Meeting News - October 20, 2008 - (Page 58)

Destination Insider: Myrtle Beach Edited by Rayna Katz rayna.katz@nielsen.com Groups Comb Myrtle Beach for Its Many Options and Value While the downturn has many in the meetings industry uncertain what the next year will bring, local tourism and meetings executives are betting that the destination’s position as a value market The Hilton at Kingston Plantation. and the new facilities and venues added over the past year will be a strong draw for groups in 2009. “Because we are a well-established beachfront leisure destination, we have a very big room inventory for a city of our size [about 88,000 guest rooms in a city with a population of about 300,000], and we’ve always had very competitive rates, and that adds to our attractiveness for meeting groups on tight budgets,” said Danna Lilly, CMP, director of sales and marketing for the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Statistics from Smith Travel Research show that Myrtle Beach is close to the national average daily room rate these days—$107.24 year-to-date as of August, compared to $107.41 for the nation. But, Myrtle Beach is hugely competitive with other East Coast beach destinations, like Fort Lauderdale ($132.15 year-to-date as of August 2008) and Miami ($167.10). “We feel the value that planners can find here will be really attractive in these economic times,” said Lilly. “Plus, because this is a growing destination, we have lots of options for off-site activities for groups, and we’ve had some significant new venues that have either opened in the past year or are about to open in time for our peak season, which is summer.” Event planners like Charles Grose—also the public defender in South Carolina’s 8th Judicial District—who put together the September annual meeting of the South Carolina Public Defenders Association, gravitate to Myrtle Beach because of the good rates and a broad variety of off-property entertainment options. “We have gone to Myrtle Beach for two years in a row now, in part because it’s a competitive market with good, new facilities,” Grose said. His group met at Barefoot Resort’s Lakeside Conference Center this year, two months after it opened in June (see sidebar below). Event Report Big on the Basics Rates, dates, and space drew Forest Resources Association to the Grand Strand While every destination has its own character, Forest Resources Association booked its 2008 annual meeting in Myrtle Beach for the pragmatic equation of “dates, rates, and space,” said planner Linda Gibson, director of finance and administration for the Rockville, MD-based group.“If a destination is not a good fit based on those fundamentals, then we are not likely to consider it.” Gibson chose the 405-room Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort & Spa at Grand Dunes, a property that’s just the right size for her 400-attendee group. Because her group was meeting in April— the shoulder season—the rate sealed the deal. “We were able to put our attendees in a nice room overlooking the ocean for $159 a night,” Gibson said. “That’s quite appealing for our people, many of whom spend their daily lives in forest regions from Oregon to Mississippi and typically don’t see the ocean that often.” 58 MeetingNews October 20, 2008 New Facilities and Venues s A 112-room Hilton Garden Inn at Coastal Grand Mall is set to open Nov. 15, adjacent to Myrtle Beach International Airport, with a 1,800-sf conference center. s The Barefoot Resort Lakeside Conference Center opened in June, located within a big condo community along the Intracoastal Waterway. It has a conference center offering 17,000 sf of meeting space and a 9,000-sf pavilion. s Launched in January, the Hilton Conference Center at Kingston Plantation has 15,000 sf of conference space and is adjacent to a 385-room Hilton hotel. s The Market Common at Myrtle Beach is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex along the Grand Strand. Opened in April, it offers a half-dozen restaurants, including South Carolina’s first P.F. Chang’s, and over 50 upscale retailers, including Banana Republic. Also, Gibson said Myrtle Beach in the spring offered oceanfront rates at a fraction of what FRA would have paid further south, like in South Florida, where April was high season. (Average daily rate in April was $90.50, versus $176.12 in Miami and $140.42 in Fort Lauderdale, according to Smith Travel Research.) “Rates become particularly important because many of our attendees are on a tight budget,” said Gibson. And, by picking a date outside high season (May to August), availability was not a problem. Gibson said the meeting venue also was a fit because it was close to the beach and golf course. Participants in a spouse trip went antique shopping on nearby Pawley’s Island. “In general, our group gravitates to a destination that’s well-rounded, with lots of activities for attendees’ families,” she said. “But the bottom line is that the price has to be right.” r —Section by Rowland Stiteler www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - October 20, 2008

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