TPA shows its staying power

Thanks to already increased tourism, Spokane County’s Tourism Promotion Area will be packing heavy.

A fee imposed June 1 on most county hotel and motel rooms generated $455,000 through August, more than 60 percent ahead of a Spokane Visitors and Convention Bureau estimate that projected revenues through December of just $448,000.

CVB President John Brewer says the estimate had allowed for some glitches getting the fee implemented, but the launch went more smoothly than expected. Revenues will more closely match the bureau’s conservative projections as time goes on, he says.

Conservative would be an understatement, given the fine tourism year Spokane has enjoyed so far in 2004.

According to sampling done by Smith Travel Research, room occupancy in the county climbed more than 8 percent so far in 2004 compared with 2003, and revenue per room was up more than 12 percent. The October figures are even more striking: occupancy hit 65 percent, 15 percent better than a year ago; revenue per room was up almost 21 percent to more than $43.

Those numbers look even better when compared with markets considered Spokane’s competition for convention business: Kootenai and Ada counties in Idaho, Missoula and Flathead counties in Montana, King and Yakima counties in Washington, Multnomah County (Portland) in Oregon, Denver County in Colorado, Salt Lake County in Utah, and Bernalillio County (Albuquerque) in New Mexico.

None showed improvement anything like Spokane’s, although Kootenai County showed a slightly better increase in room demand so far in 2004; 10 percent compared with Spokane’s 8.8 percent.

Brewer, also the Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) manager, is excited about the marketing opportunities the new fee opens up. The CVB will receive 80 percent of the revenues, the Spokane Regional Sports Commission 20 percent. Both must use the funds to promote Spokane and Spokane events, with the goal of boosting demand for the county’s 6,700 hotel and motel rooms.

In 2003 and 2004, the CVB booked about 70,000 rooms in future convention business. The goal for 2005 is 140,000 rooms.

To get there, the CVB has already hired three additional sales representatives and one support person. One of the new salespeople will be dedicated to promoting small gatherings at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center.

Brewer says the TPA has already been helpful in landing an International Fraternal Order of Eagles convention for July 2007. That gathering alone will attract 3,500 people staying an estimated 6,870 room nights. The additional funds will also enable the CVB to tailor Spokane’s message to niche markets. Representatives, for example, will attend the Arizona Golf Show to promote Spokane-area courses. Brewer and Harry Sladich, vice president of Sterling Hospitality, were in Phoenix recently to talk with officials of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association about bringing an event to Spokane.

Brewer says he twice brought the motorcyclist group to Billings, Mont., when he headed the convention bureau there. Those events drew more than 10,000 riders.

The group was pleased to be courted, and receptive to sponsoring an annual motorcycle show in Spokane, Sladich says, adding “If we get 5,000 bikers in here every year, what a return on our investment.”

Sladich, who sits on the TPA Commission that has oversight over the program, also strongly approves the hiring of Hyland Group, a convention-marketing firm with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The firm will make Spokane more competitive with large cities that have their own offices in the nation’s capital, where hundreds of trade associations cluster. Many are potential convention clients.

The CVB will pay Hyland an annual retainer of about $30,000.

Vice President Bill Hyland says the firm represents 10 other cities, none in the Northwest. Many trade associations and corporations might like to rotate their annual conventions through the region.

“There’s a market for Spokane,” Hyland says.

The CVB and Sports Association do not spend all the money themselves. They will also review grant applications from organizations holding events that will fill hotel beds. So far, applications have been received from the Spokane Symphony, the Spokane International Film Festival, and Sports USA. The applications will be reviewed in January.

“The money’s there to be used and generate room rates,” Brewer says, estimating that about $80,000 will be available.

Sladich says he is concerned TPA money will become irresistible to local governments anxious to sponsor new events that may draw crowds, but not from outside the area. The commission, composed mostly of hoteliers, will be wary. The TPA, which sunsets in three years, must prove its value quickly.

“This is money to be spent so it creates an overnight room,” says Sladich, whose Sterling group owns one downtown hotel and two in Spokane Valley.

In 2002, tourists and conventioneers spent more than $500 million in the county. An industry rebound, and a new convention hall under construction downtown, have created an excellent environment for the TPA.

Time to get visitors packing for the Inland Northwest.