Suburban convention centers compete with free parking, singular customer focus

Until 2008, the Atlanta Home Show alternated between the Georgia World Congress Center in spring and the Cobb Galleria Centre in fall.

But the lure of free parking, easy access to Cobb's Cumberland Mall and a desire to avoid downtown traffic jams caused by concerts and sporting events led Home Show leaders in 2009 to make the Cobb Galleria the convention's permanent location year round.

"It was our exhibitors who wanted to move out there," said Atlanta Home Show director Michael Schoppenhorst. "It was about taking the show to the people instead of making the people come to the show."

Though their sizes pale in comparison to the GWCC -- the nation's fourth largest convention center --  metro Atlanta's suburban convention centers are competitive in a market saturated by every type of meeting space, from the hotel ballroom to conference rooms at the former Macy's building downtown.

They compete by being less expensive and closer to chain restaurants that some conventioneers prefer, by playing up easy access to interstates and by stressing free parking to convention planners whose customers rate that as a top concern.

It's a useful strategy when marketing against something as large as the GWCC. At capacity, hosting 15,000 people would be a stretch for most the suburban facilities, while the GWCC easily handles the 55,000 attendees to some of its bigger shows. At 3.9 million square feet, the GWCC is one of a handful of facilities that could accommodate 100,000 visitors in shows such as the annual National Restaurant Association meeting.

But small has advantages, the suburban convention center operators say. Because they generally can handle only one convention at a time, they market to "mid-size trade shows and conventions that want to be the "big fish in the small pond," said Karen Caro, marketing manager for Cobb Galleria.

"We can give them all the signage and purpose the building entirely for them," said Gwinnett Centre and Gwinnett Arena spokeswoman Lisa Anders. "For many of our customers being in Hall C of a much bigger building is not what they are looking for."

Mark Geiger, a spokesman for the GWCC, said the building is large enough that three conventions can operate simultaneously in its three halls and feels as if they are the only meeting in the building.

"It all boils down to what kind of event a meeting planner or an exhibitor is looking for," he said.

Finding a way to differentiate from the GWCC and, for that matter, from each other is critical in metro Atlanta's $11 billion hospitality industry and in an increasingly competitive meetings business, industry leaders said.

The nation has binged on convention center construction in the last 10 years, adding more supply than demand warranted. Frequent industry critic, University of Texas at San Antonio professor Heywood Sanders, has said the build up occurred at the same time meeting attendance has fallen.

And there are other challenges, leaders at the suburban facilities said.

Gwinnett Center has lost business because it lacks of an attached, "convention hotel" -- a full-service lodger with more than 200 rooms, within walking distance, Anders said. And getting conventioneers to the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola, which are in high demand at suburban facilities, takes more planning and coordination.

And like the GWCC, business is just beginning to rebound this year after a tough 2009, the leaders said. Emory Conference Center Hotel general manager Kathy Johnson said resurgent association and group bookings next month will make October one of the best on record.

To compete, many suburban convention centers -- including Lake Lanier Islands Resort, the Georgia International Convention Center, Chateau Elan and Emory Conference Center -- have reached out to specific markets.

The GICC, because of its proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, has found success with conventioneers who value quick "fly-in, fly-out" meetings. Gwinnett's niche is faith-based gatherings and state association meetings while Emory has focused on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the university and weddings.