Planning a large national convention isn't just extremely complex. It's also extremely expensive. And in an environment of increasingly tight budgets, that can create big challenges.
One way to solve those challenges is to meet in a city that has a walkable convention district, according to Successful Meetings Senior Editor Leo Jakobson. When it held its annual convention in downtown Denver, for instance, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) saved money on food and transportation because of Denver's walkable downtown.
"[ASHA] didn't have to spend on subsidized box lunches at the convention center, because the proximity of so many stores and restaurants meant a lot of attendees ran out for lunch," reports Jakobson, to who ASHA Director of Conventions and Meetings Ellen Shorthill said: "We [also] saved a dramatic amount of money on shuttles -- between $75,000 and $100,000, plus another $10,000 on staff expenses … We did not run shuttles for hotels within three to four blocks of the convention center, and used smaller shuttles for the hotels that were further out. And we had fewer shuttles in the morning because so many people walked."
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