June 25, 2007
Closing Thoughts: Patrick Lynch, head of Destination Worcester
Unearthing a destination in Worcester
Patrick Lynch was selected to head the newly created Destination Worcester, an organization formed by City Manager Michael O'Brien to bring convention business to the city. Prior to taking the position, Lynch was director of national accounts at the Providence-Warwick (R.I.) Visitors & Convention Bureau. This interview was conducted on his second official day on the job, in his new office housed within the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce on Main Street. Currently, he's the organization's only employee, but hopes to hire two full-time staffers with hospitality and sales experience.
Coming from Providence, what are some of the things that you think Worcester can learn from your former professional home?
Lynch: Worcester's taking the right steps now. I don't think the city needs to learn a lot from Providence. The difference between the cities is that Providence, about three years ago, put together a well formulated marketing program that really exposed the city nationally. Here in Worcester, which is more of a regional destination, as opposed to a national, the city is not known within the industry. I didn't even know prior to looking into this position that the DCU Center had meeting and event space. I thought it was an arena. I'm very active in the meeting industry and I never considered Worcester a competitor.
So, really my goal is to make Worcester a competitor and let meeting and event planners within New England know that the space is here and Worcester has the amenities that Hartford (Conn.) has, that Providence has, that Boston has. And, it's far less expensive to meet here in Worcester than it is in those destinations.
What type of events do you hope to draw to Worcester?
Lynch: There's a national association for everything and all of them have a New England or Northeast chapter. All of the businesses that are here in Worcester have representation in those associations and I'll be reaching out to the local businesses, those people that are attending association meetings and say, "Well, where are they going to have your association meeting and why aren't they coming here?" I'll also be asking the business community to contact me and say, "This is the association I belong to and I can help you bring that business to Worcester."
What are some of the trends you've seen in the meetings and event world?
Lynch: The meeting planning industry has taken a turn in the last three to five years and return on investment, a big catch phrase a few years ago, became a big deal. Organizations really started saying, "What are these trips we're sending everybody on now, and how much are we getting out of them? Aside from spending four days on the beach in Miami, are we getting anything else out of them?"
More recently and kind of as a result of that, meeting and event planning is starting to fall under procurement departments, so to some extent, the decision is more financially driven than ever before.
In terms of the hotels in the area, is there a lot of preparation that you have to do to get them ready to welcome more meetings?
Lynch: I think the hotels are familiar with how it works and most work with their national and global sales offices. It's not really different. I'll probably have an opportunity to work with their national global sales offices as well. They are used to working with outside organizations, and are also very used to putting together proposals for meeting and event planners.
Are there any hurdles you see that Worcester has to overcome in order to become more of a convention town?
Lynch: No, not specifically. It's the industry exposure. If we build exposure we'll gain the opportunity to bid on business. If we win the business and the business comes to town and the client has a good experience, people will talk about that and that in turn will allow us the opportunity to bid on more business. It will be somewhat of a snowball effect.
Why would an event planner pick a city like Worcester over Boston or Providence?
Lynch: It comes to what's driving their decision. It may be date specific. An organization, whether it be a corporation or association, may need to meet the fourth week of September and that's it. And Worcester either has those dates available or doesn't have those dates available. And when I say dates available if it's a large event and they need the DCU Center or Mechanics Hall, it's whether or not we can find available both meeting space and sleeping rooms within the designated time frame.
Others are financially driven. Worcester may put the best proposal forward as a destination cost-wise. It may be accessibility. We are certainly accessible.
Larger cities sometimes have larger budgets so they can offset some of the costs but generally what's available to offset expenses are earmarked for those groups that will make a significant economic impact.
This interview was edited for content and length by Christina H. Davis.
Patrick Lynch, head of Destination Worcester
Coming from Providence, what are some of the things that you think Worcester can learn from your former professional home?
Lynch: Worcester's taking the right steps now. I don't think the city needs to learn a lot from Providence. The difference between the cities is that Providence, about three years ago, put together a well formulated marketing program that really exposed the city nationally. Here in Worcester, which is more of a regional destination, as opposed to a national, the city is not known within the industry. I didn't even know prior to looking into this position that the DCU Center had meeting and event space. I thought it was an arena. I'm very active in the meeting industry and I never considered Worcester a competitor.
So, really my goal is to make Worcester a competitor and let meeting and event planners within New England know that the space is here and Worcester has the amenities that Hartford (Conn.) has, that Providence has, that Boston has. And, it's far less expensive to meet here in Worcester than it is in those destinations.
What type of events do you hope to draw to Worcester?
Lynch: There's a national association for everything and all of them have a New England or Northeast chapter. All of the businesses that are here in Worcester have representation in those associations and I'll be reaching out to the local businesses, those people that are attending association meetings and say, "Well, where are they going to have your association meeting and why aren't they coming here?" I'll also be asking the business community to contact me and say, "This is the association I belong to and I can help you bring that business to Worcester."
What are some of the trends you've seen in the meetings and event world?
Lynch: The meeting planning industry has taken a turn in the last three to five years and return on investment, a big catch phrase a few years ago, became a big deal. Organizations really started saying, "What are these trips we're sending everybody on now, and how much are we getting out of them? Aside from spending four days on the beach in Miami, are we getting anything else out of them?"
More recently and kind of as a result of that, meeting and event planning is starting to fall under procurement departments, so to some extent, the decision is more financially driven than ever before.
In terms of the hotels in the area, is there a lot of preparation that you have to do to get them ready to welcome more meetings?
Lynch: I think the hotels are familiar with how it works and most work with their national and global sales offices. It's not really different. I'll probably have an opportunity to work with their national global sales offices as well. They are used to working with outside organizations, and are also very used to putting together proposals for meeting and event planners.
Are there any hurdles you see that Worcester has to overcome in order to become more of a convention town?
Lynch: No, not specifically. It's the industry exposure. If we build exposure we'll gain the opportunity to bid on business. If we win the business and the business comes to town and the client has a good experience, people will talk about that and that in turn will allow us the opportunity to bid on more business. It will be somewhat of a snowball effect.
Why would an event planner pick a city like Worcester over Boston or Providence?
Lynch: It comes to what's driving their decision. It may be date specific. An organization, whether it be a corporation or association, may need to meet the fourth week of September and that's it. And Worcester either has those dates available or doesn't have those dates available. And when I say dates available if it's a large event and they need the DCU Center or Mechanics Hall, it's whether or not we can find available both meeting space and sleeping rooms within the designated time frame.
Others are financially driven. Worcester may put the best proposal forward as a destination cost-wise. It may be accessibility. We are certainly accessible.
Larger cities sometimes have larger budgets so they can offset some of the costs but generally what's available to offset expenses are earmarked for those groups that will make a significant economic impact.
This interview was edited for content and length by Christina H. Davis.
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