Meetings At The Centerpiece Of The CVB Puzzle
By Marlane BundockWhen ConferenceDirect, a worldwide meeting resources company, recognized Houston as the "Easiest City To Work With" during the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) annual convention in January, the company's CEO, Brian Stevens, said, "Houston has invested the time and money in getting to know our customers' needs. They understand the difference between must-haves and nice-to-haves and know how to deliver it all."
The award came as a result of Houston's "energetic commitment to groups and events" such as its bid win for Microsoft's 2008 World Partners Conference to be held in July, Stevens said.
The city's hospitality leaders were honored by the award and resolved to continue to be a service agent for groups, said Greg Ortale, president/CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). "We work hard to bring meetings to Houston, and Microsoft was no exception."
Houston is not the only CVB gaining recognition for its service to the convention industry; planners are recognizing many.
ConventionSouth's 2008 Readers' Choice Awards were handed out to eight CVBs. What's more, staff members are personally being honored. For example, Norfolk (Va.) CVB's Maria Herring received a 2007 supplier of the year award from the Society of Government Meeting Professionals.
It could be said that a new day is dawning for CVBs—or destinations marketing organizations (DMOs)—when planners are recognizing them for their commitment to conventions, especially considering that not all planners utilize the services of CVBs. According to the 2007
ConventionSouth meeting trends survey, 25 percent of respondents said they do not use the services of CVBs when selecting a destination and planning an event. One out of 10 planners noted that their working relationship with CVBs is weak. However, many are finding that they—and their meetings—are growing into a centerpiece of the CVB puzzle; 40 percent of respondents said they have established a "good" working relationship with CVBs, and 50 percent described their working relationship with CVBs as "great."
Accreditation Measures Ensure Trust
The Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is making an effort to close any divide felt between planners and destination officials. Michael Gehrisch, DMAI president/CEO, said a newly formed, voluntary accreditation program allows DMOs to be inspected and rated using various benchmarks to verify their overall aptitude. "Being accredited assures members of the local DMO board of directors, local government officials, meeting professionals, visitors and business partners that their trust is well placed," Gehrisch said, adding that by year's end, he expects more than 100 DMOs worldwide will receive the accreditation.
3 Clues A CVB Wants Your Business By Marcia Bradford-Strong
Tracie Grady, director of administration for the Virginia Society of Association Executives, appreciates the hands-on attention given by some convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). "I feel that the personal touch such as a hand written note, a thank you e-mail or just dropping in to say hello, goes a long way," Grady said.
Today, CVBs must solidify real relationships with planners and work toward common goals, said John Oros Jr., Memphis (Tenn.) CVB executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We feel the most important part of the equation between planners and CVBs is having a knowledgeable sales team that understands the needs of planners and that go beyond the business relationship to build a personal relationship."
In a perfect world, all CVBs would be equally attentive to all planners; however, since we know the world is not perfect, here are three clues to tell if a CVB is truly interested in your business:
Clue 1: The First Impression
First impressions are critical, said Linda Vest, CMP, event planner for the Texas Zone of State Farm Insurance Companies. "Some of the early indications that a CVB is eager to work with our group is that they are eager to make contact with you rather than displaying a lack of concern with communication, such as a delayed e-mail or phone response."
In order to insure that his staff is connecting with planners, Kevin Shea, Visit Jacksonville (Fla.) director of sales, assigns specific staff members to each region of the country and a meeting manager to be the key contact for events needing 50 rooms or less. He said this approach ensures that all planners receive customized service and are pointed toward the most appropriate venues.
Clue 2: Seeing The Destination
After the initial contact, a proactive CVB will extend an invitation for a site inspection, said Ruth Hensley, conference coordinator for O'Reilly Auto Parts. "I can tell whether they are eager to work with me or not, if they are interested in getting me to their city, and if they offer to give me a tour of the area's various sites." Vest said this site inspection is crucial because "a CVB should be eager to meet with you to discuss the services they provide. I see if they ask a lot of questions. This helps me to determine whether I will work with them or even plan a meeting in their destination. And, I ask them how many hotels they have and in what area of the city can I find the hotels with the best specs—rooms, meeting space, etc.—for my group."
Julie Caldwell, president of the Charleston (W.Va.) CVB, said, "As a mid-sized destination, we don't have a huge budget for advertising, but it's cost-effective for us to arrange site visits. Once they see how easy it is to get here and how much there is to do, they are usually ready to proceed."
"A meeting planner," Grady said, "can better judge how an activity would fit into an event by seeing the arena in which it would be held; seeing is believing." At the same time, she said planners should be serious about a destination when participating in familiarization (FAM) tours. "I only attend FAMs in cities I'm not familiar with and have a likelihood of bringing an event to."
Clue 3: Teamwork & The RFP Process
Being a true team player means connecting the planner with the most appropriate facilities during the request for proposal (RFP) process, Vest said. "Good CVBs are eager to get the communication out to the destination's suppliers—this is one of my greatest needs because it helps me make contacts with suppliers and make sure I've been contacted by all who have availability."
Joice Ventry, CMP, owner of Florida-based Meeting Spots, said one of the first things she wants to know from a CVB is "if they can send out the RFP to only those meeting sites that can meet her requirements." This is also a time when CVBs can "provide information about new properties or new sales people," Ventry said.
