©2000 Corbin Ball Associates

Forget about faxing or express mailing your RFPs (requests for proposals) to many individual properties or Convention & Visitor Bureaus (CVBs).  These inefficient paper-based means of finding and booking meeting venues are giving way to web-based products that provide richer detail in faster, better and cheaper ways.

The first online RFP site appeared in January 1996 with the Radisson Miyako Hotel San Francisco, offering a simple online meeting space request form. In a short four years, a plethora of Web sites have sprung up offering everything from extensive, searchable meeting facility databases to automated RFP forms.

CVB site benefits

Not all RFP or site selection sites are created equal. The sites sponsored by CVB-related organizations will sometimes have advantages over other general meeting facility search web sites:

·     As the sites are sponsored through membership funding, there is usually no commission charged to the user or to the hotel properties – unlike most of the other meeting facility search sites.

·      CVBs know their destination better than a national organization and are closer to their properties. Consequently, the data for value dates and other city information can be the most current available.

·      Citywide meetings and expositions requiring multiple hotel room blocks can often be done most easily through the CVBs.

This article will help sort the variety of CVB directories and CVB resources on the web, especially those with capabilities for RFPs.

PlanSoft  (www.plansoft.com)

Paradoxically, general online meeting facility databases such as Plansoft and EventSource offer more complete listings of CVBs than any site specializing in CVBs only.

Both PlanSoft and EventSource include links to more than 1,000 CVBs and national travel offices. With the PlanSoft site, CVBs can be searched for by name, region, state/province, or metro area. The searches yield contact names, addresses, phone, fax, email and a hot-link to the CVB web site. Basic listings are free to CVBs, hotels and other suppliers.

The extensive Plansoft RFP form, however, is generally sent only to meeting facilities directly, rather than through the CVBs, unless noted otherwise by the planner.  The forthcoming on-line RFP tracker will provide more send-to options which will include a CVB option. A commission of up to 4% of guest room revenue booked through the RFP process is charged to the meeting facility.  

EventSource  (www.eventsource.com)

EventSource is the other large online meeting facility directory with an extensive CVB database. “More than 1,000 destination cities” are listed. Cities are searchable by continent, country, region, state or city. Several major U.S. cities have extensive information including city statistics, meeting space summaries, transportation, city awards, expansion plans and more.  The basic listing, however, includes the CVB address, phone, fax, email address, and web site listing (not hot-linked). There are also links to city airport, weather, map, and attractions. Unlike PlanSoft, EventSource does not include CVB sales contact names.

The single-page, well-designed RFP form asks contact information, event dates, desired location, rate, sleeping rooms, meeting space needed, food, beverage, and group history. This RPF will be sent directly to the CVB.  However, revenue is generated by charging 10% commission to the hotel on gross guestrooms booked. EventSource will be changing to a transaction-based model at approximately $4 per room night. The newly designed EventSource site will be available in mid-February 2000.

ConventionBureaus.com (www.conventionbureaus.com)

ConventionBureaus.com is a substantial Web directory focusing specifically on CVBs and National Travel Offices with categorized and searchable links to more than 800 CVBs and National Tourism Offices.  The site is cleanly designed and easy to use. The RFP form (actually a Request for Planning Support) is simple, single-page with several fill-in text boxes. However, this form is not sent directly to CVBs, but to destination management (DMC) firms instead.

As a commercial site, there is both a charge to CVBs for expanded listings (basic listings are free) and a commission charged for booked space to the DMC that is sent the RFP.  

The International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (IACVB) (www.iacvb.org and www.officialtravelinfo.com)

These are the official sites for IACVB with more than 450 member CVB destinations listed. IACVB is currently expanding its database from their member site (www.iacvb.org) to its new site (www.officialtravelinfo.com) designed for both the meeting professional and the general traveler.  Currently, only IACVB members are listed, but, as the www.officialtravelinfo.com site develops, non-IACVB member locations will be included as well. Destination information can be found by following the links to IACVB members’ sites listed alphabetically by US and by Non-US members.

Planners can submit an on-line RFP by drilling down using a clickable map beginning with continent to region to state and then city/metro area. You are given the option of either attaching your existing RFP document or filling out an on-line RFP form which asks contact information, meeting profile, exhibit information, service requirements (AV, car rental, golf, etc.), meeting history, other future meetings, and a general comments section. As the RFP process is a benefit to IACVB members, no commissions are charged to the hotels for sending RFPs.

MeetingPath (www.meetingpath.com)

MeetingPath is a collaborative promotion for 21 regional CVBs in 6 New England states. This innovative site tightly integrates with the CVB sales process – the CVB has total access to the information in real time. This site is a great model for how CVBs and hotels can use a combined web site in a creative manner to mange group business.

The extensive RFP form takes the visitor through seven steps: contact information, meeting information, response preference, sleeping room block, optional meeting/banquet requirements, optional exhibit information, and meeting history.  These leads go directly to the appropriate convention bureau and are then posted to the CVB members. The RFPs can be archived and retrieved by the planner for future meetings as well.

Funding for this site comes from the CVBs so no commissions are charged. 

Here are some of the CVBs than have online RFPs. Most use a simple on-page online form.

Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau  (www.anaheimoc.org)

Meeting space inquiry: www.anaheimoc.org/meeting_space.asp

Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau (www.chicago.il.org)

Meeting Information Request Form: www.chicago.il.org/info_forms/meetingrequest.htm

Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.cincyusa.com)

Request for Proposal: www.cincyusa.com/pages/content/rfp.html

Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.dallascvb.com)

Online RFP: www.dallascvb.com/DCVBmp/Site/2.1.asp 

Convention and Visitors Bureau Of Greater Kansas City (www.visitkc.com)

Request for Proposal: www.visitkc.com/rfp.cfm

East King County Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.eastkingcounty.org)

Online Request for Proposal: www.eastkingcounty.org/meeting_information_request.htm

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (www.lasvegas24hours.com)

Sample lead sheet bulletin: www.lasvegas24hours.com/convention/cnv_book.html

Book a meeting or convention: www.lasvegas24hours.com/convention/cnv_form.html

Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau  (www.miamiandbeaches.com)

Request for Proposal: www.miamiandbeaches.com/forms/cvb_rfp.asp

Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association – GMCVA (www.minneapolis.org)

Meeting Planner Profile Form: www.minneapolis.org/gmcva/convent/plannerform.html

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau www.neworleanscvb.com

Convention Information Form: www.neworleanscvb.com/csurvey.html

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (www.go2orlando.com/cvb)

RFP: www.ocvb.com/meet/rfp.htm 

Portland Oregon Visitors Association (www.pova.com)

Request for Proposal: www.pova.com/meetingplanners/bookpdx/index.asp

Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.raleighcvb.org)

Meeting Planners Request Form: www.raleighcvb.org/meet-plan.html

San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (www.sfvisitor.com)

Book a Meeting: www.sfvisitor.com/convention/html/BookMeeting.html

Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.santafe.org)

Online RFP: www.santafe.org/destination/RFP.html

Greater Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.tourism-vancouver.org)

Meetings & Events RFP Form: www.tourism-vancouver.org/docs/meeting/meeting_form.html

Washington D.C. Convention & Visitors Association (www.washington.org)

Book a Meeting: www.washington.org/c_services/book.html 

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