NAMI Focused on Helping Its Attendees With Budget Concerns

Young attendees meant specific sets of concerns for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Annual Convention, held June 28 - July 2 in Austin, Texas. With increased interest in the convention from younger attendees, including more young families and college students, planners knew the high cost of airfare would weigh heavily on attendees.

"I was dismayed by how much airfares had increased over the previous 12 months," said Ann Nagle, director of conference and meeting planning.

NAMI looked for ways to help attendees with the costs of attending the meeting, including finding lower rates at overflow hotels and focusing on negotiating food and beverage costs.

The convention also attracted a wider cross section of attendees. A serious effort by the convention program committee to focus on multicultural issues in the program planning led to an "enormous" increase in attendance from different diverse communities, according to Nagle.

New program options won over attendees. A talent show and art show offered get-to-know-you time … and a break from the intensity of the daytime meetings. An orientation session for first-time attendees provided information on everything from the specifics of a program session, to where to get a reasonably priced snack, to how to pace their day most effectively.

Heart Rhythm 2006 Breaks Attendance Record

At Heart Rhythm 2006, the 27th annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society, more than 12,500 attendees descended on Boston. The meeting, held May 17-20, broke last year's attendance record, with registrants traveling from more than 70 countries.

Attendance exceeded the planning committee's expectations, with an increase of approximately 20 percent among scientific attendees. Meeting planners also worked to match registration rates to membership categories and offered a new registration category for non-member allied health professionals, a group that showed the most growth overall.

The society attributed the increased numbers in part to expanded offerings - including a new track on heart failure - as well as the presentation of live cases. Large-scale changes in the industry also likely drew professionals.

"Major developments in the cardiac rhythm management industry, including device advisories and recalls by the Food and Drug Administration, have drawn much attention and public scrutiny throughout the past year," said Rachael Lille Moore, the society's manager of public relations. "Media and health practitioners were interested in the society's response to how these challenges impact patient care."

SPECIAL REPORT: Changes in Atlantic City Bringing In Big Numbers

An organizational overhaul has sent meetings business soaring in Atlantic City: Total room nights associated with group activity are up 144 percent in 2006 compared to the same period of 2005; total convention center business is up 153 percent; and total future bookings are up more than 211 percent.

 "We've created a more efficient sales process and allowed sales people to be out there touching markets that weren't with us," said Gary Musich, vice president of convention development at the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority (ACCVA). "Air service has expanded, and probably the most important thing is that in the last four years development has changed Atlantic City in terms of what's available, with attendees extending their length of stay and more revenue coming from non-gaming sources."

The bureau started the wave of new business by reorganizing its sales process. First, the bureau focused on evaluating business coming in, improving data collection and analysis. Second, it began deploying salespeople into new markets and hiring new staff. Then, ACCVA consolidated the sales process between itself and the convention center. The new Total Meeting Resource process allows a client to call the bureau with any question or need, with the sales force on hand to get answers.

With nearly 2,000 new hotel rooms being built or in the planning stages, Musich predicts the heightened pace will continue.