Philly CC Offers AV Directly to Customers

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/3/2006

Recognizing that high markups by audiovisual vendors were negatively impacting their customers, the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau are offering AV services directly.

Dittie Guise, COO of the center, said the AV markup was one of the biggest complaints she heard from customers.

"Clients complained about AV prices, so we looked at their invoices and saw markups as high as 85 percent," she said.

Now, the PCC is telling its clients that they can buy their AV services directly from the center and save the markup, which is a way of keeping rates and management fees separate, while letting customers know that Philadelphia does not have to be an expensive place to do business.

Guise said the objective is to further enhance the PCC's labor-friendly environment and transparent cost structure. Knowing the PCC rate can give clients leverage when negotiating with AV contractors, she added.

PCC customers purchasing AV services such as design, equipment rental, and setup labor can now go directly to the PCC Production Services department and be billed for labor costs only, allowing them to see the exact cost of doing audiovisual business in the convention center. Clients will continue to have the option of working with their individual AV provider.

"It's like full disclosure," Guise said of the new policy, which has been in place since March, reportedly with no complaints from either AV providers or customers.