May 2002
Good service

How convention centers are re-evaluating exclusives

By Stacey Anderson O’Brien

When futurists in the early nineties said convention centers would be expected to be financially self-sufficient in the new millennium, they predicted an increasing number of exclusive contracts with providers of catering, electrical service, phone systems and more to provide needed revenue.

In fact, the number of exclusives appears to have remained flat during the past 10 years, although facilities are constantly revisiting these contracts, adding some exclusives while eliminating others. Centers are looking for the best combination of exclusives, preferred providers, approved providers and in-house providers to keep show managers and exhibitors happy, while supplementing rent income.

Changing needs expressed by exhibitors and show managers sometimes drive which contracts are exclusive. For instance, large centers are moving away from exclusive security providers. After several customers told Oscar McGaskey, General Manager at the Dallas Convention Center, that they preferred a choice, he called his competition to benchmark the security situation, then went from exclusive to preferred. “It gives the customer a better situation towards negotiating,” McGaskey says.

Kathie Canning, Marketing Manager for the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, said they, too, recently gave up their exclusive security provider because of client requests. In addition, Orange County recently switched from an in-house phone and telecommunications provider to an exclusive outside provider after convention center management, along with its client advisory board, decided one outside contractor would better meet the increasingly complicated telecommunications requests Orange County receives from exhibitors. One vendor who knows the facility and also can provide up-to-date services to exhibitors was the best choice, Canning says.

One Orange County client that benefited from the switch was the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), whose March show was completely wireless. “We’re looking for quality, not exclusive or non-exclusive,” says Travis Larson, Spokesman for the CTIA. “What’s more important to us is how well those contractors complete their jobs. Orange County’s contractor did an excellent job. We had rave reviews from exhibitors and show staff.” And for exhibitors, the quality of the service, not an exclusive relationship, is the most important factor.

Stacey Anderson O’Brien is a writer, editor and corporate communications consultant in suburban Kansas City, MO. She has covered hundreds of shows as a writer for Atwood Publishing and served as EXPO’s editor in 1994.