The odd convention couple
The destination cities of Baltimore and Fort Worth announced an unlikely partnership.
The two widely different cities signed a $150,000 deal to jointly promote their meeting spaces and hotel rooms to corporations.
“It isn’t every day that corporate meeting planners hear about East Coast crab and longhorn steers in the same sales spiel. But now it’s likely to happen with increasing frequency,” writes the Dallas Business Journal.
The partnership, announced earlier this month, will enable the two cities to share the cost of hiring as many as three designated salespeople based on the East and West coasts and in the Midwest.
“We’re using a model that’s been used by hotel companies — major brands like Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton and the Gaylord — for years,” said David Dubois, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. He added:
“They try to package and rotate conventions around by offering multiple-year deals. It’s a business model that is prevalent in all kinds of industries, though not as prevalent among CVBs.”
Other cities are looking at similar models. Dallas, for example, is reportedly in talks with Boston and Seattle to form a three-way partnership.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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