Conference center use rebounding
I love conference centers (such excellent learning environments), so I was glad to hear that the conference center biz is finally turning around. After three years in slump city, in 2004 revenues and profits started heading upward again, and hopes are high for a continuation of the trend this year, according to the recently released 2005 edition of Trends in the Conference Center
Industry, published by PKF Consulting in conjunction with the
International Association of Conference Centers.
“As a whole, our Trends in the Conference Center Industry sample enjoyed a
healthy 7.5 percent increase in total revenue in 2004,” said David Arnold,
eastern regional chief executive officer of PKF-C. “Operating under fairly
austere conditions after three years of declining revenue, center managers were
able to convert the gain in revenue into a 25.3 percent boost to the bottom-line
in 2004.”“The best news is that conference center managers appear to be even more
optimistic about 2005,” Arnold noted. The conference centers in the survey
sample have budgeted for an average increase in occupancy of nine percent in
2005, matched by a 4.0 percent increase in package pricing. For conference
centers, most business is sold in packages that include accommodations, meals,
and conference services.
The rise in demand is coming mainly from business and academic groups’ training and continuing education activities.
P.S. Something that made me grind my teeth this morning: One of the other meetings industry publications confused "conference center" with "convention center" in a brief e-writeup I received today about this survey. They even hinted that this is a sign that all the recent controversy around all the convention center building–some say overbuilding–is overblown. Please feel free to join me in a heartfelt aaaargh!
Related Topics: Hospitality news
August 29th, 2005 at 9:02 am
I recently started selling meeting space at a conference center. Up until now, most of my experience has been in conference planning. The location of my conference center is in the heart of a major city and must compete with large hotel chains in and around the area. We are among a small number of properties that meet IACC standards in the area. Your comments are entirely true, but how are conference centers that can not accomodate over night guests, able to keep up with hotels? Any suggestions? sales tips or contacts in this specific industry?
November 29th, 2005 at 6:03 pm
I would suggest contacting area hotels and inquiring whether or not they would be interested in forming a partnership with your company. While unlikely during the busier months, I would tend to speculate that hotels in the area would jump at the opportunity to have added occupancy throughout the year. Joining forces would help both ends as well as alleviate a glaring issue at your site. You seem like a woman who wants an answer… sometimes you have to create your own.
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