Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/244474
•pg_54-67__BMT_pg3-58 1/8/14 9:36 PM Page 65 T R AV E L DATA PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU AND PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER SECURED MORE THAN 735,000 HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS FOR FUTURE YEARS IN FISCAL YEAR 2013 Convention Center Continues To Boost Local Economy Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) announced recently that it has secured a total of 735,511 hotel room nights for future years. Of these future bookings, 47 percent will fall between 2013-2016 and 73 percent will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC). More than half of the room nights – 61 percent, will fall during Philadelphia's hotel need period defined as holidays, the first quarter of the fiscal year, and the summer. These bookings directly impact hotels, restaurants and retail who have reported an increase in meetings and convention related business since the expansion of the Center in 2011. Some of the top upcoming booked conventions include: East Coast Volleyball, a repeat booking that falls over the Easter holiday which is traditionally a need period for hotels; the American Society of Anesthesiologists, who could not meet in Philadelphia without the expansion of the Convention Center and who have signed a multi-year deal; the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, Inc; the American Academy of Family Physicians, who successfully met in Philadelphia in 2012; as well as re-bookings by the American Dental Association and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, for a combined economic impact of more than $304 million for future years. "We are optimistic that we will be able to leverage the strengths of new professional management firm SMG( at the Convention Center, to book more business moving forward," said Jack Ferguson, PHLCVB President & CEO. "The meetings & conventions industry is the major driver of our local hospitality economy, impacting demand for hotel rooms and retail business. It represented 36 percent of hotel demand in 2012, followed by the commercial traveler segment as the second highest at 32 percent." Capitalizing on the momentum of the SMG announcement, the PHLCVB, PCC and SMG teams have scheduled sales missions to key markets planned in the coming months. The sales missions will The enable the teams to meet with customers face-to-face to communicate the positive changes taking place in Philadelphia. "Convention & tradeshow groups that book at the Center create compression for downtown Philadelphia positively impacting occupancy and revenues in our hotels in the future," said Jim Gratton, Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association president. "We know that 2014 through 2016 are challenging years and delivering positive customer experiences in the Center are critical to our future." In addition to driving hotel revenue, convention attendees inject millions of dollars into local Philadelphia businesses. Reading Terminal Market is one of many local businesses that feel the effects of events at the Center. In a survey of Philadelphia area businesses conducted by the PHLCVB last spring, 46% of respondents (PHLCVB members) indicated that meetings and conventions contributed to more than half of their business. "Reading Terminal Market's location directly across from the Convention Center has been a cornerstone of the Market's success for the past two decades," said Paul Steinke, Reading Terminal Market GM. "The opportunity to serve such a diverse and changing clientele throughout the year helps to strengthen our locally owned and operated merchant stores, while also conveying an incomparable sense of Philadelphia food culture to visitors from across the nation and around the world." The ancillary effects of the Convention Center are not confined to the Convention Center District, with the McGillin's Olde Ale House, Philadelphia's oldest continuously operating tavern, also reporting an impact from activity at the Center. "When the groups are the right demographics for McGillin's we see a lot of traffic from convention attendees for lunch, dinner, late night and karaoke as well as for events in our second floor private room," said Christopher Mullins Jr., whose family has owned the tavern for more than 5 decades. "We're happy to run specials for convention attendees. When the Convention Center isn't full, we feel that too." B M & T ••• November/December 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 65