Successful Meetings - February 2009 - (Page 34)

“ Downtown Long Beach, CA, which now includes a $1.5-million LED lighting program for groups to enjoy We believe in the Nordstrom approach to service. We will help get whatever is needed to make the conference successful. —Steve Goodling, CEO, Long Beach CVB consisted of 40,000 e-mail addresses to which we sent out information about the Night at The Village. We also created a customized website, something we do for all of our clients, and took out an ad. The first lady’s office was extremely pleased with all we did to help promote the event,” says Goodling. Given the current economy, concessions are a new reality. Long Beach was competing with several major cities for a 2012 association meeting. “We just signed the contract last week. They had a lot of concessions and we were able to meet those concessions. We offer one-stop shopping. We don’t make customers go to each party asking for concessions. We facilitate that as a bureau. We assist with negotiations. We represent the hotels and the community and we also represent the client and we work to make it a win-win.” The world’s leading thinkers and doers will be congregating in Long Beach for the TED Conference February 3-7. After conference organizers mentioned they wanted to do a lot with lighting, the LBCVB got busy. “As the economy started to slow down and decelerate in October, five major partners in the community pooled $1.5 million to deploy an LED lighting program. We promoted it as, ‘Come see the 20,000 lights in downtown Long Beach.’ A majority of these lights are going to be permanent,” explains Goodling. “When the TED Conference comes in February they are doing a street party, and the lighting is already up, and that will help in defraying their costs. And other groups will be able to use the lighting as well.” Small Advantages A Perfect Portfolio Makes St. Charles the NaturalChoice for Meetings ADVANCED CENTER FOR TRAINING . DUPAGE EXPO . HOTEL BAKER . PHEASANT RUN RESORT . Q CENTER • Contemporary Essentials • IACC-Approved Venues • 2400 Hotel Rooms • Groups to 3500 • Charming Off-site Events • 40 Miles west of Chicago • An Hour from Chicago’s Airports • Halfway between Interstates 90 and 88 St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau 800-777-4373 sales@visitstcharles.com www.stcharlesilmeetings.com Pat Frew, communications director for the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau, sees strong opportunity for planners and his own organization during the recession, because he represents a smaller location. “Obviously it’s important for a planner to think about other things than the destination with the way the economy is right now,” he says. “We’ve seen that by taking initiative and not just waiting for planners to ask for certain things, we can bring more business our way. Whether it’s promotion in local media or helping to broker deals outside of the usual, this is the time for smaller areas to work harder.” ABWA’s Burns says that’s exactly how Covington, KY, won her 2008 conven- 34 I SM I February 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com “ http://www.stcharlesilmeetings.com http://www.stcharlesilmeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - February 2009

Successful Meetings - February 2009 Contents Editor's Letter News Update: Meetings Associations Band Together Education Planner Spotlight Technology Talk Food & Beverage Making Cents of It All Meanwhile, Back at Headquarters Seal of Approval Come Sail Away Making Tracks Places & Spaces Florida’s East Coast Aruba Maui 3 Days in Philadelphia

Successful Meetings - February 2009

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