Convention Attendance: CVBs Put On Promoter Hats

It's not that they're denying there's a recession on the way, or maybe already in progress, but convention bureau executives aren't worried about attracting customers.

What they are worried about, however, is attracting their customers' customers.

The buying cycle in the tradeshow industry is such that it does not immediately reflect the ups and downs of the larger economy, according to executives from a few of the CVBs that lead the nation in Tradeshow Week 200 bookings. Show managers reserve their sites years in advance, and things have to get really bad before they'll cancel altogether. (Even a relatively small event with a large profit margin is better than none at all.)

“We should be able to hold flat next year, and in '10 we'll be up,” said Bob Schuler, vice president of sales for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Through 2015, we're at 122 percent of our current expected pace.”

Charles Ahlers, president and CEO of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, added, “We have seen no discernable downturn.”

But, even if the number of events booked remains strong, the number of people attending those events - and putting their heads on beds, which generates room-tax revenue for municipal governments - could decline.

Schuler said, so far, that only seems to be the case for shows in industry sectors that are in trouble. A recent gathering of real estate agents for a Keller Willams Realty corporate meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta had low attendance compared with previous years, Schuler said, but most others have had similar or higher numbers.

Chris Meyer, vice president of convention sales at the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, has seen the same results. “We have some shows that are doing gang-busters, like Digital Sign Expo and CONEXPO-CON/AGG,” he said. “Then you've got others that are down. If you're in the retail or manufacturing business, it's a little harder.”

Ahlers concurred, noting that attendance was down at the Craft & Hobby Assn. Winter Convention & Trade Show in February, but up at Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo in March.

“So far, no meetings are canceling,” he added. “They may be a little lighter on attendance, but that hasn't put a spike of fear in our hearts yet.”

Jeff Eastman, president and CEO of Trends Analysis and Projections, said a couple of the 45 cities he studies for his TAP Reports have experienced cancellations, but only in the corporate events market so far. He said his clients also have expressed some concern about meeting planners, who are showing more reluctance to sign contracts than usual.

As for convention bookings, Eastman said, “it's too soon. I think the hotel and travel industry will feel it later. You'll see drops in attendance, and cities giving deals they wouldn't normally give.”

He added, “Every city I've talked to in the last couple months is concerned about it, but I don't think anybody has seen any significant trends.”

Las Vegas isn't waiting for the negative trends before taking action. The LVCVA last month rolled out a new marketing campaign, Vegas Right Now, designed to keep people thinking about Sin City first, even if they were thinking less about travel in general.

As part of the campaign, the LVCVA's convention sales department beefed up its attendance promotion efforts. These already consisted of press events, direct mail campaigns to attendees, data mining for show managers, and booths at shows that would be coming to Las Vegas in the future.

For at least the next three months, the LVCVA has added a call center component to all that. On behalf of the Authority, Infolink Communications will contact potential attendees at every show scheduled at the Las Vegas Convention Center and encourage them to attend.

Meyer said the new service already was paying off, having increased interest in the March 27-29 Amusement Showcase Intl. by 4 percent.

Ahlers said his convention sales team has used a similar tactic in the past. As part of the comprehensive attendance promotion program the Anaheim CVB implemented four years ago, he said, “we've done everything, including a phone message left with each (association) member from our mayor.”

At press time, Ahlers was headed for an executive retreat, where he said he and his management team would discuss, among other things, its strategy for facing the downturn.

Atlanta has a different approach to attendance promotion, which Schuler described as something that “you have to do anyway” – economic downturn or not.

The ACVB organizes fam' trips not just for press and planners - but also for its clients' top exhibitors. During the NCAA Final Four last year, Schuler said, “we brought in the top 15 to 20 exhibitors of our large shows and did a detailed fam' for them. We try to do it a year out, as soon as they come off their annual meeting.”

He added that the ACVB works with the top 40 events the city hosts each year, doing fam' trips for five or six of them annually. Show managers contribute to the program, according to Schuler, because it helps them too.

“We're creating destination appeal for everyone,” he said. “Most top exhibitors are looking for space in the city to entertain their clients (the attendees), so we highlight the venues that can accommodate their events.”