The hospitality marketplace is an entanglement of choices that meeting and event planners must sift through when selecting a venue. In the past several years, due mainly to the efforts of Unique Venues and our partner educational organizations such as ACCED-I, ACUHO-I, ACUI, CUCCOA and NACAS, we have made the option of using a college or university campus a more viable and “top of mind” option.
But for YOUR campus to be top of mind with planners, Unique Venues highly recommends implementing these critical best practices for marketing your campus conference and event venue.
In this 5 part series of posts, campus venues can learn the 5 best practices for marketing your campus.
Part 5: Get involved and network.
Join local, regional and if suitable, national meeting industry organizations to meet, network and develop relationships with meeting and event planners. join your local Chamber of Commerce, your Convention and Visitors Bureau and get to know your area hotel sales managers. Take them to linch and brainstorm on how you can share leads that each other cannot accomodate.
And, by all means, make sure you are on a first name basis with any other college and university collegiate conference and event professional in your area. Collaborate, cross-market, share leads or just occasionally meet to share challenges, strategies and new ideas for operating and marketing your conference departments.
Author Bio: Chuck Salem is the president of Unique Venues, a marketing membership organization that brings together collegiate
campus venues with meeting and event planners. Prior to Unique Venues, Chuck was employed as the Assistant Vice President for Conference and Auxiliary Services at the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus where he established the award-winning Conference Center at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Chuck is a past president of the Association of Collegiate Conference and Events Director International (ACCED-I).