1 Meeting Minutes Baltimore April 2729, 2014 Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards Members in Attendance Randy Cross SPIE International Society of Optical Engineering Beatriz Garcia Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Peter Green ConferenceDirect Maureen Goodson National Postal Forum Earla Jones National Association of College and University Business Officers Susan Lennon Society for Research in Child Development Anna Lopez Buck National Association of Hispanic Journalists Tom Michalisko Experient Penny Pina American Mathematical Society Ed Potillo National Alliance of Black School Educators Stephanie RennieSanchez American Society of Safety Engineers Pam Schrock Transamerica Deborah Young National Association of Elementary School Principles Baltimore Hosts Tom Noonan Visit Baltimore Peggy Daidakis Baltimore Convention Center Amy Calvert Visit Baltimore Meeting Facilitator David Kliman The Kliman Group Tom Noonan – Baltimore Updates • Onahlea Shimunek, General Manager of the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yard was thanked for her team’s warm welcome and hospitality. • Star Spangled 200 scheduled for September 10 – 16, 2014 will be the largest tourism event in Baltimore history http://www.starspangled200.com/ • Patterson Park Cannons http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/04/28/classic cannonsinpattersonparktogetaspectacularmakeover/
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
Meeting Minutes Baltimore April 27-‐29, 2014
Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards
Members in Attendance Randy Cross SPIE -‐ International Society of Optical Engineering Beatriz Garcia Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Peter Green ConferenceDirect Maureen Goodson National Postal Forum Earla Jones National Association of College and University Business
Officers Susan Lennon Society for Research in Child Development Anna Lopez Buck National Association of Hispanic Journalists Tom Michalisko Experient Penny Pina American Mathematical Society Ed Potillo National Alliance of Black School Educators Stephanie Rennie-‐Sanchez American Society of Safety Engineers Pam Schrock Transamerica Deborah Young National Association of Elementary School Principles Baltimore Hosts Tom Noonan Visit Baltimore Peggy Daidakis Baltimore Convention Center Amy Calvert Visit Baltimore Meeting Facilitator David Kliman The Kliman Group Tom Noonan – Baltimore Updates
• Onahlea Shimunek, General Manager of the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yard was thanked for her team’s warm welcome and hospitality.
• Star Spangled 200 scheduled for September 10 – 16, 2014 will be the largest tourism event in Baltimore history http://www.starspangled200.com/
• Patterson Park Cannons http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/04/28/classic-‐cannons-‐in-‐patterson-‐park-‐to-‐get-‐a-‐spectacular-‐makeover/
2
• Caesars Horseshoe Casino scheduled to open August 2014 http://www.caesars.com/Baltimore/
• Potential new concert venue near Casino is possible • Visit Baltimore has a new logo; details at: http://baltimore.org/ • New visitor experience offers “deep emersion” at Visitors Center; CAB will
experience during this meeting • Visit Baltimore Educational Foundation is being developed to provide scholarships
for kids seeking hospitably careers • New arena developer died recently at age 95; this has halted development of new
arena as his will is in probate. We will keep the CAB advised when more information is available. The Mayor and City leaders are dedicated to getting a new arena built.
Baltimore Convention Center -‐ Peggy Daidakis – http://www.bccenter.org/
• The Center was opened in 1979 and expanded 1986 • Concrete repairs continue; two exterior staircases in front of Pratt Street entrance • Quick fixes underway including tree trimming • Completed new floor boxes on the west side of the Convention Center • Replaced audio system in the Ballroom; RFP out to replace entire system • Fire and Life safety has been upgraded • New larger Starbucks will open, located on other side of the existing Starbucks
location • Numerous upgrades in technology and Wi-‐Fi service • Digital signage (interior and exterior) RFP will be sent before December 2014 • Energy conservation has created savings of $1.2 million savings, cost avoidance is
used to pay for energy upgrades Visit Baltimore Sales & Service Report – Amy Calvert
• Total Room Nights Booked, Q3 TYD: o 242 groups booked for a total of 253,026 room nights; worth $144.9 million
in Economic Impact • Total City-‐Wide Groups Booked
o 14 city-‐wide groups booked for a total of 128,885 room nights; worth $54.5 million in Economic Impact
• Total In-‐House Groups Booked o 228 in-‐house groups booked for a total of 124,141 room nights; worth $90.4
million in Economic Impact • Annual goal is 500,000 rooms • June marks end of fiscal year and typically a significant amount of business closes in
Q4May and June • 50% of business is booked short term. New executive meetings manager has been
hired to focus on self-‐contained business • TAP Peer set is defined as other comp destinations, Charlotte, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. in addition to Boston, Orlando and Chicago, however Boston does not participate with TAP reporting service.
