Articles
Date: April 2006
Publication: Auditoria magazine
Author: Todd Voth, HOK Venue
The convention experience begins earlier than most people realize. It starts the minute a traveler gets off the plane in a city. Is the airport environment welcoming? Are the taxi drivers friendly? Are views on the way to the hotel appealing? Is the convention center an inviting, beautiful and memorable place to be?
The promise of a great experience is what really sells. A great city with friendly people united with a great convention center will create fond memories and entice people to return, again and again.
It is possible to make the convention experience excellent in every way, but cities, sales people, meeting planners and architects must look at the guest experience from a greater altitude to see the bigger picture. It involves much more than creating a nice building, it is about understanding and responding to customer needs.