Despite an economy that has had trouble keeping its footing, one of the key barometers of metro Atlanta's convention business and a strong contributor to the area's overall health may end the fiscal year in the black.
The Georgia World Congress Center, the nation's fourth largest convention center, reported on Tuesday that it had a profit against budget of $2.6 million in May.
The figure is significant because the convention industry brings hundreds of thousands of people to metro Atlanta to spend money in hotels, restaurants and retail stores. That in turns keeps thousands employed and the city collecting millions in taxes.
It's perhaps more important because the facility had expected to be deep in the red by this point in the fiscal year. Leaders had anticipated ending fiscal 2011, which closes Thursday, with a loss of about $1.4 million.
Now the facility may close out the year with a profit somewhere above $1 million. That falls below May's $2.6 million figure because leaders anticipate about a $1 million loss in June due to soft business and the base cost of operating a facility that covers almost 4 million square feet.
The GWCC's fortunes contrast with the slower, more modest growth that metro Atlanta's hotels are experiencing this year, said Mark Woodworth, president of Colliers PKF Hospitality Research, which tracks the hotel industry. PKF said room demand continues to grow, with occupancy at 58.9 percent.
"The not so good news is that we had forecast room rates to grow by 4.3 percent," Woodworth said. "We have lowered our forecast to 1.6 percent. Room rates just are not coming back as quickly as predicted. Buyers have remained very price conscience."
Ed Walls, general manager of the Westin Peachtree Plaza in downtown Atlanta, agreed. He said business for the major hotels has been flat or slightly down compared to 2010, which was a banner year for occupancy because of an extraordinary number of citywide group meetings.
So what turned things around for the GWCC this fiscal year? Microsoft.
Attendance at a recent meeting to train users on the company's software was bigger than expected. The 8,000 registered attendees were boosted by an additional 2,250 people. And attendees spent freely on food and beverage, a key source of income for the convention facility.
"We were really holding our breath whether we would even break even," Pattsie Rand, GWCC director of sales and marketing, said of the facility's financials. "What helped was a last minute surge in registration for [Microsoft] TechEd."
