Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

Convention Hotels and Conference Centers
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High construction costs. Convention hotels are usually much larger and, there-
fore, more expensive to construct than other hotels. Convention hotels require
more land, more sleeping and function rooms, larger dining and food produc-
tion areas, and, in many cases, extensive guest-service areas such as swimming
pools and fitness center. In addition, if a convention hotel or conference center
is located in a popular geographic area (e.g., a ski or beach location), the cost
of property and its taxes are likely to be especially high.
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Competition from non traditional sources. Convention hotels and conference
centers compete for business with similar properties, but they also may com-
pete with other types of facilities. For example, limited-service hotels may have
only one or two small function rooms; however, that is sufficient for small
groups that need function rooms and sleeping rooms. So the larger hotels and
conference centers may not book such small-group clients. Many convention
hotels also face competition from city- and county-funded conference centers.
A city may build a convention center that offers many of the facilities and serv-
ices found within the area’s convention hotels. Traditional convention hotels
and conference centers in the area may experience a decline in business.
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Use of meetings technology. Today, advances in meeting technology offer
tremendous opportunities to improve meeting services. The challenge is to
keep up with rapidly changing technology. Consider high-speed Internet
access. More and more groups request this service, so it simply must be avail-
able to attract and retain business. However, the cost of supplying the service
to an older hotel or conference center can be significant.
Globally, the number of hotels offering Wi-Fi (short for wireless fidelity)
has risen from about 2,500 in 2003 to about 6,000 in 2004 (the majority of
these hotels are in the United States). That number is expected to jump to
more than 35,000 by 2008. Overall, the number of Wi-Fi users is also grow-
ing rapidly, from 12 million globally in 2003 to an estimated 707 million by
2008. Clearly, hotel guests want the freedom and flexibility offered by Wi-Fi
technology. They want to use their laptops anywhere within the hotel, on its
grounds, or even at the nearby beach.