Convention and Visitors Bureaus are an asset to any company or event planner looking to hold a conference. Check out this great article detailing some of the benefits from American Meetings Inc. Do you know of any benefits not featured here? Please comment below and let us know!
The Benefits of Using a CVB
Tuesday February 17, 2015
As a planner, I have always thought it was easier to just contact
the properties directly when placing a program. I am pretty confident
with my relationships with global sales teams and specific hotel groups
and I could always count on them to get me the information I needed
quickly for a client. That said, I never really included the CVB
contacts on RFP requests that went out. It wasn’t until well into my
career that I finally realized I was missing out on many great benefits
that CVB’s have to offer including assistance with travel and airport
arrivals, airport signage, area discounts, client gifts, access to
venues and activities, assistance with site visits…the list goes on and
on! Just Google CVB and look at all of the destinations that offer
these free services (note the photo above).
Take a look at ten reasons to reach out to CVB’s when placing meetings according to MeetingSource.com.
Here are ten reasons to call the area’s CVB first:
1) Collecting and keeping updated information on a city’s venues, opportunities and activities is the job of the CVB’s.
2) They can truly give personal
advice. The people who work at CVB’s are usually longtime residents of
the city or have become experts concerning city facilities. These people
not only know the best restaurants, museums and entertainment, but have
probably eaten at these restaurants, visited the museums and taken
advantage of entertainment their city has to offer.
3) The CVB might also be able to
advise about conflicts that might occur such as other conventions, city
construction or city events. With the CVB as a first source of such
information, headaches can be avoided both for the planner and the
convention attendees.
4) They can be an accurate lens when researching new markets for conventions and for matching groups to that market.
5) CVB’s can often get the best
deals or can alert a planner to special services provided by venues in
the city. They can also arrange group tours to historical or other
attractions.
6) Think of using CVB’s as gaining a
partner when planning. This partner can complement your work in
organizing events and the bigger the project, the more reason to
collaborate with a CVB.
7) A large city like Chicago has a
website specifically designed to help in the initial phases as well as
the on-going work of the meeting planner.
8) They have the “inside”
information. When planning a convention three years out or more, the CVB
is more likely to know if the city has not approved of a new hotel
conversion or street renewal.
9) They’ll help you promote your
event – in the media and to your attendees. The materials that they
provide will supplement you own registration materials.
10) It’s free! Convention and
Visitors Bureaus are supported by their cities or in some cases
membership fees; as a meeting planner, their materials, staff work and
enthusiasm for your event is offered without charge.
Finding a CVB is easy. MeetingSource.com, a leading meeting site directory, lists almost 500 in its section for destinations: http://www.meetingsource.com/Featured_Destinations.asp.
Original source: http://americanmeetings.com/the-benefits-of-using-a-cvb/
