04/29/2007
Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
Deborah Brown, left, new general manager of the Holiday Inn West Bay, said inquiries for rooms during the National Governors Association conference in July are picking up. Working next to Brown from the left are Cheryl Burley, guest services representative, and front desk supervisor Emily Fox.
A Shot In The Arm?
Local businesses look forward
to financial benefits of conference
By Bill O'Brien
bobrien@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — The telephone already is ringing with inquiries for rooms in mid-July at the Best Western Hotel, where owner Alex Mowczan brims with anticipation over spin-off business he expects from this year's National Governors Association annual meeting.
"We've definitely seen an uptick in pre-reservations,” Mowczan said of his 74-room inn on Munson Avenue in Traverse City. "When you think about how many people are going to be here, it's going to be fantastic.
"It's going to be like our Super Bowl.”
A few miles east along U.S. 31 at the Bayview Inn in Acme, owner Frank Zarafonitis isn't as sure of the economic impact the conference might generate at his popular restaurant and lounge.
"I really don't foresee it being a big shot in the arm for me,” he said. "It's July; we're busy anyway.”
Zarafonitis remembers when the governors' group converged on the area 20 years ago, but doesn't recall it being a significant boost for business. The thing he most remembers is the state widening the road in front of his business to four lanes just before the dignitaries arrived.
"They got that through just before the governors' convention, I remember that,” he said.
Representatives of the Holiday Inn West Bay in Traverse City expect the event will make a difference, based on early inquiries they've received at their 179-room hotel.
"We are getting some calls for the governors' conference,” new general manager Deborah Brown said.
Both Brown and Mowczan said they expect the event to create a ripple effect in the region's accommodation network as major hotels will block off significant space for conference attendees, leaving other summer vacationers or last-minute visitors to seek smaller or more out-of-the-way lodges. Brown also said she expects the conference to generate additional food and beverage sales from people dining out but not necessarily staying at her inn.
"I do feel there will be some overflow,” Brown said.
Wait-and-see
But Dave Jones is taking a wait-and-see approach on how the event might affect business at Grand Traverse Limousine Service.
"I haven't had any kind of a ripple yet, but I imagine there will be some inquiries,” Jones said of his 14-year-old business.
Expectations about the event's financial impact vary around the city, but organizers associated with the two previous meetings estimate close to a combined $10 million in economic windfall from the events, which also served up a national stage to showcase their communities.
Two years ago in Des Moines, Iowa, which outbid Traverse City for that conference, it was a high-profile event as the community rolled out the red carpet to showcase itself as a big-time convention city.
"It was a media frenzy,” said Vicki Comegys, director of sales and services for the Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It really put a spotlight on Des Moines.”
The conference generated an estimated $3 million for Des Moines, home to a population of around 500,000. More importantly, it bolstered the city's image as a convention city that Comegys said continues to produce follow-up interest and business.
"It makes (convention) planners around the country know you're a viable place,” she said.
Last year's conference in South Carolina generated an estimated $5 million to $7 million in economic activity for the Charleston area, estimated Marisa Crawford of the South Carolina's governor's office, the lead state coordinator for the event.
Those estimates are based on computer models of items like conference attendees and room occupancy. Crawford said around 1,500 people, including more than 30 governors, attended.
Crawford said the national conference and ancillary events that included a regional governors' meeting ended up needing almost twice the originally projected number of hotel rooms. But in a city with an estimated 5 million visitors a year, the conference didn't generate a large stir locally.
"I don't know how much of Charleston even knew we were in Charleston,” Crawford said. "We were able to do it and really blend in.”
But even in a bustling city like Charleston, officials said a national political conference sparks wider media coverage and other publicity that exceeds most other types of conventions.
"It gives any (host) community special notoriety,” said Charles Van Rysselberge, president and CEO of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. "We value all of those things.”
Resort is primary host
Most of this year's activities will be centered at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme, the only convention center to host the summer meeting on two different occasions. Preparations have been ongoing for months, resort officials said, as the conference comes on the heels of a three-year renovation effort pegged at around $11 million.
Resort general manager Grant Channing said the final pieces of the resort's face-lift will be completed before the conference, including a $600,000 upgrade to its signature 16th-floor restaurant that will open under a new name next month. The resort's elevators also are being replaced at a cost of $750,000.
The resort will block off all of its 645 rooms and available condominium units for conference attendees, he said, although amenities like the spa and golf course will remain open during the conference for members and the public.
Security checks are being run on resort employees, but most planning details are completed by the event organizers and Channing said resort officials "have no idea” who may attend.
Beyond the tight security planning, Channing expects it will "business as usual” as the resort gears up for the event.
"We're looking forward to it,” he said. "It's a source of pride for us to be able to host an event like this.”
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