CVB Head Promises Better Service

<B>CVB Head Promises Better Service</B>

By Robert Curley

Chicago's Convention and Tourism Bureau has taken on a new role in helping to promote leisure travel, but that doesn't mean the agency or the city is paying less attention to business travelers. In fact, quite the opposite is true, said bureau CEO Jim Reilly.

The CCTB's recent leisure travel partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism is linked directly to the city's success in attracting big trade shows and conventions, said Reilly.

Chicago has seen a boom in hotel construction to serve the expanded and improved conference facilities at McCormick Place and Navy Pier. On non-meeting nights, however, many hotel rooms in the city are unoccupied. Local hospitality officials are looking to the leisure market to fill that gap.

"I do think it's time for Chicago to walk on both legs," Reilly said. Business travelers indirectly benefit from Chicago's improved tourist offerings, such as the revitalized Navy Pier attractions and the city's downtown waterfront museum campus, home of the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History and the Adler Planetarium, he added.

Business travelers on a budget also will appreciate the city's efforts to attract more moderately priced hotels in order to appeal to family travelers. "We need some hotels that can make money at $100-$120 per night; we don't have many of those," noted Reilly.

Hotel construction in the city, though, continues to boom: Downtown room capacity increased 4.2 percent last year, and plans are on the boards for about 3,000 additional rooms to be built in the next few years.

Park Hyatt recently opened a flagship 203-room hotel in Chicago, and a new Le Meridien hotel is slated to open next April on Michigan Avenue.

The Adam's Mark chain also is seeking final approval for a 1,600-room convention hotel proposed for Illinois Street and Columbia Drive, further expanding the city's inventory of luxury properties.

The CCTB, meanwhile, continues to devote the bulk of its time and energy to serving business travelers, particularly those attending meetings, trade shows and conventions, said Reilly.

A few years ago, the American Society of Radiologists and the annual International Housewares Show--groups with long-time ties to the city--threatened to move their meetings elsewhere because of high labor and transportation costs.

Reilly said the incident--ultimately defused through a union agreement and cost-sharing and infrastructure improvements at McCormick Place--was a wake-up call for the city's hospitality industry.

"For years, Chicago had done well with business travelers and trade shows, and we took it for granted," Reilly said.

To sustain and expand upon the goodwill engendered by the agreements, the CCTB, the Chicago Office of Tourism and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority last year teamed up to launch a citywide campaign, "We're Glad You're Here," to welcome and acknowledge meeting attendees.

Reilly also would like the local hospitality industry to collaborate on a citywide training program to improve the Chicago experience as delivered by front-line staff--restaurant waiters and hotel bellhops and concierges, for instance. He pointed out that the city of London and its hotels already have such a training program in place.

"The challenge is to provide more and more services," he said. "There are a lot of cities with a lot of business travelers, and this is how you differentiate yourself from similar products."

To keep pace with demand for meeting space, Reilly sees a need for another expansion of McCormick Place.