Editor’s note: This interview focuses on a recent report Fenich delivered to the Greater Hartford Convention Visitors Bureau.
Your report paints a fairly blah picture of Greater Hartford as a convention site. It seems as if in a host of criteria (total hotel rooms, convention center size, restaurants) we score near the middle of approximately 140 municipal areas. How do we overcome this to become a more attractive convention destination?
The list of 20 attractors is based on previous research studies and the output of mathematical correlations between convention business and the attractor variables. If I was studying leisure travel, the list of attractors would be somewhat different and would certainly be in different order.
You are correct that Hartford ‘ranks’ above the middle of those cities I studied. However, you need to keep in mind that my research is of the “convention market” not all cities in the United States. In order to be one of these cities, the destination must have a stand alone, publicly owned, convention center. Thus, I am looking at the “most attractive” cities in the country. Given that there are at least 500 cities in the U.S. or more, and Hartford ranks 66 out of the 150 cities I studied, then one can extrapolate that Hartford is actually 66 out of 500 (or better) – one of the more attractive cities in the country.
You should really focus more on the strengths and weaknesses in Hartford than the rank. The destination has relative strengths in highway access, arts and culture activities, shopping opportunities, air service, quality and price of restaurant meals and total exhibit space. Some of the weaknesses are beyond control such as growth and climate.
Thus, the marketing adage should be embraced: Play up the strengths and play down the weaknesses.
Hartford can’t even win when it comes to the weather. We’re ranked 139 out of 140. Most conventions are indoor events. Why is weather so important to people attending conventions?
Convention and meeting attendees do more than sit in meetings (witness the size of the meetings industry in Las Vegas and Orlando). They participate in activities, go out to eat, go to ball games, play golf, etc. Warm weather is conducive to such activities. As a panelist at the current Professional Convention Management Association convention stated, “Attendees are looking for activities in a destination and not just the content of the meeting.”
Yet in shopping, we’re ranked in the top third. What makes us so appealing? It’s not like we have a Fifth Avenue or Mall of the Americas.
The analysis is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. It produces indices of business activities in a plethora of industries, including “retail.” The ranking for Hartford is based on that data. Keep in mind that all of the metrics are for the Hartford MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) that includes Hartford, East Hartford and West Hartford.
What is going to make Greater Hartford more competitive as a convention destination – and is it an investment we need to make? Is there anything wrong with just being average when it comes to the convention business?
While Hartford may lie in the middle of the convention market pack in terms of attractiveness, that pack includes the most attractive U.S. cities. Every destination needs to market itself to groups whose wants and needs can be met in this destination. Not every group wants to go to Las Vegas or Chicago. Hartford is well positioned to attract the regional or drive-in convention business, given its location in the middle of a dense population, good highway access, good room availability, and good pricing on food. Further, the convention market is much more lucrative based on daily spending than either the business or leisure market.
We have a room occupancy rate of 58 percent. Do hoteliers want more rooms built? Is it like McDonalds and Burger King? Does building more mean more business for everybody?
Hartford is somewhat underserved in terms of hotel room inventory, especially convention hotel rooms. Building more may mean more business in terms of units sold in the city. However, if there is more inventory, then room rates … may go down due to supply and demand.Â
How does a convention and visitors bureau make its restaurants better? Hartford’s numbers are well below the median for competitive cities. Have conventions been lost because of sub-standard cuisine offerings?
I did not analyze business lost. Of the three metrics that deal with restaurants, two are better than the Hartford mean and only one is worse. Again, play up the strengths and play down the weaknesses when marketing the destination.
