Sagging food sales give GWCC indigestion

Champagne and caviar are out this year at big national shows at the Georgia World Congress Center. But so, it seems, are beer and pretzels.

The nation’s fourth-largest convention center says sales of food and beverages are off more than $2 million — a slide that could play a big role in whether the facility ends the year in the red for the first time in years.

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Brant Sanderlin/Staff

GWCC Executive Sous Chef, John Barrett plates a chicken dish for more than 700 people Wednesday.

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“Our food service is almost two-thirds of our shortfall,” GWCC Executive Director Dan Graveline told the facility’s board late last month.

The reason: convention organizations, faced with tightening budgets and smaller member attendance, are spending less on eating at big meetings. They are also pulling back on entertaining, which means many are eschewing fancy mixers where attendees clink martini glasses or beer mugs.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, the GWCC’s overall revenue was about $1.9 million below its forecast of about $28 million as of the end of April. By comparison, it was $1.6 million above forecast at the same point in 2008, $2.4 million above forecast in 2007 and $3.8 million above forecast in 2006.

Leaders from industry organizations confirmed a pullback.

“Entertainment still exists … however, at different price points,” said Jim Wulfekuhle, spokesman for International Woodworking Federation, which hosts one of the biggest conventions in Atlanta. “Everyone is making decisions on what is most cost effective.”

A lot of spending depends on how healthy the industry is, industry observers said. Meetings in the medical field are still spending relatively strongly, while those involving struggling sectors like real estate are more austere.

Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said he expects normal spending on food and beverage when the group comes to the GWCC next year, barring a further downturn in the economy.

Convenience store sales are up, partly because of quick-serve meals, he said, and that makes food a critical part of shows.

“We’re looking at how we deliver value to our attendees,” he said. “We’re demonstrating the business case that if you have a bunker mentality you won’t grow.”