 Led by a city government that has taken a pro-active outreach campaign to promote the City of Brotherly Love as a major meetings destination, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau announced that, in spite of an economic downturn, the meetings industry in Philadelphia remains robust. According to the PCVB, 183 meetings and conventions are currently booked for 2009, estimated to generate more than 447,062 total room nights for Philadelphia and more than $681 million in economic impact.
By aggressively marketing to meeting planners, expanding an already impressive convention center and a constant increase in hotel rooms and upgrade of existing lodging, Philadelphia is poised to enhance its reputation as a meetings destination. “As we move into 2009, we are very optimistic for continued growth in the convention market,  especially as expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center is underway and the additional marketing dollars allocated through the new hotel room tax,” said Jack Ferguson, Executive Vice President of the PCVB.
At the closing of the PCVB’s fiscal year 2008, the bureau booked 768,000 room nights, 533,000 related to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The meetings scheduled for 2009 include conventions held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center as well as smaller  meetings taking place in area member hotels booked through the PCVB.
“The marketing team at the PCVB, working with the PCC, has a strong and creative strategic marketing plan to support the sales initiatives with continued focus on booking for both the long-term and short-term markets,” said Ferguson.
Commitment to convention/meeting appeal of Philadelphia has spread beyond the hospitality industry. Due to launch in 2009 is “Bring It Home,” a PCVB sponsored campaign that encourages regional meeting planners, trade show organizers, and business leaders to bring and keep conventions and meetings in the Philadelphia area. “More meetings in our great city create economic benefits for all our citizens,” said Mayor Michael Nutter.
According to Ferguson, supplementing the marketing and other programs from the  PCVB, three groups—the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress, the Multicultural Affairs Congress, and the Philadelphia Sports Congress—have been working in tandem to increase awareness to industries and professions within each of their categories of the appeal of Philadelphia. This appeal includes: lower costs than other cities, a location midway between New York and Washington D.C., easy access by air, highway and rail, and an expanded (and upgraded) hotel inventory.
Some of the larger meetings and conventions scheduled for Philadelphia in 2009 include: Lincoln Financial Distributors (Attendance:1,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:2,680; Estimated Economic Impact:5,591,700); Archaeological Institute of America/American Philological Association (Attendance:2,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,375; Estimated Economic Impact:$6,932,340); SunGard Higher Education (Attendance:10,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:25,568; Estimated Economic Impact:$34,640,753); Questex Media Group (Attendance:18,000; Total Hotel Room Nights:17,136; Estimated  Economic Impact:$23,725,446); Irish Dance Teachers Association World Championship (Attendance:10,000; Total Hotel Room Nights:15,296; Estimated Economic Impact: $10,301,468); Greater Allen Cathedral AME (Attendance:2,000; Total Hotel Room Nights:2,100; Estimated Economic Impact: $3,813,300); American College of Physicians (Attendance:14,000; Total Hotel Room Nights:20,407;Estimated Economic Impact: $27,106,971); American Association of Museums (Attendance: 5,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:11,052; Estimated Economic Impact: $13,527,365); Students in Free Enterprise, Inc (Attendance:6,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,185; Estimated Economic Impact:$9,157,050); American Society for Microbiology (Attendance:15,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:21,425;Estimated Economic Impact:$29,668,500); American Society for Mass Spectrometry (Attendance:7,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:21,066; Estimated Economic Impact:$21,253,590); Solar Energy Industries Associations (Attendance:3,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:5,475; Estimated Economic Impact:$11,439,900); American Association of Airport Executives (Attendance: 2,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,635;Estimated Economic Impact:$6,630,012); Building Owners & Managers Association (Attendance:5,800;Total Hotel Room Nights: 5,535; Estimated Economic Impact:$7,767,675); Brihan Maharashtra Mandal (Attendance:5,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,850; Estimated Economic Impact:$8,986,050); National Conference of State Legislatures (Attendance:9,018;Total Hotel Room Nights:18,950;Estimated Economic Impact:$23,224,878); Siemens Medical Solutions Health Service Corporation (Attendance:1,300;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,576; Estimated Economic Impact: $6,727,140); National Association of Broadcasters (Attendance:3,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:5,005; Estimated Economic Impact: $10,270,260); American College of Rheumatology (Attendance:10,000;Total  Hotel Room Nights:29,133; Estimated Economic Impact:$35,714,051); Infectious Diseases Society of America (Attendance:4,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:10,020; Estimated Economic Impact:16,272,702); American Public Health Association (Attendance:13,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:21,750; Estimated Economic Impact:$29,326,500); American Society of Criminology (Attendance:1,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:4,400 Estimated Economic Impact:$4,074,930); National Council of Teachers of English (Attendance:6,000;Total Hotel Room Nights:11,840 Estimated Economic Impact: $18,372,240); American Anthropological Association (Attendance:5,500;Total Hotel Room Nights:5,076 Estimated Economic Impact:$7,987,410); Modern Language Association (Attendance:9,200;Total Hotel Room Nights 17,775 Estimated Economic Impact:$31,387,050).
