Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 46)

MN Webcast Report The ABCs of achieving meetings success with CVBs eyond sending RFPs to hotels, what can convention and visitors bureaus really do for planners? This was the topic tackled during the MeetingNews Webcast “Learn How CVBs Can Make Your Next Meeting a Success: Leverage the Full Extent of Services, Especially in Las Vegas,” held Nov. 28. CVBs—and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) specifically—have proven invaluable to panelist Lisa Shafer. “They save me money, they save me time, and at times they save face for me,” said Shafer, senior director of sales academy operations and corporate events for Matrix Global Academy, a division of L’Oreal. To save on decor costs, Shafer has used the LVCVA to help her track down off-site venues with an interior that is predominantly red—the primary color in the Matrix logo. “This is a better option for me to get a return on my investment,” she explained. Shafer also uses CVBs to help her get a feel for B new and unique venues that she would not otherwise know about. “We never want to bring our attendees back to the same old place,” she said.“[By working with the LVCVA], they get to experience a new Las Vegas every time they return.” But in addition to highlighting great new venues, CVBs are an excellent source for information on what places might have become “too hot” and therefore difficult for your group to book, pointed out Terri Hardin, destinations editor of MN sister publication Successful Meetings magazine. When evaluating CVB recommendations, Hardin noted that it might interest planners to learn whether the bureau is a member or a nonmember bureau, because it could help them weigh the impartiality of the bureau’s suggestions. Shafer has found CVBs to be a source for maps and literature for attendees, as well as a helpful resource for information on whether competitors are in town at the same time as her meeting or whether local festivals or events may impact her group. Hardin hit on the same point, telling the story of a planner who was alerted by the CVB to the fact that her meeting dates coincided with a very popular local festival that attracted out-of-towners who booked most available hotel rooms. The event in question was a pancake festival—something the planner would have had difficulty learning about without the CVB. “We’re much like the Google of Las Vegas,” said Michael Goldsmith, director of convention sales for the LVCVA. “The LVCVA is an information conduit,” he said, in that while it may not have the answer a planner needs, it can direct the planner to that answer. All CVBs function in a similar manner, by putting planners in touch with the right people—and notifying them of pancake festivals, as necessary. H —Kinley Levack PH OT O: © es liti i inc ting ab s. lud cap ting in g Alb ing ee etin ove uque me .org/m rqu nd r 16 on a tsatrip ,000 e is like venti i n no othe hote ww. r. Find out more about our co l room at w s and a nter n SMG-managed convention ce Am ee 20 05 DI AN E KE LS AY ,E GR ET CO MM UN ICA TIO NS http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/events/webcasts.jsp http://www.itsatrip.org/meetings http://www.itsatrip.org/meetings http://www.itsatrip.org/meetings http://www.itsatrip.org/meetings

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - December 17, 2007

Meeting News - December 17, 2007
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Meetings Industry
MN Webcast Report
Successful Meetings University
Malibu Hospitality Safe After Third City Fire
Advertisers Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - December 17, 2007