CVB: It

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Local officials attributed the rate of cancellations to the publicc backlash generated when it was revealed that American InternationaloGroup Inc. (NYSE: AIG) spent a reported $440,000 on an executive meeting at a Californiqa resort after billions of dollars in taxpayetr money was used to bail out the insurancdeholding company. Organizations — bailed out or not are cutting backon off-site meetings to avoif perceived extravagance, industry observers said. In Austin, lost hospitalitt business erodesthe city’s tax base and adds to the unemploymeng rolls.
But the damage hasn’t been as bad as it has been in othee cities considered plush locations for such saidBob Lander, president and CEO of the Austin Convention Visitors Bureau. “Austin is not consideredr what you’d call a paradis e destination,” he said. By earlier this month, the Las Vega Convention and Visitors Authority reported 340 event cancellationsz in the previous90 days, a decline that is estimatex to have cost that city’s economuy about $131.6 million. In Orlando, 114 meeting cancellations hada $26 million economic impac t during the first quarter, said Brianb Martin, spokesman for the Orlando/Orangs County Convention & Visitors Bureah Inc.
Austin’s hotel room revenue, the average amountr each room generatesfrom guests, has declinede 11 percent this year. At least one other U.S. city of Austin’ss size has reported a 28 percent decline, Lander said. no major Austin conventions have been canceleds so farthis year, he said. The CVB plannedx about 61 events that used the Austinb Convention Center and more than one downtowh hotelduring 2008. About 60 such events are planned forthis year, Landert said. Austin’s downtown hotels posted a 75.7 percent occupanc y rate through October 2008versus 75.9 percent durintg all of 2007. Citywide, hotel occupancy declined to 71.5 percenr through October 2008 comparedwith 72.
3 percent in 2007, accordingf to Atlanta-based hospitality industry research firm PKF Consultingg Corp. Paul Serff, president and CEO of the Texaes TravelIndustry Association, agreed with Landef about the recession coupled with bailout backlashb dampening the meetings business. “Austin in particular is holdingt as strong as any place for aconventionj traveler,” Serff said. “Texas in general will fare a lot better than many other states because of the reputation Texas has for hosting meetings and thevalue provide.
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