3
Customer Engagement – Amy Calvert and Sam Rogers Baltimore’s “unique value proposition” (UVP) has focused on the “Two Feet” campaign for past 7 + years, but other cities share similar messaging. Research indicates that Baltimore’s value core attributes are: Financial, Convenience, Ease, Service, Professionalism, and Competitive. Baltimore ranks 1st or 2nd in cities of like attributes: DC, Philadelphia, Boston, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Orlando Advisory Board Feedback:
• There is lots of buzz about Nashville being “new and hot”; Nashville offers excellent personalized marketing
• Seeing is believing, continue to bring decision makers here to experience the City first hand
• Keep up the good work; Baltimore has a great sales and service team in place • Ensure hotel community stays united in serving customers’ needs • Flexibility needed from the hotels; they need to be more flexible regarding late pick
up and cut off dates • New hotels in Baltimore create good buzz but need to ensure marketing is
customized as casinos don’t appeal to all groups • Cultural history in Baltimore is a major asset
The Advisory Board was asked where group/convention messaging should focus; the following summarizes their comments:
• Targeted emails from know contacts works for some but not for all • M&C Digital newsletters http://www.meetings-‐conventions.com/ • Twitter • IMeet on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-‐meet-‐llc • Put metrics behind Baltimore’s message regarding convenience; “be precise about
how long it takes to get from A to B” • http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/ cited as a good learning tool; helps planners
stay on top of social media • Host tech learning stations at trade shows
Three City Partnership
• Comprised of Baltimore, San Antonio, Anaheim • Customized programs offering a wide variety of products and offers • Launching around ASAE August 2014 • First teaser will go out in June 2014 Association Forum’s “Forum Forward 2014”
• Transfer of customer knowledge between the three cities was discussed; some concern expressed that planners may loss negotiation if too much information is shared; concern also expressed that over time some people will leave their jobs and knowledge will be lost
4
• Desirable to have vendor partnerships between cities such as Passkey, catering, AV etc.
• Valid for both citywide and self-‐contained meetings • Success for the program would be booking 3-‐4 new annual conventions per city
Advisory Board Feedback:
• Some planner need more pragmatic details; such as airlift details? • Some commented the CEO ad seemed cold and didn't reflect the synergies of the
three CEOs; it was noted that the CEO ad will be run one time only • Having major Brand Hotels in all three cities is an advantage • Some groups are totally bottom line focused and will only focus on “the best deal” • Ensure the Synchronicities logo is highlighted in all three ads
Baltimore Convention Center Wi-‐Fi – Midori Connolly & Vern Hall Midori Connolly http://avgirlproductions.com/provided in-‐depth background regarding Wi-‐Fi capabilities and usage; her presentation is published on the CAB microsite and highlights are noted here. A Wi-‐Fi site inspection checklist is also provided in this report and is also published on the CAB microsite Vern Hall, Chief Technology Officer from MC Dean which is the technology provider at the Baltimore Convention Center http://www.mcdean.com 2014 enhancements
• Installing hundreds of new 802.11 radios with Gigabit trunks • Will support more users on 300 and 400 levels than fire code allows • Adding ~70 new arrays to 300 level • Upgrading Wi-‐Fi trunks to Gigabit • Migrating Internet connection to Metro Gigabit • 65,000 available IP addresses for wireless users
5
2014 Array Locations
Cabling Infrastructure to Support Arrays
2015+ Enhancements
• Continue increasing Wi-‐Fi density on 100 and 400 levels • More automated interfaces for show management to self administer splash pages • Permanently cross connect all hardwire ports
6
Interim 300 Level Heat Map
Market Trends Breakouts The Advisory Board broke into three groups to discuss key issues impacting their meetings and events; the following summarizes each group‘s issues: Group One
• Facing on-‐going challenges and increased costs with AV companies • Seek to work with AV companies with deep understanding of groups’ specific issues
and culture • Labor costs increasing • Housing pirates remain active; requiring on-‐going education and communications
