Downtown Baltimore?s hotel business is in trouble.
“We looked at the numbers and saw they?re down,” said Nancy Hinds, the vice president of public affairs for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. “We could have an issue if we don?t, as an industry, a community and BACVA, act.”
In new numbers released Friday by Tom Noonan, president and chief executive officer of BACVA, the number of large groups coming into the city is expected to decline in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
With BACVA reporting that visitors who stay overnight in Charm City contribute $2.17 billion to the economy, this becomes a huge issue.
After analyzing the data, Noonan met with more than a dozen Baltimore hotel general managers Friday morning to discuss how to address the issue.
For 2008, only 10 large groups ? those with 1,200 hotel rooms ? booked during peak nights. The number dips to nine in 2009 and 2010.
This is down from the 20 large groups in 2006 and the 19 in 2007.
Noonan has unveiled a multifaceted attack.
The crux is to target corporations and pharmaceutical companies that bring medium-sized groups for quick gatherings, and are often scheduled onlya few weeks in advance. To cater to this market, Noonan will be setting up a one-man BACVA satellite office in New York City to complement the other national offices in Washington and Chicago.
Noonan?s plan also calls for the implementation of a monthly trend, analysis and projections report conducted by a third-party expert who will analyze Baltimore on 48 variables. Once completed, the report will tell BACVA and local hotels their strengths, weaknesses, how they stack up against other cities, and exactly the kind of business they should be doing.
The TAP report, which costs about $25,000 for the first year, is conducted in 35 other cities in North America.
All of these initiatives by Noonan will be unsuccessful, however, unless hotels, business and BACVA can work as a team to make Baltimore a destination spot.
“It was great because we sat down with all the general managers today,” Noonan said. “They were all supportive and they are doing this because it’s a chance to do it right.”
