Chapter 2

Key players in the Industry

The size of the convention and meetings industry has greatly expanded. At
present, it includes several players. This chapter will introduce these various players
and their roles in the tourism and hospitality industry. These players are the following:

1. Association 6. Tour operators

2. Convention Centers 7. Tradeshows and expositions

3. Conference Centers 8. Hotels

4. Corporate meeting; planners 9. Convention and visitor bureaus

5. Independent meeting planners 10. Incentive Travel

Associations

An association is an organized body that promotes and enhances a common

interest activity or purpose. Modern associations find their roots in historical times.
Roman and Oriental crafts-men in ancient times formed associations for the
improvement of their trade. In the Middle Ages, associations were in the form of
guilds which were organized to obtain proper wages and to maintain work standards.

Associations are classified into two main categories-trade associations and

professional associations. Both are organized for the betterment of their members. The
main activity for both types of associations is to gather and exchange information
through publications, educational seminars, newsletters and meetings.

Trade associations are non-profit organizations whose aim is to meet the needs
of for-profit businesses. The members of these associations are business firms that
generally share a com-mon interest. An example is the Professional Convention
Management Association (PCMA) which brings together people who are interested in
the convention and meetings industry.
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 Professional associations are non-profit organizations that are not involved
with business firms. They are organized to as-sist individuals in the pursuit of their
common goals and interests. Professional associations are classified into three main
categories. The first category represents those with common personal interests such as
the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The second category includes
scientific, engineering and learned societies such as the Council on Hotel, Restaurant
and Institutional Education (CHRIE). The third category is dedicated to religious,
charitable, public service such as the American Heart Association.

Convention Centers

A comprehensive convention center is a public assembly facility which is

designed to host meetings and exhibits under one roof. It has also provision for
banquet, food and beverage and concession service. Most convention centers are
owned by city, country or state government and are operated by a designated board or
authority. The Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) is an example of
such facility. Other examples are the Jacob K. Davits Convention Center in New York
City and the Anaheim Convention Center in California. In some cases, these public
owned facilities may be operated by privately owned management companies.
Convention centers offer large, flexible spaces to host trade shows and smaller rooms
for banquets, meetings and association parties. In general, the convention and visitor’s
bureau help market the convention center. Historically, convention centers were
established to service the community but recent trends show that there is increasing
pressure for convention centers to be profit centers. Majority of these centers generate
revenue through rental fees of exhibition and meeting room space. Other revenue
sources include food and beverage catering, concessions and vending. Convention
centers have begun to offer specialized services to the exhibitors who participate in
shows held in the facility. The most common income generating services are
electrical, telephone, stage construction, lighting, plumbing, air and sound.

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Conference Centers

A conference center is a specialized hospitality operation which aims to

facilitate and support small to medium size meetings of 20 to 50 people. Conference
centers are different from convention centers because majority of conference centers
pro-vide overnight accommodations for their participants. The guests at a conference
center do not need to leave the center during the entire duration of their conference
because all their needs such as meals, accommodations and leisure activities will be
pro-vided by the conference center. The conference center was established to meet the
growing demand for specialized meetings. The designs of the conference center
emphasize comfort and privacy for the attendees.

A unique characteristic of a conference center is that it pro-vides continuous

refreshment throughout the meeting thus al-lowing the attendees to take a break
whenever they feel like doing so. Another unique feature of a conference center is that
it charges only one price that includes meals, room rates, meeting rooms, audiovisual
equipment, coffee breaks and paper supplies needed .by the participants.

Tour Operator

Tour operators play an important role in the convention and meetings industry.
They work with meeting planners in arranging tours and activities for meeting
attendees and their families who combine business with pleasure. Most often
convention delegates stay in the convention city for a few days after the convention to
relax, to sight see or to enjoy the entertainment in the city. Tour operators often create
tour packages for the spouse, guest, or children of the attendees. Thus, while the
participants attend their meetings, their spouses and guests may be brought to a local
museum or art gallery while the children may be brought to a theme park or a zoo.

The convention delegates usually receive information about the tours several
weeks before the convention. Since there is a growing trend for meeting attendees to

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bring their families with them, the job of the tour operator is becoming more important
in the meeting industry.

Trade Shows and Expositions

Trade shows, expositions and scientific/technical conferences are terms that

are used interchangeably in the conference and meetings industry. Exhibition was
historically a European term. As we become more global, Americans have adopted the
term to refer to traveling shows such as art exhibitions. According to the CLC
glossary, expositions are public shows. Historically, trade shows are private shows
which are open only to those involved in the industry. Although some trade shows
open themselves to the public only on their final days, majority are still private.

All these terms describe an activity which aims to represent a major industry
marketing event. Trade shows provide a venue in which individuals associated with a
particular industry can bring their products and exhibit them together. The forum
allows the attendees and exhibitors to exchange information about their products. For
example, an annual trade show is sponsored by the American Hotel and Motel
Association every November in New York City. This trade show brings together all
the suppliers associated with the hotel and motel industry.