with attendees and exhibitors • Forced to hire exclusive security vendors in some locations including some cities
demand that local police act as security. Some cities require payment of parking costs for security; this causes frustration and animosity
• Increase in use of Apps for program guides • Increase in TED Talk style meetings http://www.ted.com • Long Beach is offering the original Ted Talk meeting space to planners free of charge
Group Two • Housing pirates remain active. Planners using cease and desist orders and official
emblems to designate official housing vendors • Some are linking meeting registration and housing (charging more to register when
booking outside the official room block) • Strong need for combined spending reports when managing multiple internal
meetings to help demonstrate total economic value to suppliers
7
Group Three • DMOs need to help streamline vendor communications; planners seeking methods
to make doing business easier and more seamless; this generates return business. Indy and Tampa were cited as doing this well. Their primary event contact is involved in all aspects of the planning process. “Don’t pass me off to someone else”
• Strong focus on union labor costs • Housing pirates also cited as problematic • Seeing more “suit casing” exhibitors trying to work the aisles of trade show floors
without paying for booth space • Lack of transparency regarding food & beverage gratuities • Frustration cited regarding ancillary fees including Wi-‐Fi and electrical costs for
meeting rooms • Cited lack of control, lack of knowledge and lack of worldwide standards regarding
Wi-‐Fi • Ensure Baltimore’s brand is kept unique and that clear advantages of Three City
Partnership are highlighted in all communications
Understanding Future Group Room Block Demand Jeff Eastman, CEO at TAP Report, Toni Fletcher, Director of Revenue Manager at Hilton, Julie Carper, Director of Group Strategy at Marriott, Khristy Reich, Director of Revenue Manager at Sheraton, Mike Rosa, Director of Sales at Days Inn and John Hawley, Director of Sales & Marketing at Hilton joined the meeting and discussed group room blocks; the following highlights the conversation:
• Buyers want total ancillary spending data from hotels • Some buyers feel they are penalized for their own compression – How? • Some planners want to eliminate price uncertainty (no escalation clauses) • Many hotels allow OTAs and intermediaries to undercut group rates; best rate
guarantees are not always honored • Buyers want more conversations with Revenues Directors throughout the booking
process regarding cut off dates, group blocks etc. • Late pick up is the new normal for attendees • Higher level of collaboration is required based on unique needs of attendees and
hoteliers; no cookie cutter solutions • Availability after cut-‐off of dates
Watkins Research Group -‐ Curt Watkins Curt provided survey results and research regarding the perceptions of 837 meeting professionals; all data is proprietary and is not shared in this report
• 40 cities were evaluated • Planners were asked a variety of questions regarding which cities do the best job
delivering what meeting professional most value
Action Items and Recommendations – Baltimore CAB April 2014 • Consider developing a program to connect customers to the kids in Visit Baltimore
Foundation Scholarship program as an optional CSR Component to program. • Ask several CAB members to review digital signage RFP • For BCC, create sub task force
8
• Include Three City messages in all planner communications such as Convention Center billing statements; use all touch points to get the message out
• Consider targeting corporate road shows which travel regionally; could be good potential for Three City Partnership, such as TransAmerica
• Share, rollout, and train sales team regarding Three Cities value proposition • Share Baltimore Convention Center’s No Tipping policy with Planners at Pre-‐Con
meetings • Use the CAB when appropriate to advocate peer to peer with fellow planners and
executive directors to help change perceptions of Baltimore • Share groups’ bandwidth usage information during post con meetings and in post
con reports • Put metrics behind Baltimore’s message regarding convenience; “be precise about
how long it takes to get from A to B” • Ask CAB members to follow Visit Baltimore on Twitter and Like on Facebook • Create more attendee and key stakeholder testimonial videos and use them to
market Baltimore to planners and attendees • Ensure the Synchronicities logo is highlighted in all three ads