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| South parking lot entrance to the Branson Convention Center |
The booking pace for events coming to the new Branson Convention Center is picking up and is in line to exceed projections. In an update report to the city of Branson’s board of aldermen at their regular Aug. 13 business meeting, Mark Hartman, General Manager, Hiltons of Branson, who is managing the convention center for the city of Branson, said that bookings for the partial year of 2007 have increased 9.5 percent in just two months.
When Hartman gave a similar report on Jun 11 for the partial year 2007, the number of definite event bookings was 49 and tentative bookings was 25. Hartman explained that the events shown as tentative are more than just inquiries on possibly booking an event. They represent a situation that has progressed beyond a mere inquiry to the point where a prospective client has specifically requested a contract and that they are actively negotiating with that client to finalize the contract.
During the Aug. 13 report, Hartman pointed out that the number of definite events for the partial year 2007 has increased to 67 and that the tentative events were 14. He said, “The real positive thing is that when I was here in Jun. we had 49 events that were definite and 25 tentative so we’ve sold 19 events into that definite column.”
The portion of the report on “Booking Pace” uses the “Stabilized Year” data from a feasibility analysis of the proposed convention center, completed by Conventions, Sports and Leisure International, CSL, for the city of Branson, in Feb. 2003, as a base line for comparison. According to the CSL analysis, the total number of events in a stabilized year, a normal year of operation, would be 177 of which 44 would be conventions and trade shows. Hartman’s report indicates that the Branson Convention Center already has a total of 114 definite and 88 tentative events and 41 definite and 41 tentative convention and trade shows for 2008.
Hartman reported that the booking pace over the past two months has accelerated quite a bit and that in the month of July alone they had booked about $680,000 worth of businesses into the Branson Convention Center. When discussing the sources of leads for the convention center Hartman emphasized the active cooperative relationship they had with the Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and that it was one of their strongest lead sources in booking events and conventions.
Alderman Jack Purvis asked Hartman how the startup of the Branson Convention Center compares to similar startups that he has been involved in. Hartman responded, “I think we are seeing a tremendous amount of activity before we would normally see it.” He expounded that normally there is a lot of activity from meeting planners after the facility opens but in the case of the Branson Convention Center there is a lot of interest prior to it opening. He said, “I think we are in very good shape moving forward.”
Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.
