Convention Center Industry Information

The Liaison Group of the International Association of Venue Managers, Inc. (IAVM) and Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) publish a joint best practices document to serve as a set of guidelines for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and convention facilities.

The best practices guidelines are intended to facilitate partnership, provide joint advocacy, and identify common objectives for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and convention facilities. The underlying objective of the best practices is to provide the destination customer with a seamless positive experience from the beginning of the sales cycle through move out; and they are not crafted to determine the best structural model for destinations or to be used in individual circumstances that may be prevalent in specific destinations. Download Best Practices Outline OR Download Best Practices Here.

Convention center management are called upon to assist in analyzing and defending plans for facility expansion and related community development projects. Public debate on these issues increased in 2005 and 2006 with the release of a report from the Brookings Institution critical of convention center development.








The research reports below are selected to assist IAVM members who may enter these public policy discussions.

• Convention Center Operating Expenses 2008 Benchmarking Survey Report, July 2009. Created by the Benchmarking sub-committee of the Convention Center / Exhibition Halls Committee in conjunction with the VRI and financial support from the IAVM Foundation.
  
  
• Convention Center Expense Benchmarking Pilot Survey Results and Report, June 2007. Created by the Benchmarking sub-committee of the Convention Center / Exhibition Halls Committee
  
  
• New Business Models for Convention Centers, by Douglas L. Ducate.
  http://easylink.playstream.com/iaam/progressive/
  cvbfacilitymtgjan1806ppt.htm
  
  
• Selling Venues and Cities Today. Michael Hughes, Trade Show Week, International Convention Center Conference, Oct. 22, 2005.
  http://easylink.playstream.com/iaam/progressive/
  hughesiccc2005taketwo.htm
  (This link provides access to the full audio and PowerPoint presentation presented by Mike Hughes. Total length is approximately 45 minutes. Allow several minutes to load.)
  
  
• 2005 Convention Center Report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Contact Rob Canton for an electronic copy at robert.canton@us.pwc.com
  
  

• Space Available: The Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Heywood Sanders. The Brookings Institution. Jan. 17, 2005.
  www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20050117_conventioncenters.htm
  
  
• The Rhetoric Versus the Facts: What the Brookings Report Fails to Reveal, International Association for Exhibition Management
  www.iaem.org (this report is available from the Industry Information area. Click on IAEM News & Industry Report Archive button)
  
  
• Space Available. . . . The Rest of the Story. Douglas L. Ducate. The Center for Exhibition Industry Research. March 15, 2005.
  http://www.ceir.org/content/docs/Brookings ResponseFINAL.pdf
  (ceir.org also offers PowerPoint shows with various industry data for free download)
  
  
• Brookings Study Critical of Facility Expansions. Rachelle Crum. Tradeshow Week. Jan. 31, 2005. Page 1.
  www.tradeshowweek.com
  (accessing articles requires payment of a subscription fee)
  
  
• Is the Sky Falling on the Convention Center Industry? A Critical Review of the Brookings Institution Research Brief on Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Thomas Hazinski and Hans Detlefsen, HVS Journal 2005.
  http://www.hvsinternational.com/Downloads/
  fid=1640&fxid=5&fx=pdf&fcid=1636
  
  
• Next-Gen Convention Centers
  By Dave Barista, Assistant Managing Editor<
  August 1, 2005
  Building Design and Construction
  http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/CA633897.html

If you have difficulty obtaining any of the reports listed above, contact Dana Glazier (Dana Glazier)
Director of Education