Planners Face Down The Challenges Of Finding Rooms, Space During Major Manhattan Events
<B> Planners Face Down The Challenges Of Finding Rooms, Space During Major Manhattan Events</B>
By Frank Rosci
Large events in New York, including major trade shows and citywide conventions that clog the sidewalks and streets with even more traffic than normal, often leave travel managers and meeting planners scrambling for hotel and meeting space for their business travelers and meeting groups.
Each year there are at least five large trade shows at New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. So far this year, there have been the New York National Boat Show and the PC Expo (both with 100,000 attendees), the New York International Gift Show (76,000 attendees) and the New York International Auto Show (one million attendees). The fall Internet World Show (56,000 attendees) will be held in October.
These events--with their need for hundreds of last-minute hotel rooms--tend to create some chaos. However, there are steps that can be implemented to deal more successfully during New York's busiest times.
"Booking a hotel room in New York can be a nightmare, especially from October through January," said Judy Mercel, travel manager for Wilmorite Inc. in Rochester, N.Y. Keys to coping include having as much lead time as possible, and having flexibility in where travelers are willing to stay, she said.
"Most want to stay in the best hotels, or in places they know, and usually not in economy or the most convenient properties, but that's not always possible or feasible,"she said. An approach that works for her is to start with Wilmorite's preferred properties, work that list and then move on to other hotels. It's a process that usually yields results, she said, but one that is extremely time consuming.
Corporate travel manager Mark Johnson of Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan., said that if there are no rooms available during major events, he tries rooms outside of town, which are usually available, though "that means cab rides, which are time consuming."
Janie Reis, travel manager for Interpublic Group of Companies in New York, said a corporate traveler's type of business can sometimes mean the difference between getting a room or not.
"An advertising agency, for example, has good contacts and represents big names that have pull--names that might be able to get a room," she said. If playing the trump card of who you know is not a luxury all travel managers enjoy, it's back to the basics of calling as many hotels as possible.
New York City hoteliers, who deal in finite numbers, approach the room quest from the dual perspectives of a sound business sense and a willingness to accommodate.
"When major groups are in town, we will sell them the rooms. We don't keep too many open, perhaps a few. For most hotels, New York is strictly a first-come, first-serve market," said Daniel Melendez, general manager of the Avalon Hotel. "The best advice I can offer is to book months in advance."
At the Regency Hotel, director of sales Michael Belfiore said there is usually space for the transient traveler, since 80 percent of the hotel's guests are individual business travelers. "When we're involved in a citywide convention, we put a block of rooms aside, but otherwise there is space for the business traveler. We get overflow from citywides at the Javits Center, and transient travelers displaced by large conventions and other events," he said.
Of the impact of major New York City events on meeting planning, Jill Adler--owner of Meeting Matters, a meeting planning, training and development company based in Oceanside, N.Y., and president of the New York chapter of Meeting Planners International--said there could be an advantage to planning a meeting around the dates of major events, "if your meeting requires more sleeping rooms than meeting space, because trade shows usually take up more space than rooms. Also, trade shows are usually held at convention centers, so hotels may have available meeting space."
Still, being aware of lead time with regard to a meeting is one thing, but using it successfully is often difficult because most meetings happen quickly, with last-second planning generally involved. What can a planner do if a meeting around the dates of major New York events simply cannot be avoided? "Take a look at alternative venues, sites other than hotels," Adler advised.
Samantha Bowerman, manager of meetings and travel for the American Institute of CPAs located in Jersey City, N.J., and vice president of communications at MPI, recognizes the difficulties major events in New York present. "There seem to be more blackout dates than ever before in the city because of large conventions, and it's more of a challenge than ever to get hotel rooms, which are also more expensive than ever because of the strong economy," she said.