In the last two weeks of the year, Visit Indy signed deals to bring 41 conventions to Indianapolis in the next five years. Those deals helped push the group close to a new annual record for advance bookings of hotel rooms.
The number of hotel rooms Visit Indy booked into future years took a tumble in 2016 to the lowest level since 2013. But local tourism and hotel officials aren’t overly concerned.
The short-term extension allows the city to keep one of its largest conventions, with an estimated economic impact of $70 million, for at least another year.
After initially seeking a five-year extension that would keep the massive gaming convention in Indianapolis through 2025, Gen Con officials have changed their request.
While Indianapolis pursues major sporting events and massive conventions—gatherings that attract tens of thousands of people and score tens of millions of dollars in economic impact—many neighboring counties are chasing small and midsize corporate confabs, weddings and senior-citizen bus tours.
Visit Indy CEO Leonard Hoops told Capital Improvement Board members that standing pat is not an option when it comes to hospitality infrastructure, but a major expansion wouldn’t be needed in the near future.
CIB Executive Director Barney Levengood implored the board not to be overly concerned about the projected $46 million shortfall. The City-County Council is set consider the budget at its Sept. 25 meeting.
The closure of a handful of hotels across the city has essentially wiped out the gains made when the JW Marriott opened with its 1,005 rooms. Now Visit Indy and the city’s Capital Improvement Board are studying whether the city needs more rooms and more convention center space.
Total attendance for last week’s Gen Con show in Indianapolis inched up over last year’s record numbers. More hotel spaces could help the show expand, according to an organizer.
In 2006, just three years after Indianapolis became the home of the national gaming convention, Tom Anders of Fishers decided to turn his gaming hobby into a business.
While the new law applies to all employers, it could hit the hospitality sector harder than most. The hotel industry is one that relies heavily on modestly paid middle managers, who are exempt from overtime, to pick up the slack—and extra hours—when called upon.
The annual report of the city’s Capital Improvement Board shows the number of events at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium—and the total attendance for those events—fell sharply from 2014 to 2015.
Mayors, their staffs and policy experts from across the country—about 1,200 conference attendees in all—will attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ annual summer gathering that runs Friday through Monday.
Gen Con is the biggest and highest-profile convention to use both the stadium and convention center since the 2011 expansion—and others are watching to see how it works.
Primerica Inc.’s annual gathering will be one of the city’s five biggest conventions in 2017. The deal came together in a matter of weeks, which is exceedingly rare in the world of mega-conventions.
Only 1 percent of the events booked over the last year at the Indiana Convention Center asked for gender-neutral bathrooms, but hospitality experts say it’s a big and growing issue.
The inaugural outing of Indy PopCon, in 2014, generated about 9,000 turnstile spins. Last year’s event had 24,000.
The revamp of the 622-room Marriott is meant to bring the hotel up to the same standards as the JW Marriott a block to the west. The latter’s owners have agreed to buy the former for $165 million.
Mark Poeschl, of Brookville, Ohio, will take over leadership of the Indianapolis-based National FFA Organization and the National FFA Foundation on Aug. 1, succeeding Dwight Armstrong, who is retiring after leading the organizations for seven years.
Each of the presidential candidates and newly elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan have been invited to speak at the event.