Trade shows have a very interesting history, according to Evan St. Lifer, trade
shows or expositions started when caravans crossing the desert would meet and
exchange products. In the United States of America, the history of trade shows dates
back to 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell showed his telephone at the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition, a show celebrating America's first 100 years.

With the advent of the industrial era, marketing of products became very
important. Salesmen spent most of their time on the road selling their products. Since
it was impractical to call on customers individually, salesmen began to rent hotel
rooms to display their wares. They invited their customers to look at their display.
This practice was beneficial to individual companies.

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 As the trade show industry expanded, hotels became insufficient to use. By the
mid-1920's, hardworking individuals developed an exhibit hall in which large groups
of exhibitors who shared a common product showcased their wares together. This
gave the trade show a new look. Clients were no longer crowded in small hotel rooms
and not allowed to leave the room until they placed their orders. In exhibit halls,
clients were allowed to roam freely from one booth to another.

At present, the trade show industry is the most exciting, dynamic and
economical means for marketing individuals to achieve their sales goals. Because of
the great number of attendees in trade shows, cities are now competing for the trade
show business. There are several key players within the trade show industry. These
include trade show sponsors, exposition or show man-agers and service contractors.

Trade show sponsors are trade or professional associations who use the trade
show as an important part of their meetings or conventions to generate revenue. For
example, the National Restaurant Association is the sponsor for the NRA trade show
which is held in Chicago every May of the year. The exposition or show manager is
responsible for all aspects of the trade show. The service contractors are individuals
responsible for providing all the services needed to run the facilities for a trade show.
A general service contractor is multi-talented, creative and equipped to serve all
exhibit requirements.

Hotels

Hotels play an important role in the conventions and meetings industry. Hotels
provide comfortable overnight accommodations for out-of-town guests for a meeting.,
convention or trade show. In addition, many hotels provide meeting rooms,
convention facilities and small exposition halls for meetings and conventions.
Meetings and conventions have become a major source of revenue for many hotels.
This revenue is generated through the rental of sleeping rooms, food and beverage as
well as rental of meeting space.

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 The most important person in a hotel is the convention service manager. He
acts as a liaison between the meeting planner and the hotel. This position has increased
the marketability of hotels as convention sites since the primary aim of the convention
service manager is to service the meeting or convention. Meeting planners need not
deal with different department heads within the hotel. The convention service manager
can help them with all their needs.

Convention and Visitors Bureau

A convention and visitors bureau is a non-profitable organization designed to

solicit visitors and conventions to a community. Majority are privately owned
although some are housed within the state government. They are funded through the
hotel accommodations tax. The convention and visitors bureau coordinates all
activities of meetings and conventions. These include marketing the destination,
providing information about possible host facilities, coordinating familiarization tours
for meeting planners and association executives and acting as liaison between the
group and several suppliers within the community.

Incentive Travel

Incentive travel plays an important role in the tourism industry. Many

companies provide some form of incentives to their sales and marketing personnel.
Travel is sometimes used as an option in incentive programs. The incentive program
consists of a contest with a prize or reward designed to increase sales, improve morale,
increase productivity and enhance quality ser-vice. The contest lasts from a few
months to one year. Prizes awarded show the level of attainment achieved during the
con-test. Prizes may consist of money, merchandise or travel. Travel awards are the
most beneficial to a company. Approximately $5 billion is spent annually on incentive
travel. The average expenditure per person is more than $2,500; the average length of
stay is at least five nights and the average number of participants is 140. It is not
surprising that convention and visitor bureaus are interested in addressing this market
segment because their expenditures are greater than those of individual visitors. In
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addition, incentive groups represent the corporation's elite who have a great influence
on other corporate business.

Understanding the nature of the incentive travel market is necessary for a

convention and visitor bureau. When a convention and visitor bureau undertakes a
marketing strategy for the market segment, it is essential to identify first the
companies or incentive houses that include travel among their incentives; corporations
that promote their own incentive programs and travel agents who are involved in
incentive efforts. It is important that the bureau develop rapport with professional
incentive houses to make them knowledgeable about a destination and its potential for
incentive travel. A bureau will need to know about the kinds of incentives planned by
the incentive house, the history of its incentive endeavors including successes and
failures, the back-ground of incentive planners and why a group is going to a
particular destination.

In turn, the incentive planner is looking or a partnership with the bureau that
will include open communications and trust. The incentive planner is looking for
destinations that are accessible, exciting and promotable over a period of time.
Whatever marketing strategy is chosen by the bureau, is important that a high level of
communication between the incentive planner and the bureau is developed and
executed effectively. Each convention and visitor bureau needs to assess its travel
product and destination to determine the degree of involvement and commitment it
wishes to make to incentive travel.

Estimates place the world-wide incentive travel market in excess of $16

billion. Over the past years, incentive travel experienced an average 16% growth rate.
North America accounts for about one half of the volume while Europe accounts for
nearly 40%e More than 11 million people world-wide are involved in incentive travel
every year.

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 Because of the competitive nature of business and the growing expectations for
quality and service, it is anticipated that corporations will continue to recognize their
employees for outstanding performance through the use of incentive travel programs.

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