Also, Ventry advised planners to make sure that the CVB meets the RFP deadlines and does not use a "set-in-stone RFP form."
To assist with the process, Jacksonville's Shea and Charleston's Caldwell recommended planners send out a detailed RFP and thorough history of the group's events. |
According to John Meroski, CDME, president/CEO of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Area CVB, earning the accreditation has given the bureau leverage when communicating with planners and sets the bureau apart from others. "Our CVB recently became accredited through DMAI and is currently one of two CVBs in the state with the accreditation," he said. The Fayetteville CVB has recently undertaken other initiatives to boost its commitment to conventions. "Our sales and marketing staff members are achieving their professional destination marketing accreditations. Plus, we've taken on a recent branding initiative to be ‘the place that celebrates all that is great about America,'" Meroski added.
Made Over Images & Resources
New branding initiatives and bolstered, more interactive websites continue to differentiate destinations from one another and boost services to planners and attendees. Among those CVBs that made changes in 2007 was the Jacksonville (Fla.) and the Beaches CVB, which is now branded as Visit Jacksonville, according to President/CEO John Reyes. "The strategy surrounding the change to Visit Jacksonville is extremely customer-centric and showcases our destination's hospitality and energy." In January, the bureau unveiled a more user-friendly, interactive website, he said.
Also last year, the CVB in Tampa, Fla., rebranded itself as Tampa Bay & Company, while the St. Petersburg-Clearwater CVB changed its name to Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater.
Clearer Convention-Focused Messages
While these branding campaigns represent an overall momentum toward becoming more connected to visitors, many CVBs are fine-tuning their messages toward conventions. Shun Hatten, vice president of sales for the Jackson (Miss.) CVB, said the bureau is now "working especially diligently to attract group events" and, in turn, placing an emphasis on offering planners what she called "real" assistance. For example, Hatten said the bureau is being more selective during the request for proposal (RFP) process by locating specific properties that are best suited for the group's needs.
Many destinations, like Florida's Greater Fort Lauderdale (GFL) area and Texas' Fort Worth, are turning their attention to conventions more than ever before. Nicki Grossman, GFL CVB president, recently reported that her destination's traditional 1 percent meeting-based volume increased to 27 percent in 2007. "We're focusing far more than we ever have before on group and meeting business—without losing allegiance to the leisure market," she said. Likewise, Forth Worth CVB President/CEO David DuBois, said, "We are aggressively pursuing more than ever before the group and meetings business. Within the next year, we have about 1,000 more hotel rooms opening up adjacent to our convention center."
CVBs, like the Newport News (Va.) Tourist Development Office (NNTDO), are also placing more emphasis on the attendee experience. Cheryl Morales, NNTDO group marketing manager, said, "Hosting events in Newport News is important to the attendee. This is because of the experiences that they can take away from our destination." One-of-a-kind opportunities such as walking the deck of Civil War-replicated submarine, Morales said, creates a meaningful event for attendees.
In Alabama, Mobile Bay CVB President/CEO Leon Maisel, said, "I've always said that the conventioneer is a tourist with an itinerary, meaning that the tourism product is vital to bringing in groups. We market the tourism product to groups within our 300-year-old, walkable convention district." Maisel said 60 percent of visitors to Mobile are part of a group, adding that, "we focus on groups, yet we don't ignore the leisure side."
New Destination Assets, Sales Tactics
This energized focus on groups often comes in tandem with increased destination assets, such as new meeting spaces and lodging and tourism infrastructure like the newly opened Battle House, A Renaissance Hotel in Mobile.
Similarly, in Memphis, John Oros Jr., CVB executive vice president and chief operating officer, explained that group business has doubled within Memphis since 2003, the year the Memphis Cook Convention Center was expanded. "Our political leaders are very knowledgeable of group business and support tourism-oriented projects. That's evidenced by the extent of development within the last 10 years, especially in downtown where there has been about $2.5 billion invested—like the convention center expansion."
Since the expansion, the CVB has joined forces with the facility to sell its space, Oros said. "We are providing a seamless connection between our convention center and the CVB by virtue of the fact that the CVB is now responsible for the sales and marketing of the center." Oros explained that the traditional model for a destination is to have separate sales efforts between the two entities.
In Fort Worth, because of new hotel rooms being built, DuBois said it has "become critical that we accelerate our group-based sales efforts. Members of our sales team have just completed a two-day training course related to the meetings market, and we've increased to 17 sales representatives who sell for the meetings market; 46 percent of our entire sales staff is meetings oriented."
In Mississippi, the soon-to-open 90,000-square-foot Capital City Convention Center is being booked for 2009 and, according to Hatten, is enabling the CVB to attract more and larger conventions and, as a result, offer more group incentives. "We've started offering special rates—based on the number of room nights—for 2009 bookings," she said.
CVBs are also forming strategic alliances, not only with meetings industry organizations like Meeting Professionals International, but also with other CVBs in order to better cater to the meetings market. In 2007, the Fort Worth CVB joined forces with the CVBs in Sacramento, Calif., and Baltimore by hiring joint sales managers to market their destinations individually and as a package. According to DuBois, planners who book all three cities in a rotation can receive discounts. This partnership, DuBois said, allows the CVBs to offer clients more options and stronger relationships with destinations outside of their typical geographic areas. "The bigger the business opportunity there is from the meeting," he said, "the more likelihood there is for us to offer additional concessions to the planner."