Currently, the Pennsylvania Convention Center features more than 440,000 square feet of exhibit/meeting space. The expansion, due to be completed by 2011, will increase the venue to approximately 1.3 million square feet, with 541,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space. The expansion also includes construction of an additional entrance, enabling multiple events to be held simultaneously.
In order to better accommodate the growing number of meeting attendees in 2009 and beyond, Philadelphia hotels have recently spent, or are budgeted to spend, more than $231 million in renovations and new hotel developments. Several hotels have embarked on various projects and upgrades to guest rooms, meeting facilities, and onsite  restaurants. “Convention visitors expect service and quality, and we are thrilled to see that Philadelphia’s hotels are investing and creating an even more memorable experience for the people who travel here,” said Ferguson.
The city-wide renovation and expansion of hotels include:
- The 195-room Le Méridien hotel, which features five floors of four star accommodations, a 90-seat restaurant with a 40-seat bar & lounge at the lobby level, a state-of-the-art business center, high-tech conference rooms, and a grand ballroom, due in 2009. Residence Inn Center City by Marriott finished a $9 million renovation
 highlighted by a full update to the fitness center in 2008. Other renovations are planned for 2009. Renovation of 13 luxury suites was completed in 2008 at The Rittenhouse Hotel;
- The four-star, 327-room, Dolce Valley Forge Hotel, which includes a full-service restaurant, spa, 26,000 square feet of meeting space, opened in 2008.
- The Omni Hotel at Independence Park completed a $4 million renovation, refreshed all of its public areas as well as added new carpeting, light fixtures, and wall coverings to the corridors and bar-restaurant.
- The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown converted the exhibit hall, Franklin Hall, into a space which can be divided into 13 separate breakout rooms to accommodate customer needs In addition, the venue also spent than $6 million in modern renovations and technology upgrades in 2008 and is planning to complete a guest room and suite renovation to its 1,401 rooms in 2009.
- Embassy Suites Center City spent over $10 million upgrading its lobby, adding both a fitness and business center and updating its parking garage.
- The Hyatt Regency’s $6 million renovations in 2008 included the addition of flat screens, new grand beds,
 carpeting, and armoires to the guest rooms as well as new wall coverings, carpets, and reupholstered furniture in the meeting space.
- The Crowne Plaza Philadelphia completed renovations adding new flat-panel televisions, carpets, and bathroom accents to the guest rooms, while the meeting rooms received new carpets, linens, and seating, and new furniture. The “library” area of the lobby was also refurbished to include a new marble counter and lighting.
- Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown by Marriott completed an $11 million renovation, which included new carpets and linens in all guest rooms, and new 42” LCD televisions in 61 of its suites and executive king rooms. In addition, a number of the guest rooms were revamped with new murals of historic Philadelphia.
- Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia has opened Assembly of Five, a new meeting center offering six conference
 rooms that all include state-of-the art technology and completed renovations of all 432 guest rooms and public spaces.
- Hilton Garden Inn Center City has installed new bedding, wallpaper, and carpets in all guest rooms. The lobby and corridors were updated with new furniture, wallpaper, and carpeting. New 32” flat screen televisions and MP3 alarm clocks were added to the guest rooms;
- The Holiday Inn Historic District completed a multi-million dollar renovation to guest rooms, the lobby, and the meeting space and opened a new restaurant, Coins Pub
- The Inn at the Union League recently finished a $3.6 million renovation on all of its guest rooms and added 17 new guest rooms. All rooms feature the latest technology, including flat screen televisions and high-speed
 Internet.
- The Park Hyatt at the Bellevue revamped its restaurant XIX—located on the 19th floor of the hotel, XIX offers all-day dining, exquisite views, and an expanded menu. A private bridge has been built on the 19th floor connecting the hotel to The Sporting Club at the Bellevue.
- The Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel completed a $15 million renovation, completely revamping guest rooms, the lobby and check-in areas and has added Tavern 17, a hip new dining venue open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia recently finished a $15 million renovation. The guest rooms and suites received a
 complete soft renovation and now have LCD plasma screen televisions. The 6,100-square-foot Grand Ballroom was also updated with new carpets, wall coverings, and Philadelphia-inspired artwork. World famous chef Eric Ripert has brought his flair for food to Philadelphia with the opening of 10 Arts restaurant in the hotel, featuring contemporary, regional American cuisine with emphasis on organic and utilization of local products.
- The Westin Philadelphia completed an $11 million renovation, which included an updated lobby and grand ballroom. City Grange, the venue’s new restaurant, opened in 2007.
- Due to be completed in 2010, the luxurious, 40-story Vine Hotel will feature 325-rooms, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, an upscale 24-hour restaurant, and a full-service spa.
|
