Convention
push onHawaii set to follow up
leads from a conference
of association leaders
A key convention of association decision-makers wrapped up last night with a Kool & The Gang concert at the Waikiki Shell, but the process of generating more business for the $350 million Hawaii Convention Center is only beginning, and will intensify in the coming weeks.
"There's a flurry of activity that will happen in the next 45 days," said Randy Tanaka, director of sales and marketing for the center. The American Society of Association Executives yesterday finished its four-day meeting at the convention center, which attracted 4,100 participants, including attendees and vendors.
Red Cavaney, outgoing chairman of the society and chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute, gave Hawaii an A-plus for the meeting. This is the society's first stay at the convention center, which opened in 1998.
Even though attendance was smaller than usual, exhibitors found a high quality of traffic at their booths, Cavaney said. The 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall was large and flexible, and the center's staff hustled to find seating for people. Also, "the weather was just a big, big plus," Cavaney said. "We got extraordinary feedback."
The state had committed to spending between $1.4 million and $1.6 million to make the event come off well, including registration promotion, free rent at the convention center and special events. A couple months ago, the state feared the event would snag lower attendance of 2,500 people, but a registration blitz brought the count up to 3,500, then a flurry of on-site registration brought another 600 people.
Officials suspect that a greater-than-usual percentage of visitors are staying longer than the actual conference, though some family members have had to return home for children who are starting the school year.
ASAE, which represents 10,000 other associations, is seen as a key organization to have a happy annual meeting. It says one in five of its delegates to an annual meeting will book their own organization's convention in the same city within five years.
The convention center is in need of more business for 2005 through 2010, and the sales staff is facing a booking window that is already closing, according to a recent report to the state Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Joe Davis, general manager of the convention center, said he sees no reason Hawaii can't follow that trend. "The mood is so positive as a result of the meeting being held here in Hawaii," he said.
The convention center's marketers will spend the next 15 days digesting sales leads, then conduct a debriefing, Tanaka said. Direct mail will go out within 30 to 45 days to registered attendees who have gone home, with phone calls to follow. Then the job requires staying on top of leads, Tanaka said.
So far, at least one customer has booked a future event. The nonprofit National Wood Flooring Association, based in Chesterfield, Miss., has asked for a contract to bring 2,000 people here for an April 2005 convention, Tanaka said. Between eight and 10 ASAE-member groups came to Hawaii to decide whether to book a convention.
