Centers Trim Costs Where They Can

When it comes to being hit by the recession, no one's dodged the bullet, least of all convention centers.

Depending on their source of funding, be it public or private, some have fared better than others, but, across the nation, convention centers of all sizes admit they've had to be resourceful in coming up with new ways to save money at the venues – especially smaller-sized facilities that don't use as much of their space as much of the time as their larger counterparts.

Michele L. Swann, general manager and CEO of the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority, said, at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, energy management efforts, in addition to reduction of labor, have been important in helping the center to lower its costs.

“We estimate we are saving approximately $15,000 per month,” Swann said.

This year, to save energy, the galleria, which has 144,000 square feet of exhibit space, upgraded and replaced its central lighting, which now is controlled by a system that can be manipulated remotely by engineering staff.

Two years ago, the center's meeting rooms and concourse areas were relamped, with low-energy fluorescent bulbs to replace incandescent ones.

On the labor-reduction side, the venue eliminated temporary labor and overtime costs among its staff by cross-training and introducing labor-sharing initiatives with its sister venue, the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

“The real value in these efforts lie in the residual effects of implementing these measures and the development of best practices that will become part of our overall operating strategies well after the current economic situation has passed,” Swann said.

Nearly 360 miles east at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Convention Center, energy-efficiency efforts also are underway to help save money, said Tiffany Andrews, sales and marketing administrator for the venue, which has 100,800 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

“We've switched all of our lighting to (be) flourescent, and, in meeting rooms and ballroom space, we also put in occupancy-motion sensors,” Andrews said. “Basically, … if no one is in the room, if the light is left on, it would automatically go off.”

She added the savings on those efforts alone will provide at least a 70-percent reduction of the electrical piece of the venue's utility bill each year. “That's a huge savings,” Andrews said.

Some venues have covered the gamut with their efforts.

At the Overland Park (Kansas) Convention Center, which has 61,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, a plethora of cost-cutting efforts are in the works.

According to Nadine Guest, general manager of the venue, energy saving is something that all convention centers should do to save money, and it's just one of many things the venue is proactive about.

Others include scheduling staff on an as-needed basis, as well as, when possible, contracting labor only based on the center's business schedule and reducing phone features to only those needed.

“We've been changing to energy-efficiency light bulbs and not heating or cooling rooms that nobody's in,” Guest said. “We've also done, I hope, one better in that we did a capital project that involved adding LED lights (in the courtyard).”

For that project, which cost the center $40,000, it received a “pretty sizeable rebate” for 50 percent of the cost, Guest said.

“Here is where you cannot just operate on autopilot,” she added. “You have to be proactive at managing your own processes, your own contracts and your own staff.”

Guest said she negotiates labor contracts based on her venue's business week of Sunday through Saturday without overtime or double-time fees. “(Contracted workers) still want business and they are guaranteed business,” she added.

Something else the center does is “just in time” ordering, meaning only stocking up on supplies as needed for upcoming events.

In the Pacific region of the United States, at the Spokane (Wash.) Convention Center, which has 100,160 sq. ft. of exhibit space, that same effort is in place, in addition to others on the energy-efficiency front.

According to Johnna Boxley, general manager of the venue, it is purchasing what it needs – supplies for an event this year – and waiting to purchase what it wants – supplies for two years down the road.

“Whatever we cut, we're making sure that it doesn't affect guest service,” Boxley said. “But, if maybe in two years we know we're having a huge event that's going to need bleachers or more chairs or more tables, we're putting that off a little bit.”

She added, “It's always interesting to figure out when we go through this that we really can operate maybe a little bit leaner than we thought we could, because we figure out ways to save when we need to.”

A final effort the center has employed is in its marketing strategies. “We have been doing more marketing through the Internet,” Boxley said.

At the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, in Albany, N.Y., marketing also has been key in cost-cutting, according to Brad Maione, spokesman for the N.Y. State Office of General Services, which operates the venue.

“We are being aggressive, working with the Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau and others, in terms of getting the word out there that we're here, and we're in the state capital, and we're open for business,” Maoine said. “We're also dimming the lights, we're keeping energy efficiency at the forefront of our mind and working and trying to do more with less.”