Sharon Altland, director of sales for the Hershey
Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, sees that now more
than ever planners are pressed for time. Altland says her
team can get faster response time to RFPs due to their rela-
tionship with area vendors and venues.
Kaminetsky says that he discusses with ties, as well as drivability and lower pric-
planners all of the positives as well as ing.
potential roadblocks concerning his
member venues and the event that’s David Jackson, director of sales for the
being planned.A hotel might be perfect Pocono Mountains Convention and
for one event, but could be awkward for Visitors Bureau,notes that family-friendly
another. destinations increase both attendance
and morale. It’s a win for the attendee
He says that an honest, straightforward and for the region when individuals
perspective offers the planner “a point combine their business meetings with
person to weed out issues ahead of family vacations.Many smaller metropol-
time.” He adds that most CVB offices itan areas fit this criterion well.
have notes and information about their
member venues helping them to weigh Much like SMERF events,small corporate
both the advantages and drawbacks of and business-related events have found
each. themselves with tighter, more limited
budgets. Planners do not want to sacri-
According to David Bradley, convention fice amenities or state-of-the-art technol-
sales manager for the Valley Forge ogy as a way to cut costs. More fre-
Convention and Visitors Bureau, plan- quently, they look outside larger cities
ners who call his bureau get everything where the rates of overnight rooms and
they need as part of“one-stop-shopping.” venue rentals are often less.
For the meeting planner who is orches- These locales can offer the same types of
trating a small meeting or event, choos- services often at a third of the cost of
ing a town or region that caters to their those in metropolitan cities. And despite
needs makes a lot of sense. Many small- smaller budgets, these small meetings
er communities provide bureau services actually demand just as much time from
that can offers more personalized serv- planners.
ice to the planner of diminutive meet-
ings. After all,small meetings are big business.
A whopping 70-75 percent of the meet-
These areas often have convention and ings that take place in the Greater
visitors bureaus that do not consist of Wilmington area small to mid-sized.
multiple departments. This eliminates Groups choose to meet here, because
“passing the buck,”notes Kaminetsky. He “we create solutions for the planners,”
says their staff members are truly invest- Lovlie explains.
ed in these meetings, because one or
two people become responsible for the She goes on to say that her team at the
client’s success and satisfaction with the CVB is comprised of “creative thinkers
area. who know the area, and who know how
to make a planner look his or her best....
The Rise of the SMERFs Passion and love for an area drives some-
one to work for a CVB.”
A slight decrease in corporate clients has
given a rise to the increased importance Enlisting the help of a CVB actually cuts
of social, military, educational, religious a planner’s cost and reduces time wast-
and fraternal (SMERF) functions. Two ed. Convention and visitors bureaus
pieces of the SMERF market - military want to help planners - it’s part of their
and religious events - seem to have mission.
grown quite a bit in the past few years.
Cost Benefits
For many of these types of events, sec-
ond-tier cities and locations are pre- For planners, balancing meeting quality
ferred because they are able to offer with cost is an ongoing challenge. When
numerous recreational and family activi- a planner “thinks outside of the box” in
24 November a79 December 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92