Convention center uses
free rent to snag business

With a plethora of new convention centers and meeting destinations flooding an already competitive market around the nation, the Hawaii Convention Center had to find a way to stay ahead of the game. It took a gamble.

During the Professional Convention Management Association's 48th Annual Meeting in Indianapolis last year, SMG Hawaii unveiled its "Bodacious Offer," a promotion inviting the group's delegates to Hawaii and offering an incentive: free rent to delegates who book an event at the center between 2005 and 2010.

"We raised some eyebrows when we unveiled our 'Bodacious Offer' in Indianapolis," said Joe Davis, general manager of the Hawaii Convention Center.

The association, which is made up of more than 5,000 members, is one of the most powerful organizations that make up the $100 billion meetings and convention industry, said Randy Tanaka, director of sales and marketing at the convention center. The groups represented by PCMA book more than 300,000 meetings a year and the events sponsored by them account for nearly 70 percent of the total spending of the conventions, meetings and expositions industry.

Hawaii's gamble appears to be paying off. By yesterday, the start of PCMA's annual meeting in Hawaii, SMG Hawaii had already secured leads for about half its annual booking requirement. In 2004, SMG booked 39 out-of-state conventions for the $350 million center.

The arrival of more than 2,600 meeting planners and suppliers for the convention management association's meeting is expected to give Hawaii the booking advantage it needs in the coming years, Davis said.

SMG Hawaii secured four events and expects to confirm another 11 by the end of the meeting tomorrow. The four confirmed events are expected to net $48.9 million in visitor spending and $3.8 million in taxes, Davis said.

If all 15 sign, the event and the free rent will have generated a possible $209 million in visitor spending and $17 million in taxes, Davis said.

"This meeting is not the end of our efforts with PCMA; it's the beginning," Tanaka said, adding that SMG Hawaii will aggressively market to PCMA meeting and event planners long after the meeting is over.

While PCMA could not say exactly how many bookings the Hawaii event could generate, the impact is tremendous, said David Kushner, PCMA's president and chief executive officer.

Tourism industry officials in Anaheim, Calif., have told PCMA that as a result of hosting the group they anticipate $4 billion worth of business there in the next decade, he said.

Hawaii's "Bodacious Offer," which is starting to be copied by other destinations, is sure to net plenty of business, too, Kushner said.

"It was a brilliant offer," he said. Kushner noted that delegates will bring family and friends with them to their meetings. "The return to the community far exceeds the cost to the center because of the huge ripple effect."

The offer was the push the National Association of College Auxiliary Services needed to book Hawaii, said Abigail L. Sipe, the director of events and regional services for NACAS.

"The convention center is basically offering us $120,000 worth of free rent," Sipe said. "We couldn't pass it up."

Also, the offer convinced members of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, who held their 2002 meeting in Hawaii, to come back, said Robert A. Hall, executive director.

"It exceeded what any other destination was willing to do," Hall said, adding that choosing Hawaii saved his organization $180,000 in rent.