Local DMC, Mainland Housing Firm Form Joint Venture
MEETINGS TODAY
<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>Local DMC, Mainland Housing Firm Form Joint Venture</B>
By Maria Lenhart
A Honolulu-based destination management company and a San Francisco-based convention housing/registration company have teamed up to form Hawaii Convention Connection, a new venture that provides a full range of convention services throughout Hawaii.
Partners in the enterprise, the first of its kind in Hawaii, are MC&A, the largest destination management company in the state, and Convention Management Resources. The new company plans to serve a wide range of group business, including corporate and incentive, association and trade show.
"The purpose of this joint venture is to provide full-service convention arrangements-housing, air travel, event production and destination management," said Greg Yamanaka, president of MC&A. "HCC is unique in Hawaii in that it will provide one-stop services for convention clients and attendees."
Although the joint venture was prompted by the new Hawaii Convention Center scheduled to open in the summer of 1998, HCC also is designed to service groups that don't require the convention center, including those meeting on the Neighbor Islands.
"We can assist any group that needs multiple hotels," said Yamanaka. "The convention center is targeting groups of 1,000 or more, but we'll also be handling groups in the 500 range."
Formed several weeks ago, HCC has not yet worked with any groups, but has all operations ready to go, he said.
Yamanaka said the project came about because MC&A, which has been in business in Hawaii for 13 years and has service contracts with over 850 businesses in the state, felt Hawaii's growing convention market warranted a full-service provider.
"We've handled everything but housing so we decided to bring in Convention Management Resources, a nationally recognized company which specializes in just that," he said.
HCC will use Convention Management Resources' proprietary housing system, including a customized computer program which manages citywide room block inventories and provides unlimited record capabilities. Currently in development is an HCC homepage on the World Wide Web which will provide information and interactive housing forms.
Along with convention housing and destination management, HCC also will offer pre- and post-meeting packages in Hawaii in conjunction with conventions both here and on the West Coast.
"The packages will be sold not only to people attending a convention in Honolulu, but to those attending a meeting in California who may want to extend their trip to Hawaii," said Yamanaka. "The packages can either be used for leisure stays or for pre- and post-convention subgroup meetings."
HCC maintains two reservation offices, one in San Francisco and one in Honolulu.
The San Francisco office handles westbound business from the continental United States, while the Hawaii office primarily provides service for eastbound traffic from the Asia-Pacific region.