Las Vegas Perspective: Boyd Throws Hat Into Ring

The buzz that Boyd Gaming created in January could be felt all the way to Macau when it declared it was going to build a four-hotel complex and million square foot convention center on the site of the Stardust Hotel.

But it didn't dampen the cheers already coming from the company's sales department at the South Coast Hotel & Casino.

While the 5,000-room Echelon, scheduled to open in 2010, would mark a massive milestone for Boyd, the 1,360-room South Coast is a bold move in its own right, representing the company's first foray into the world of Las Vegas exhibitions.

"This is a little different for us, because we've been for locals," said Maureen Robinson, South Coast's director of sales, referring to Boyd's strategy of focusing on drive-in business that's more interested in gambling and buffets than in meeting rooms and catering. "This is our first venture into the group exhibit market."

The South Coast Event Center opened in January a few miles south of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard. In addition to a 4,400-seat equestrian arena, it has 80,000 square feet of column-free exhibit space, and 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 25,000 sq. ft. ballroom and 17 breakouts ranging from 345 to 3,000 sq. ft.

The flexibility of the space is the crux of Robinson's sales strategy, allowing her to accommodate multiple events — with varying space, room and service needs — at the same time.

"With the arena, the conference center and the exhibit hall, I actually have three distinct markets," she said.

Her edge over the competition comes from the relaxed view of rooms-to-space ratio this flexibility provides. "What makes us different from the Strip properties is, there you have to fill X amount of rooms based on the amount of space a group wants to take. Here, I have a room base with each separate piece," allowing her to take groups that wouldn't use enough rooms to earn the meeting and exhibit space at other hotels, explained Robinson, whose resume includes jobs at MGM Grand, Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and Aladdin.

In this sense, Robinson said, South Coast fills a niche that's underserved in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority sends her many referrals, she noted, for meetings and conventions that would be turned away elsewhere.

In addition to working with the LVCVA, Robinson acquired a list of prospects in the corporate and association market and bombarded them all last year with direct mail — "probably a piece a month," she said.

As a result, South Coast is seeing its share of business for a newly opened venue. Off the top of her head, Robinson rattled off a list of upcoming clients: the Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative, expected to occupy 480 rooms and use 40,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space in May; Interiors by Decorating Den, expected to occupy 300 rooms and use 17,000 sq. ft., also in May; and FedEx, expected to occupy 900 rooms and use the entire conference center in June.

Lee Anne Short, director of operations for Las Vegas Management, which runs the 12-year-old Glass Craft & Bead Expo, said the show March 29–April 2 event was "one of our most successful, in terms of attendance, exhibitor sales volumes and number of classes."

Short, who moved Glass Craft to South Coast because it outgrew Cashman Center, said the Boyd team was great to work with. "We knew going in that it was a short time after their opening, and we had those types of experiences that one would expect, but overall their staff jumped right in. Wherever there was a lack, they made up for it," she said.

She added that she was glad to have all her attendees under one roof, and to have the many entertainment options offered at the casino resort.

Robinson said it's hard to characterize her business by market. "We're doing well with both corporate and association, because of our flexibility. And we have a lot of public shows too. We're targeting everybody. There's nobody we can't handle."