Getting Down To Group Business
Two legislative bills could open the door for a new conference center along Alabama’s Gulf Coast
By Selena Chavis, Condo Owner Magazine, April 26, 2013
The Alabama Gulf Coast is leaving money on the table, according to local city officials. Estimates suggest that the region loses as many as 60,000 room nights every year to groups that have to take their business elsewhere due to space limitations and lack of room availability.
According to Herb Malone, president and CEO of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), many associations, corporations and social groups would like to bring their events to Alabama’s beaches, but the region simply lacks the infrastructure needed to accommodate them. “Not only do we lose the economic impact of groups coming in from out-of-state, but we also lose association and meetings business from groups within the state of Alabama to other destinations,” he noted.
Now, two state legislative bills have been proposed that many hope will pave the way for a public-private partnership to develop a new lodge and conference center at Gulf State Park. Supported by city officials and hospitality industry professionals in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, the new development would essentially replace and expand upon the previous lodge development—Gulf Start Park Resort—that was demolished after Hurricane Ivan.
The bills are sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, state representative from Daphne, and Rep. Steve McMillan, state representative from Gulf Shores, and would allow the Alabama Department of Conservation to contract with a private developer for a new lodge and conference center along Gulf State Park’s 29 beach-front acres.
According to Malone, the pristine location that was once home to Gulf State Park Resort has essentially sat dormant since 2004, and the goal is to replace the former lodge with a development that will make the region more appealing for group business. While some properties exist in the region that can accommodate meetings, many larger groups have to choose other destinations to meet their needs.
“Typically, it’s going somewhere in the Florida Panhandle,” Malone said.
Located in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., the Emerald Coast Convention Center opened its doors in in 2002, and by the end of 2007, the property was racking up 62,000 visitor nights annually in area hotels and condominiums, according to a study conducted by the Haas Center. A research arm of the University of West Florida, the center’s report covered the time period from October 2006 to September 2007 and also cited a $7.7 million economic impact from visitor spending and a 300% return on investment of bed tax dollars.
“We have only increased in sales, so this is a very modest figure for 2013,” said Tisha Maraj, CMP, sales and marketing manager with the convention center, which offers groups a choice of 12 distinct meeting rooms that can be combined to create the 21,000-square-foot Emerald Grand Ballroom.
Earlier this year, the Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved the legislation with a near-unanimous vote, and as of mid-March, the Senate version of the bill was still under consideration by the Committee on Tourism and Marketing. Malone expressed hope that the final approval would come by the end of the legislative session in May. Once final approval is received, the Department of Conservation can then move forward with initiating a request for proposal (RFP) to identify potential partners.
“It can move fast, it can move slow, or it could not move at all,” Malone said.
While many acknowledge the potential of a conference center and lodge to attract new group business to the Alabama Gulf Coast, there are those who are opposed to the bill. Malone noted that some of the objections stem from concerns that the new development would put private enterprise in an unfair position of competing with the state for room nights and group business.
He added that statistics reveal that the opportunities would far outweigh the concerns, and other properties would likely gain room nights in the slower shoulder months as larger groups could produce overflow for area condominiums and hotels. Also, Malone pointed out that all of the 223 properties within the competing region were built after the former lodge existed and effectively competed in the market during the years it was operational.
News reports also detail opposition from former Conservation Commissioner Charley Grimsley, who successfully lobbied against a 2008 plan to build a 350-room luxury hotel in the state park through a private partnership with Auburn University. He cited his belief that the state constitution should not be altered to eliminate a financial commitment from local cities while still requiring that taxpayers foot the conference center bill.
In response, Gulf Shore Mayor Robert Craft pointed to the need for private expertise to operate the lodge and conference center. Craft said, “Obviously if we’re going to compete in the conference business we need somebody experienced in conference operations and that ideally would be a flag hotel—if we could get one interested and bring it in here—that does these things around the country and does them with quite a degree of success and with a good reputation. So that’s what we’re hoping will happen.”
While the scope of what could potentially be built in Gulf State Park has not been determined, Malone noted that it would certainly be designed to meet the needs of groups already wanting to host events in the region.
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