‘Planners are getting more savvy about looking at community assets.’
the meetings landscape in Orlando, she said, but “my respon- sibility at Visit Orlando is to market all of our assets.” Over time, Runzler has became more systematic in how
she gathers information about the region’s intellectual resources and brings those assets to the table at a much earlier point in conversations about potential meetings in Orlando. “I believe that meeting planners in general are mov- ing in the direction of truly understanding a destination’s value beyond rate and space,” Runzler said. “Those things — airlift and the basics of what we as a destination offer — are still very, very important. But planners are getting more savvy about looking at community assets to see where there may be more value to their organizations in some destinations.” Runzler has gotten smarter, too, she said, about how she
looks at the region’s assets. As technology has gained promi- nence in medicine and science, she’s begun to inventory innovative medical equipment and patents generated in the area, along with academics and scientists who might serve as speakers at meetings and specialized companies, research institutes, and facilities that might host site visits. “I’ve worked with industry experts,” Runzler said, “and now have a very comprehensive list of projects that are going on here.” Her sources often tell her that people fly in all the time to see a specific piece of equipment or program that isn’t available anywhere else in the world, and she considers it part of her job to make sure planners also know about those resources. “The last thing I want is for a group to come here,” Runzler said, “and then two weeks later, read about something we have here, and think, ‘I would have loved to have gone to that robotics center.’” Runzler takes a hands-on approach to cataloguing
Orlando’s intellectual and scientific assets, personally calling researchers to ask them about their work and specialized resources, and whether she can share information with meet- ing planners. “If I have a profile, that means I have already established a relationship,” she said. “That cuts out a lot of the initial digging and research for planners.”
EXPORTING EXPERTISE The German Convention Bureau (GCB) has adopted a simi- larly proactive approach to identifying key industries and