun’s heat back to the sky instead of transferring it to the building below. The reflective
coating can reduce the roof’s surface temperature by more than 75 degrees, while adding
insulation value inside the building.
The LACC’s additional environmental
protective programs include recycling beverage containers, recycling 99 percent of used
trade show materials, recycling food waste
(into animal feed), recycling garden waste and
water conservation. The LACC annually diverts
36
one+
08.09
and recycles more than 733 tons (1.46 million
pounds) of recyclable goods.
Food Services at the LACC operate with a
100 percent environmental-friendly approach
using service-ware products that can either biodegrade or can be composted. The service-ware
products are made from materials derived from
natural ingredients such as sugarcane pulp, raw
bamboo pulp, corn starch and other organic
substances.
The LACC’s Food Services also promotes
and practices safe selection and handling of
seafood products using the Monterey Bay
Aquarium seafood watch program. In addition,
the LACC now uses 100 percent free range
organic grass-fed beef with no use of steroids in
all hamburgers provided in both of its catering
and public food services.
On September 15, 2008, the LACC achieved
a historic mark by becoming the first convention center of age and size in the U.S to be
awarded the highly sought after certification
in Leadership for Energy and Environmental
Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) from
the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The LACC continues to explore, test and
implement new and innovative Earth-friendly
initiatives throughout the 54-acre facility. Innovative new programs are being developed such
as thermal storage and creating green space for
its community.
The LACC is also one of the most technologically advanced and functionally superb
meeting and exhibition venues in the world. Site
of more than 400 conventions, meetings, trade
and consumer shows a year, LACC plays host
to more than 2.5 million people annually. The
convention center features 770,000 square feet
of prime exhibit space, including two carpeted
special event halls for keynotes, banquets and
small exhibits, plus 108,5000 square feet of
second-level meeting rooms, including a 300seat theater.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 36
7/13/09 8:23:51 AM
0809CS_37.indd 37
7/9/09 9:16:18 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
Santa Clara Convention Center
www.santaclara.org
Located in the center of Silicon Valley, the
award-winning Santa Clara Convention
Center recently celebrated the opening
of a new 22,400 multipurpose ballroom.
The Mission City Ballroom brings Silicon
Valley’s premier meeting facility up to
302,000 square feet. The ballroom’s
versatile space will be used in multiple
configurations and can host meetings in
theater (3,199), banquet (1,493), classroom (1,119) or exhibit (111 booths)
style. The space includes 5,150 square feet
of prefunction space. Features of the new
ballroom include five plasma screens in its
main lobby, three long narrow skylights
that allow for natural lighting and one
38
one+
08.09
wall of all glass that has the ability to
blackout if needed.
Silicon Valley’s premier meeting facility
also features 31 breakout rooms, a 607seat theater, wireless technology throughout the building, ARAMARK catering
and free parking. It is unique in that it is
attached to the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
and adjacent to the Santa Clara Golf &
Tennis Club. In all, there are 3,800 hotel
guest rooms in Santa Clara. The city is
also conveniently accessible via Mineta
San Jose International Airport and within
a 40-minute drive of San Francisco and
Oakland International airports.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 38
7/13/09 8:24:24 AM
A 2009 GUIDE
Baton Rouge Area CVB
www.visitbatonrouge.com
Interested in spicing up your next meeting or convention? Baton Rouge has the unique recipe to make
your next event unforgettable. Offering competitive
resources for meetings in one of the fastest-growing
cities in the South, Baton Rouge also boasts limitless
opportunities to experience the mystique of Louisiana.
Our 9,000 guest rooms in 75 hotels with meeting
space, coupled with the River Center, make Baton
Rouge perfect for meetings of all sizes.
After your meetings, add a dash of excitement and
enjoy the individual tastes of the local cuisine to the
soulful sounds of blues and gospel. Spend a night on
the town at one of the many live music venues or try
your luck at the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and Hollywood Casino. Delight in the extraordinary cuisines
unique to Louisiana. Fall in love with our blend of
Cajun, Creole and
African-American
flavor.
The Baton Rouge
Area CVB provides
complete convention
services free of charge
for all convention
and group meetings
in our area: proposal
solicitation assistance, pre-registration assistance,
pre-convention counseling, onsite registration, local
publicity assistance, welcome bags, tour information,
city information, area brochures, conventions badges
and much more.
Savor the flavor of the south in Baton Rouge!
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 39
mpiweb.org
39
7/13/09 8:25:24 AM
CONVENTION CENTERS
A 2009 GUIDE
Freeman
www.freemanco.com
Freeman has long been known as the world’s
leading provider of integrated services for faceto-face marketing events, including expositions,
conventions, corporate events and exhibits. But
rather than resting on the laurels of its reputation, the company is continually developing
new means of serving its clients in a multitude
of areas, from content development, exhibit/
experiential design and print/video/integrated
media to exhibitor programs, event production
and exhibitions to messaging, brand extension
and measurement. The company’s new BUY
DIRECT by Freeman exemplifies its commitment to innovation in, and integrated approach
to, client service.
A vertical array of products and services,
BUY DIRECT by Freeman benefits exhibitors
and event planners by allowing them to tap
Freeman as a single source of strategic, creative
and logistics services for their event needs.
“This ‘one-stop shopping’ approach not
only makes planning hassle-free; it eliminates
additional markups and surcharges while
creating more leverage or buying power,” said
Dan Hoffend, Freeman’s senior vice president
40
one+
08.09
of sales, corporate accounts. “Putting together
events can be needlessly difficult when one
company offers creative, but no audiovisual;
exhibit-building capabilities, but no assistance
with media; and the like. BUY DIRECT by
Freeman makes scenarios like this a thing of the
past for our clients.”
An associated BUY DIRECT assessment tool
enables clients to identify and track face-to-face
marketing event spending patterns, as well as
to discern specifically where, and how much,
they can save by availing themselves of services
under the BUY DIRECT umbrella. It also permits them to pinpoint areas that may warrant
change.
“Clients today are being pressured more
than ever to ‘do more with less’ with regard to
their marketing event budgets,” Hoffend said.
“They are often surprised to learn that they can
save significant dollars through BUY DIRECT
by Freeman for all major services without
sacrificing any current components of their
program.”
BUY DIRECT by Freeman aims to provide
excellent service for its clients—and its clients’
clients. However, the company is also committed to improving the way the industry as a
whole approaches customer service. As savvy
industry players are already aware, working
with Freeman means partnering with resourceful, ambitious experts who take clients’ vision
and transform them into reality. Freeman’s main
goal: To not only meet clients’ needs, but to
surpass them—no matter what the scope of the
event.
Freeman is the world’s leading provider of
integrated services for face-to-face marketing
events, including expositions, conventions,
corporate events and exhibits. Services include
creative event design, content, logistics, construction, installation, décor, graphics, staging, a
full range of audiovisual services, electrical and
freight shipping and handling services.
SUPPLEMENT
Convention Centers Supplement 0809 Rev1.indd 40
7/13/09 8:25:42 AM
Efficiency.
Down to an art.
Introducing
BUY DIRECT
by Freeman
No matter your budget,
you can save up to
20% on your event
program when you
source all your needs
directly with Freeman.
Beautiful.
To calculate your potential savings,
go to www.freemanco.com/buydirect
0809CS_C3.indd C3
7/8/09 10:12:43 AM
0809CS_C4.indd C4
7/10/09 11:23:02 AM