Meeting News - March 23, 2009 - (Page 9)

Edited by Rayna Katz rayna.katz@nielsen.com CVBs ing more details about salary and benefits of staff members. The bureau’s board of directors was scheduled to vote on the proposals late last month; Orange County mayor Rich Crotty said at that time that he wanted reforms finalized within six weeks. Recently elected OOCVB chairman George Aguel, senior vice president at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, wants all parties to be in sync. “The recommendations are thoughtful and in line with conversations our board has had about the balance between competitiveness and transparency,” he said, in a written statement. “The Orlando/Orange County CVB board will be reviewing these revisions and looks forward to working with the mayor and the county commissioners to ensure that the future needs of the industry, our community, and the CVB are in alignment,” said Aguel. H Under Fire for Spending, the Orlando CVB Considers Changes In the wake of some revelations of questionable spending by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, some reforms designed to make the bureau’s operations more transparent were under review at press time. At a time when spending of tax dollars is coming under scrutiny, reports by the Orlando Sentinel last month indicated that former OOCVB president Bill Peeper received an $826,490 retirement package, along with a send-off party that cost nearly $103,000, while current president Gary Sain flew to Dubai on a $9,271 business-class ticket, though two other local tourism executives flew in coach class at a much lower fare. Among the changes to the bureau’s standard procedures suggested by the Orange County Commission last month: posting minutes of the bureau’s private board meetings online, adding an elected official to its influential executive committee, and disclos- Pasadena’s Parade Of Bureau Initiatives As other destinations battle to push capital projects for their convention centers in rough economic times, Pasadena, CA, is unveiling its $150 million expansion of the Pasadena Convention Center (Jan. 5 MN, p. 17) this month. Nan Marchand, executive director of the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the new building, with two exhibit halls totaling 54,000 sf, plus a new 25,000-sf ballroom in an existing building—gives Pasadena leverage against Long Beach, Ontario, Monterey, San Jose, and Sacramento. Pasadena’s conference center building will house the CVB. One of the first effects of the new product, Marchand told MeetingNews, is that groups who outgrew Pasadena, like the State Bar of California, are returning. Propelled by the expansion, the CVB has embarked on an array of firsts: a first-ever marketing effort in New York City, to boost Northeast business; the creation of a dedicated website for meeting planners, debuting this month; offices on site at the convention center for the first time; a firstever sales manager dedicated to Sacramento, based in that city, for state business; and it’s the first agency in Southern California to adopt VisionNet, a technology that allows quick packaging of multiple proposals, or bid books, for group clients. “Planners can customize the bid books,” said Marchand. “Suppliers can load information (e.g., logistics and floor plans) into a template. Hotels love the efficiency.” The system, which allows sharing of video, photos, animations, and documents, also speeds up CVB sales managers’ jobs because bids can be packaged quickly. “It frees up sales managers for selling,” Marchand noted. “And it’s green because it saves on paper and postage.” VisionNet will be part of Pasadena’s dedicated website for planners, and that site, in turn, soon will be part of a completely overhauled CVB website. Also improving the CVB’s efficiency is a new sales manager focused on small groups. H —William Ng Winston-Salem Gets More User-Friendly Online isit Winston-Salem has developed a new website for meeting planners. The site, MeetingsinMinutes .com, puts meeting buyers in direct contact with hotels to book meetings of 50 room nights or less. With the click of a mouse, buyers can generate an e-mail to the appropriate hotel contact to facilitate meetings needs. Meetings in Minutes partners guarantee that they return information to planners V in less than 90 minutes. So, according to the bureau, there is no time lost determining where a property is located in the community, trying to find an appropriate contact person, or waiting for a response. “These days, everyone in our industry is busy. The program is a piece of cake to maneuver; planners are going to want to bookmark this webpage,” said Scott Crotty, director of sales. www.meetingnews.com March 23, 2009 MeetingNews 9 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 23, 2009 Contents What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com Meetings Mean Business As 'Meeting Matter' Marriott Unveils Promo Columbus, OH, Addresses Convention Hotel Issues People Making News Orlando Strives for Cost Transparency Is Biz-Class Air Travel Dead? Greenest Planner Awards Mid America Insider Report: Conference Centers Destination Insider: Mississippi Gulf Coast Las Vegas Destination Insider: Cleveland Ad Index Live from the Forum

Meeting News - March 23, 2009

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