Vol. 5 No. 2, February 2008
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The Conventional Approach
Partnerships are making Atlantic City a true ‘convention center’
Everyone knows the importance of tourism to Atlantic City, but don’t underestimate the value of conventions to the city. The ability to attract conventions and meetings—large and small, national and regional—is integral to Atlantic City’s survival and success.
In 2006, direct spending by convention exhibitors and delegates pumped more than $192 million into the local economy. The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority generated convention and meeting business that booked approximately 150,000 hotel room nights citywide. Preliminary totals for 2007 indicate a 10 percent increase over 2006.
Our convention sales staff works for and with our hotel partners to attract this business, whether the booking is for the building we operate (the Convention Center) or for a hotel.
We also work closely with hotels to provide room blocks for convention and meeting delegates, and with restaurants, attractions, golf courses and other venues throughout the area to provide dinners, meals, spouse tours, special events and outings for our business travelers.
Our hotel partners recognize the importance of convention and meeting business too. These events fill hotel rooms, restaurants and local shops on weeknights when resort business is traditionally slow.
According to James Ziereis, vice president of conventions/hotel sales for Harrah’s Entertainment Atlantic City, total revenue in 2007 from citywide conventions at the four Harrah’s properties (Harrah’s, Showboat, Bally’s and Caesars) was “in excess of $2.7 million.” Figures include 12,074 occupied rooms, $1.66 million in room revenue and $1.06 million in catered food and beverage-related revenue. With classic understatement, Zeireis calls these returns “quite impressive.”
Partnerships benefit Atlantic City in other ways. Two of our relatively new annual conventions, the Penn Allied Nursery Trade Show and the Mid-Atlantic Hardscaping Trade Show are helping to keep Atlantic City attractive for meeting planners. They and MAHTS sponsor EP Henry generously donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of plants and landscape materials to beautify the Convention Center entryway. The Atlantic City Special Improvement District has partnered with us to plant and maintain the landscaping. Partnerships also attract conventions. Several years ago, we started a program called “Bring Your Meeting Home.” It recruited both the business community and our own staff to urge professional associations with which they are affiliated to schedule their conferences here.
As a result, we hosted the Society of Government Meeting Professionals in 2007 and will host the Pennsylvania Bus Association in 2008. These conventions provide an opportunity for meeting professionals and leisure travel decision-makers to experience the best that Atlantic City offers.
We’d now like to strengthen this successful program in the greater Atlantic City community. Partnerships with local agencies and businesses are crucial to Atlantic City’s success as a business destination. A recent partnership with the Atlantic County Utilities Authority is a great example. Paul Gallagher, vice president and general counsel of the ACUA and his staff lobbied with us to bring the annual American Wind Energy Association meeting to Atlantic City.
Although that group chose to meet in another city this year, you can bet Atlantic City is on its radar for future years, when we can offer more rooms and air service. If your organization or group holds regular meetings and conferences, we’ll be happy to partner with you to bring them here.
If you don’t have the slightest idea how to bid on a conference, we have that expertise. Together, we can accomplish what might otherwise be a daunting task. Working together, we can keep Atlantic City “Always Turned On.”
