CHICAGO — Where an event takes place is as important a consideration as the show’s marketing, content and onsite execution. Attendees and exhibitors experience events in the context of the destination they’re in, and the considerations for site selection reflect the importance of place.
In an effort to understand the ins and outs of the typical site selection process, Trade Show Executive connected with industry professionals across housing partners and DMOs to learn more.
Venue Sourcing
When it comes to venue sourcing and identifying what facilities and properties work best for your event, Nancy Hallberg, Co-Founder of Connections Housing, shared the following considerations:
- Assessing your actual needs versus your “wish list”
- Assessing staying in one place year after year or rotating sites
- Considering the time of year and arrival/departure patterns to take advantage of lower pricing and better availability
- Determine the attendee appetite for each city/destination depending on the time of year the event takes place during
Organizers should also be aware of development and construction plans at any facilities they are looking to host an event in, either currently going on or planned for the future.
Planners and organizers can keep track of what venues are undergoing and considering construction in North America with the bi-annual TSE Pardon Our Dust reports, with the next edition coming out on October 1.
Another venue sourcing pro-tip is to make sure you visit the space and team you’ll be working with in-person before making commitments.
“While pictures are great, meeting with the people and physically seeing the space are much better in terms of understanding” how your event will be executed, said Nathan Tollett, Senior Vice President, Sales and Client Services at Houston First Corporation.
Tollett said clients looking to get the most from their event experience should aim to invest in a site visit that allows them to fully engage with the people who will be their partners in the execution. And they should be extremely thorough in their pre-planning and questions for the venue team.
“Adjustments can be made onsite, but not fundamental changes,” Tollett said. “You can tweak and move certain things around, but fundamentally resetting the stage or redesigning the hall doesn’t occur onsite.”
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Hotel Blocks
Another key aspect to site selection is determining what hotel blocks will be available for your attendees and other visitors for the event.
Attendance can be impacted by the hotel’s pricing and the different resort/destination fees and hotel taxes they will have to pay.
Organizers should also be aware of and consider the impacts caused by any overlapping events.
“Planners do not want attendees to leave the event or show floor to attend another event, especially in the evening when it could interfere with networking events,” Hallberg said. “Other events, perhaps planned farther in advance, use hotel rooms that cause compression in the city and push the rates up, while other events also can take up inventory a planner needs for their attendees. This can sometimes shut out premium hotels from a show’s block.”
Hallberg also advises organizers to understand the booking strategies for their international attendees if the event has a heavy international component.
“Many international travelers book guestrooms through their own travel consortiums, especially when visas are required. These travel agents work with their own suppliers so many times they do not book in the block,” Hallberg said. “This is especially true with exhibitors that bring multiple people to an event. Travel agents can tie airfare, hotels, transportation, per diems (packaging meals with their hotels), etc., and often prepay for groups. If a show controls a strong inventory of desirable rooms, it has a stronger chance that the travel agent will turn to the show for hotel rooms to package for their travelers.”
A blog from OnPeak also notes the importance of selecting accommodations that feature a mix of brands, service levels and price points, as variety and flexibility are as important as volume.
Airlift Analysis
For analyzing how your attendees will get to your event, planners can assess what the fly-in versus drive-in addressable markets are. Another consideration is how easy the travel day is for those crossing long distances to attend.
According to OnPeak: “A destination with strong airlift removes friction, improves accessibility and supports strong turnout.”
The blog says that airlift considerations like direct flights, major hubs and reliable connections can influence:
- Travel time
- Total costs
- Attendee willingness to register
- Exhibitor logistics
City Incentives
During the site selection process, incentives provided by the city could have an impact on final decisions.
“Depending on the size and uniqueness of the group, subsidies can play a big role; other times, not,” said Tollett. “Some groups can’t accept subsidies, or they don’t want to. But there are other ways we can provide support.”
One such lever that events can lean on is intellectual capital. In cities with specialized industries, events focused on those sectors can call upon the destination to help source speakers, experts and attendees.
“Intellectual capital is a big thing for Houston,” Tollett said. “For example, if an event focuses on life sciences, we have the largest medical center in the world here in Houston. Through our contacts with the hospitals and institutions, we can help identify local speakers that align with their specialty tracks.”
Labor Considerations
Another aspect to consider during the site selection process is the labor rules in the host city. Some of the greatest line items to exhibitors come from the labor required to execute their booths, and some cities offer more flexibility in who can do what work than others.
“Texas is a right-to-work-state; and we have great relationships with the union labor that assist all of our trade shows, from decorators to carpenters to IATSE,” Tollett said. “They want the same thing we want: to get the show open, to make it look amazing and to be ready to tear it down and build the next one. Being in Texas, there are certain things that are easier to get accomplished here than some other cities and states dealing with unique labor restrictions.”
Contract Negotiations
In the contract negotiation part of site selection, it’s important for organizers to assess what can be included in the negotiation from the start, like Wi-Fi or AV pricing. Hallberg also notes to go into discussions understanding what the food and beverage minimums are at the convention center versus the requirements at the host hotel.
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