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According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago is losing ground in the convention battle.Las Vegas is number 1, Orlando is number 2, and Chicago is number 3.
Chicago used to be the number one convention city in the world.Now, it is in 3rd place.Last year in 2005, Las Vegas had a market share of 34%, Orlando 11.4% and Chicago, 9.6%, down 21.3% from 2004.
Now, I do believe that we have made some concessions with regard to our long standing “union” challenges.However, speaking with some conference planners, they say that they will never bring another convention to our city based on their last experience with the unions.“They were like the mob”, said one conference planner.“They treated me like crap”.
The Chicago Convention Bureau has a long up hill climb to restore Chicago as the number one city in the world for conventions.Chicago has one of the highest hotel taxes nationwide. The convention bureau’s marketing budget is extremely low compared to Las Vegas.Chicago has under $20 million where Vegas has close to $160 million.
The Chicago Convention Bureau has had high turn over in all areas, including their executive management in recent years.
I still believe Chicago can regain its status as the number one convention city in the world, however, we should not take this for granted.We should make sure that we are affordable, and not gouge the exhibitors with taxes and fees.We should welcome these conventions and make us a more friendly convention city.This includes the unions, contractors, exhibit companies, convention bureau, hotels and any other organization that is responsible for the loss of convention business.
If Chicago is such a great city to meet, then why are these conventions leaving?
-Chicago has one of the most talented labor forces in the U.S.
-Chicago is easily attainable because of its central location
-Chicago has the airlift needed to get to and from here
-Chicago has the restaurants, nightlife, hotel rooms
-Chicago has the most beautiful city including skyline and parks
-Chicago has the most friendly people in the world
