Destination Worcester Turns One
Too soon to assess its work, leaders say
"I would say that it's going as expected," said O'Brien, noting that the organization only reached its full complement of three staff people six months ago.
Lynch said the 70 outstanding bids the organization has sent out to organizations around New England and the Northeast would add up to nearly 17,000 room nights if they all came through.
"Will we get all of those?" he said. "No, we won't, but that number will grow."
Target: Decision Makers
Lynch said the largest item in its budget is advertising, much of it in the newsletters of convention managers' and meeting organizers' groups.
"We are not marketing to the masses because the masses don't make a decision where a meeting's being held," he said.
The city has committed to funding Destination Worcester with $500,000 a year for its first three years, and the organization has also received some additional grant money. The city money comes from state hotel and motel taxes collected in the city and from the sale of naming rights at the DCU Center, O'Brien said.
Previously, the city had relied on the Central Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau to market local attractions. Destination Worcester, which is located at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce office and gets help from chamber staff, was created to focus specifically on Worcester.
While Lynch oversees all of the organization's activities, the two other Destination Worcester staffers are focused on sales. In some cases, bids for big conventions require pages of information on hotel room availability for particular dates, local attractions, restaurant locations and prices and descriptions of other successful events held in the city.
The Massachusetts Recreation and Parks Association, based in Westfield, is planning to hold its 25th state conference in Worcester next year. Executive Director John Whalen Jr. said it chose the city partly because it's where the organization started, but it was also impressed with the information from Destination Worcester.
Personal Touch
Whalen said the group's staff showed association leaders around the hotels and meeting centers in the city and then put together a package of information to share with attendees. In contrast, he said, when he has planned events in Boston and other cities, he's had to search himself for hotels around the meeting facility.
"It's been a really good working relationship," Whalen said. "I wish they were in every city."
Soon it will be easy for potential visitors to find at least some of that local information without even picking up a phone. Lynch said Destination Worcester expects to have a new web site within weeks with information on Worcester accommodations, meeting facilities and local history, as well as a dining guide and calendar.
Mark Waxler, general manager of the Beechwood Hotel and a Destination Worcester board member, said he has not yet seen any direct effects from the group's efforts, but he is glad to see them working to recruit business."It's active marketing, active sales, which is something that's refreshing," he said.
O'Brien said the city will continue monitoring Destination Worcester's progress.
He said the group's executive board uses industry standards that have been refined for the local market to determine how much economic activity is a result of the group's work.
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