A Treasure Hunt through the CVB

The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is a great resource in most cities to find interesting information about the area where you are traveling or hosting a meeting. Most planners reach out to the CVB for vague marketing tools such as area maps, restaurant guides, tour information, promotional items/photos, etc., but now is the time to encourage them to do more to promote their city as a viable destination for groups.

Because travel budgets are shrinking (and in some cases non-existent), prospective attendees need our help to justify their travel expenses to their bosses, and in some cases themselves. Recently, I've been working closely with the CVB to advocate for significant discounts from local businesses, especially restaurants, for my groups. A personalized flyer or coupons from the CVB can be posted on your organization's website or sent as a conference marketing piece to advertise these cost savings. By doing so, attendees can then easily calculate how much they will need to spend (or not spend) on things like meals and cab fare.

Over the next few years, the bottom line on what it will cost to participate in a meeting will be even more critical than in times past. If local discounts of 20% or 30% shave a few hundred dollars off the overall travel expense, it could have a significant impact on your registration numbers. When "every little bit helps," encourage the CVB of your meeting destination to dig deep to make travel to their city and your meeting attractive AND affordable.