Successful Meetings - September 2008 - (Page 51) says Michele Bevevino, director of sales and marketing for the Raleigh Marriott City Center, during a brief respite between her own hotel opening in July and a gala celebration in August. “Just a few years ago, Raleigh had no foot traffic and was very under-utilized for a capital city. Now, we anticipate a vibrant scene in this area.” FRUITS UNFOLDING Enthusiasm for Raleigh’s new offerings has become infectious among planners; even before the center has opened its doors, business is quite good. As of late July, the facility had booked 106 convention events of varying sizes through 2023, with a projected economic impact to the community of $82 million. These meetings will bring 177,850 attendees to town, booking more than 375,000 room nights. “The opening of the convention center is creating a lot of enthusiasm, but the key to success here is getting Raleigh prepared to host these groups [that will be using the facility].” —Denny Edwards, Greater Raleigh CVB convention center already has secured bookings from 37 such organizations over the coming years, representing an estimated economic impact of $45 million. “The early measure of the success of the convention center will be room nights,” says Krupa. “Of course, being the building director, I worry about revenue, but I have to abandon that vocabulary and start talking room nights to gauge the center’s success.” Krupa says that the 375,000 room nights already on the books is “double or triple what studies projected the impact of the building would be.” KNOW WHAT YOU ARE And remarkably, for a city that has never had a national, much less international, conference reputation, the new As for the CVB, monster conventions are not on its radar screen. “The key to the success of this new convention center, and to Raleigh as a Look closely at Charlotte and you’ll discover a lot. A lot of adrenaline rushing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. A lot of excitement for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And a lot of inspiration for your next meeting. Find a lot more at 800-722-1994 or charlottesgotalot.com. http://charlottesgotalot.com http://charlottesgotalot.com
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