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Convention Planners Find Valley Most Hospitable

Several years ago, Hollywood-based World Championships of Performing Arts was looking for a suitable space to hold its annual competition, a kind of Olympics for young singers, dancers and actors. Organizers wanted a venue that was both easy to access and safe for the thousands of participants arriving from around the world. President Griff O’Neil said they quickly figured out the Valley was the best choice versus downtown or the Westside. “From our standpoint, one of the reasons we selected the Burbank Hilton was security issues,” he said. “We have young children and Burbank seemed safer.” Observers of the local tourism industry say planners like O’Neil are typical of many smaller, California-based convention organizers who have flocked to the Valley area in recent years because they perceive the Valley as an easier place to hold events that will be close to family activities such as horseback riding, amusement parks and shopping. “They don’t necessarily want the access issues that come from downtown or out by the airport,” said Michael Collins, executive vice president of LA Inc., the city’s visitors and convention bureau. “These properties are more in the accepted venues for regional businesses.” The demand is also a consequence of a continuing need for space citywide. Spillover from places like the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center brought in almost $3.6 million to Valley venues last year, Collins said. “There is enormous demand for destinations in general, and the Valley is right up there,” Collins said. The eight largest Valley hotels the Airtel Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn Universal Studios Hollywood, Hilton Burbank Airport & Convention Center, Hilton Los Angeles North/Glendale, Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, Hilton Woodland Hills, Sheraton Universal and Warner Center Marriott hosted 32 conventions and 15,290 room nights in 2006, generating $5 million, according to L.A. Inc. Collins said bookings are already on track to beat last year’s records, with about 10 large meetings and 12,000 room nights booked so far, including those by Microsoft Corp., Tournament of Roses, Herbalife and the California Society of Addiction Medicine. Hit-and-miss The LA Inc. numbers, however, take into account events booked in the future. At the ground level, many in the tourism business say demand for convention and meeting space has proven surprisingly inconsistent so far this year. “From a demand standpoint, it’s a little softer than it has been in previous years,” said Tim Wildey, sales director for the Hilton in Glendale, which includes 13,000 square feet of meeting space. “We’re still doing fine, it’s just the overall demand has weakened.” He credited some of the downturn to more cost-conscious companies, increasing airline costs and advances in teleconferencing. “There’s a lot of technology out there that hooks people up without them even leaving their offices,” he said. Annah Winfield, director of events at Calamigos Equestrian, a banquet and event center at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, also said there was a soft period last year, but demand has rebounded as more local companies book corporate retreats for employees and seminars. She credits the growth of Burbank and additional businesses in redeveloped North Hollywood for the up-tick in demand. “It seems like Burbank in general is getting nicer,” said Winfield, who has worked at the center for six years. “In this area, it feels like everything is getting busier and busier.” Business is also solid at California State University Northridge, which operates the second-largest meeting facility in the Valley area and recently underwent a large renovation. The space has been booked every weekend since late summer with weddings, corporate events and conferences, said Cecilia Ortiz, CSUN meeting service director. “It’s definitely looking better,” she said. “We are expecting a boom in a business.” That boom is encouraging to Collins, although he admits it’s a challenge to forecast the entire year. “I can’t predict how it’s going to move for the remainder of the year, but it’s a very healthy start,” he said. “But this is beginning to look promising.”

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