Meeting hot spot: conservative image attracts conventions to Utah.

• Author: Mischel, Marie
• Position: Business Trends - Conference news

Value-oriented is the buzz phrase for Utah's convention and meeting industry as it seeks to attract groups in a tough economy. The state's relative affordability is a selling point, as is its accessibility and the variety of activities it offers. There are other bright spots, as well: With the increased emphasis on keeping things local, venues are reporting an uptick in business from instate companies.

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Down But Not Out

Convention sites in Utah have seen some scheduled groups canceling outright, but more frequently they're seeing the conferences continue, albeit with fewer attendees than in the past.

"Late in 2008 a number of conventions were cancelled for 2009," says Steve Lundgren, chair of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and vice president of the Salt Lake Valley Lodging Association. "Some are still being cancelled, but those seem to be the exception. Of greater concern is that attendance is down at almost all conventions, as are spending levels of the organizations hosting the event and those of the attendees."

The decrease in the number of people attending a convention, or attrition, is "higher now than I can remember," adds Lundgren, who is also Marriott International's general manager for Utah. "Oftentimes attrition rates will exceed 20 percent of those planned to attend."

This applies not only to the large convention venues in the Salt Lake Valley, but also to small locations such as those in Cedar City.

"The groups that we've always counted on are coming back, but they're coming back in smaller numbers and they're staying shorter durations," says Maria Twitchell, executive director of the Cedar City-Brian Head Tourism and Convention Bureau.

High-end resorts, such as those in Park City and Midway, have been particularly hit hard, says Michael Johnson, executive director of the Utah Hotel and Lodging Association. Because of the stigma attached to junket-type meetings by companies such as AIG, retreats to places like golf resorts now are treated with caution by many public companies. Johnson says he knows of several executives who had such meetings in the budget, "but they were told that if it looked extravagant, they couldn't do it."

On the other hand, Ogden is seeing an upward trend in transient room tax collection; Ogden's convention bookings are about 20 percent higher than last year, and the city's ski group bookings were about triple this past year compared to two years ago, says Sara Toliver...