The Great Lakes’ Grab

This year, the Great Lakes region, home to top TSW 200 shows like the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s Pack Expo Intl. and AMT-The Assn. for Manufacturing Technology’s Intl. Manufacturing Technology Show, weathered the economic downturn with only slight declines, compared with last year, and is expected to, albeit slowly, increase its tradeshow activity next year.

Most of the region’s tradeshows – the average of which is expected to take up 230,959 net square feet of showfloor, with 354 exhibiting companies and 15,735 attendees – are slated to take place in Chicago, Indianapolis, Rosemont, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, many of which have construction projects underway.

In the Windy City, 53 major meetings and conventions were booked through the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau this year, and the city’s hotel occupancy rate was more than 62 percent through October, according to Meghan Risch, director of public relations at the CCTB.

Risch said the city’s long-term bookings remain strong, but there have been decreases seen in short-term bookings. “It’s going to be three to six months to find stabilization, and another 12 months beyond that before we start to see positive numbers again,” she said.

But, she added, the city anticipates the events it has on tap next year, such as Reed Exhibitions’ Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, the Intl. Assn. of Fire Chiefs’ Fire-Rescue Intl., the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s BIO Intl., the Natl. School Board Assn.’s Annual Conference & Exhibition and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

To lure more meetings its way, the city’s tourism bureau currently is enhancing its online free Destination Marketing Kit and offering Sweet Deals Chicago, a value-added program for groups, supported by the city’s hospitality community.

Peoria, Ill., features one of the state’s larger convention venues outside of Chicago, the 110,000 sq. ft. Peoria Civic Center, which regularly hosts the Illinois Health Care Assn. Annual Convention & Trade Show. This year, 225 meetings were held there.

According to Susan Galloway, director of communications for the Peoria Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, meeting business has been down and likely will continue to be down through at least the beginning of next year, but the city plans to market its convention center, accommodations and services “at a price point that will prove a great value to the meeting planner.”

On tap for the city is a $65 million passenger terminal facility at the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria Intl. Airport, slated for completion in late 2010.

To the east, in Indianapolis, tradeshow activity and hotel use next year is expected to be “ahead of pace.” This year, occupancy at the Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium and the city’s hotels all exceeded 65 percent, according to Chris Gahl, associate director of communications at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Assn.

“When you compare (the hotel occupancy rate) to last year for the same time frame, this is only 4 percentage points down,” Gahl said.

But wait, there’s more: The city just wrapped up the centennial celebration of its Indianapolis Motor Speedway; in February 2011, its convention center will open its doors with nearly 250,000 sq. ft. of additional space; and it has a 1,626-room, $450 million Marriott Place Indianapolis hotel complex underway.

“By 2011, there will be more hotel rooms (4,700) connected to the Indiana Convention Center than any other center in the U.S.,” Gahl said.

Even farther east, in Cincinnati, another city bustling with activity, this year was better than expected and many events are on the books for the future, according to the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau.

In the past year, its meetings experienced increases in attendance and exceeded room block bookings, while hotel occupancy overall decreased 8.7 percent, compared with an average decline of 11 percent in competing cities, according to CVB officials.

Going forward, the city’s largest conventions on tap include the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers’ Conference next year, the League of United Latin American Citizens Natl. Convention in 2011 and Inturkultur’s World Choir Games in 2012.

Another of the Buckeye State’s major tradeshow city contenders, Columbus, will hold more than 500 events this year, according to Brian Ross, vice president of sales at Experience Columbus.

“Currently, we are behind pace, but we are optimistic we will recover as business trends upward again, and because of our value destination appeal,” Ross said. “We are currently outperforming the national average due to our large state association base, and we’ve been fortunate to hold attendance for our regional and national groups as well.”

One of the largest projects underway in Columbus, scheduled for completion in February, is $35 million of renovations to the SMG Greater Columbus Convention Center’s 60,000 sq. ft. Battelle Hall, which is being converted into the largest ballroom in the state of Ohio. Then, in 2012, it will feature another draw: a headquarters hotel with 54 suites, 500 rooms and 30,650 sq. ft. of meeting space.

Another hotel completed in Columbus in September is the 198-suite Embassy Suites Hotel – Airport, which features 11,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, in close proximity to the downtown area.

In Wisconsin, both Milwaukee and Madison have a slew of events on the books.

According to David Fantle, vice president of public relations at Visit Milwaukee, this year’s citywide hotel occupancy rate has bounced between 56 and 60 percent, with 130,000 room nights booked. As for next year, 190,000 room nights are on tap. “We’re projecting a robust convention year,” Fantle said.

He added a few of the many events scheduled for the city in 2010 include the Natl. Model Railroad Assn. Natl. Model Railroad Convention, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Annual Convention, the American Chemical Society Rubber Division Annual Fall Convention & Mini Expo and the Society for the Study of Reproduction Annual Meeting.

Coming online in the Brew City before the year’s end will be an Aloft Hotel and a Days Inn Hotel of the Arts. Those projects follow several renovations that recently were completed at convention center hotels, the Hilton and the Hyatt.

And lastly, northwest of Milwaukee, in Madison, Wis., 92 conventions will take place this year, according to Stephanie Sabo, public relations and communications manager at the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. “(This year) has been a very strong convention and events year for Madison,” she said.

Sabo added that the city, which she described as having small-town charm but a big appreciation for events, currently is eagerly anticipating the U.S. Transplant Games scheduled to take place there next summer.