Convential Wisdom

You know the drill: you fly into town to meet a few hundred of your closest colleagues. Lugging a carry-on bag and titanium-shafted Pings, you catch a limo to the hotel, check in and turn on the closed circuit TV to see the updated agenda. You call downstairs to see if a buddy or two has checked in yet, and then make a pass through the cocktail lounge. You work the room before drifting over to the pro shop to schedule a tee-time during tomorrow's human resources update seminar. After all, in the right foursome, the front nine is more productive than a dozen role-playing sessions. Later, at the kick-off dinner, you fill out the foursome with two big customers and the new divisional VP. It's going to be a good trip.

It's conventioneering. For you, it may be a mixture of business and pleasure, but for the people who brought you there, behind their smiles and welcomes, the bon homie and brouhaha, it's all serious. For them, seeing you there is the result of a years-long mixture of politics, marketing, engineering and cajolery.

So enjoy yourself, because every day that you're conventioneering, hundreds of locals are benefiting... maybe even as much as you.

A Big Green Money Machine

"Convention business is big business for the area," says Joan Jenkins, director of sales and marketing for Fort Myers Conference and Convention Council. Her organization sells the Harborside Convention Hall and the Fort Myers Exhibition Hall. She feels that in addition to the direct benefit of hotel nights, restaurant meals and airline bookings, convention business exposes Southwest Florida to individuals and businesses that may then be predisposed to relocating here. "It feeds the area and continues to make it grow."

The direct immediate benefit cannot be minimized, though. According to a recent study done by the International Association of Conference Centers and Successful Meetings Inc., a typical conventioneer spends an average of nearly $1200 for a four-day, three-night affair on room, board, transportation and entertainment.

This means that, if typical, the recent convention for The National Shrine Directors Association, attended by 2000 people, pumped about $2.4 million into this region's economy in just a few days. Because the money turns over in the community about three times, in the form of re-spent salaries, wholesale supplies and capital repayment, that particular convention was responsible for a nearly $7.5 million economic impact.

"It was great," Jenkins understates, "because it brought people in from all over the country, filled up hotel rooms far over what we had in the city and extended all the way out into the county."

The Shrine Directors' convention is not typical of the 200 to 225 events that Jenkins books into her facilities. By all standards, it is a large coup. The group of 250 attendees at this year's National Watchable Wildlife Conference is more the norm. But Jenkins pushes the residual benefit of the Wildlife Conference and other similar meetings. "It's a major deal," she says, "because it showcases all the natural ecotourism attractions we have here." Jenkins emphasizes that it and others are prestigious organizations, opinion leaders who will influence others to come here on their own.

Lucie Manley is the director of marketing for the Marco Island Marriott Resort and Golf Club, a popular destination for conventioneers throughout the country. Although she will not reveal the dollar amount of how much convention business the Marriott does, she says "55 percent of our business is convention business." She wants to grow it to 60 percent.

Elaine McLaughlin, executive director of Lee Island Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau, thinks such growth is likely. "It's happening," she says. "The bottom line for success is our community's ability to grow occupancy particularly during off season, increase room rates while, at the same time, adding new hotel rooms at the rate of 5 to 10 percent a year." She goes on to list the consistent increases in tourism tax revenues and tourism jobs as direct evidence, and the addition of more flights and larger planes into the airport as indirect indicators of continued success.

Not Just Another Pretty Place

Convention business does not just happen. Dozens of conferences at which meeting planners are pitched hundreds of "perfect" locales -- from Aruba to Zanzibar -- make getting convention business a sophisticated process.

Tracy Dunaway is sales manager for Visit Florida, a public/private partnership between the State of Florida and its tourism professionals. "We are involved in various associations and attend various national shows," she says, "and we put together our own programs and bring in representatives from the travel industry." At these shows, Visit Florida is a sort of super host with its own promotional space. Within this space are booths staffed by people from areas, facilities and attractions throughout Florida.

Surrounding Visit Florida's space are spaces occupied by other states, countries and by facilities large enough to compete on their own. Tourism industry professionals -- meeting planners, tour organizers, travel agents and others -- walk from space to space looking for the best destinations to recommend to their customers.

These shows are all different sizes, Dunaway says. "The largest is ITME [International Travel and Meeting Executives] where this year we had 48 Florida booths." Other shows may be smaller, but even these are attended by anywhere from 25 to 45 Florida suppliers.

Additionally, Visit Florida produces mini-trade shows in major markets focused around breakfasts or luncheons to which the same travel professionals are invited. These showcase just Florida, "so the planners who attend are really interested in bringing their meetings to Florida," she says.

"Southwest Florida is very well represented at the shows we do," Dunaway adds.

If You Can't Stand The Heat .

Presence at shows is critical, but not enough by itself. "It's very competitive against all the other locations in the world," Dunaway emphasizes. "Competitively, they [planners] are looking at rates and the season. There is an impression among some meeting planners that Florida is warm during the summer," she chuckles. "I don't think so."

McLaughlin doesn't mention the heat. "I firmly believe we have a unique Florida product," she says, and lists the Gulf, the hundreds of islands and the 50-miles of sandy beach as a natural restful experience unlike the rest of the state. "We don't try to compete with Miami or the theme parks. We see ourselves as having a different position in the market."

The Marriott's Manley is not convinced, though, enough is being done to get the message out, particularly in her area, Collier County. "Our budget [from the county commission] for this past year is $478,000." According to Manley, Puerto Rico spent $17 million. "You can't compare Marco