021908 ABA Wrap UpAmerican Bus Association
2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
February 19, 2008
City Council Presentation
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
ABA’s over 1,000 motorcoach and tour company
members own and control destination decisions for
more than 25,000 motorcoaches in the U.S. and
Canada.
In addition, magazine reaches 2,000
Destinations
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operators who control another 10,000 motorcoaches
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Planning for ABA
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Advisory Committees
Over 125 hospitality and tourism
employees from across the region and
the Commonwealth served on 11
advisory committees!
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
2008 ABA Committees
Hospitality Education
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Welcome
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Publicity/Marketing
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Evening Events
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Host City Booth
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Sightseeing Tours
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Sponsorship
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Volunteer
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Pre-Familiarization
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Transportation
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Tours
Dine Around
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Virginia Beach rolled out the red carpet!
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Airport Welcome
Norfolk International Airport greeted
978 ABA passengers in just 2 days,
And said farewell and expressed thanks to
over 1,200 passengers on departure day!
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
By the Numbers
Over 700 Motorcoach and Tour Operators
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Over 3,300 Travel Industry Professionals
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Registered
Total Attendance -3,500
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Approximately 12,000 Total Hotel Room Nights
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(8,000 Originally Anticipated)
12 Host Hotels
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12 Other Volunteer Hotels
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1,300 Regional Sightseeing Tour Reservations
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Transportation
Virginia Beach CVB staff moved over
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3,200 delegates daily from 12 host hotels
to the Convention Center.
Over 50 motorcoaches were running at
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any given time to transport ABA
delegates.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Sponsors
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FEBRUARY 2-7, 2008
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Major Sponsors
AII-In-One Tours
America's Premier Shopping Places
Atlantic Sands Oceanfront Hotel
BCF - Boom Your Brand
Bedford Tourism
Best Western Oceanfront
Blue Ridge Parkway Association, Inc.
Bryant & Stratton College
Budweiser - Hoffman Beverage Co.
Catch-A-Wave Partners
Cavalier Hotel
Charlottesville Albemarle CVB
Chesapeake Conventions & Tourism
Colonial Connections
Courtyard by Marriott Oceanfront North
Courtyard by Marriott Winchester
Crowne Plaza Williamsburg
Days Inn Oceanfront
Distinctive Gourmet
DoubleTree Hotel
Fairfield Inn & Suites
Fredericksburg Area Tourism
Fun Tours
Great Wolf Lodge
Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance
Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau
HCD Advertising c/o L TO Management
Hilton Garden Inn Town Center
Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront
HMS Host
Holiday Inn Sunspree
Hopewell Office of Tourism
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Landmark Hotel Group
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Major Sponsors
Lynchburg Regional CVB
Lynnhaven Mall
Mid Atlantic Receptive Services
Museum of the Confederacy
Newport News Tourism Development Office
Norfolk Airport Authority
Norfolk Convention & Visitors Bureau
Ocean Breeze Water Park
Oceanfront Inn
Phillips Seafood
Portsmouth Convention & Visitors Bureau
Professional Hospitality Resources
Richmond Metropolitan CVB
Sand bridge Realty
Sandcastle Resort Hotel
Sheraton Oceanfront
SpringHill Suites
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Mariners' Museum
Town Center of Virginia Beach
Towne Bank
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
Virginia Arts Festival
Virginia Motorcoach Association
Virginia Tourism Corporation
Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Over 400 volunteers
covered nearly 1,700 shifts!
(6,800 volunteer hours)
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
“Your staff, volunteers, venues, etc. were outstanding!
Words cannot express how impressed my staff and I
were with everything!I can’t wait to visit again!”
Susan K Harris
Marketing Director
Island Resort & Casino
Harris, MI
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Providing Stellar Customer Service
Bryant & Stratton College’s Virginia Beach Hospitality
Academy trained 143 Virginia Beach CVB staff and 180
individuals from the hospitality industry directly involved
with ABA.
In addition, 400 ABA volunteers and CVB staff attended
Virginia Beach ABA volunteer training which included a
customer service element.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
“Speaking from experience I know you had a
tremendous amount of work and volunteers behind
this and it certainly paid off!... It was obvious to me
that you educated your hotels very well on who we
were and what it might take to get some business out
of the buyers.”
Joe Donnelly, CDME
Director of National Sales,
Travel Industry, Transient, Leisure
Gaylord Hotels
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
ABA Host Hotels
· The Cavalier Hotel
· Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront
· DoubleTree Hotel Virginia Beach
· Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort
· Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel
· Courtyard by Marriott North
· Courtyard by Marriott South
· Days Inn Oceanfront
· SpringHill Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront
· Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront
· Fairfield Inn & Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront
· Ocean Beach Club
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Volunteer Host Hotels
· Best Western Oceanfront Virginia Beach
· Clarion Beach Quarters
· Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort Hotel
· Dolphin Inn
· Founders Inn and Spa
· Ramada on the Beach
· Holiday Inn Executive Center
· Crowne Plaza Virginia Beach
· Oceanfront Inn
· Virginia Beach Resort & Conference Center
· Atlantic Sands Hotel
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Sightseeing tours were sold out!
Over 1,300 delegates signed up.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
15 Different Siqhtseeinq Tours
Shopping Tour: Sunday & Wednesday
Whale Watching: Sunday & Wednesday
Kayaking and Biking: Sunday & Wednesday
Edgar Cayce's A.R.E: Sunday & Wednesday
Founders Inn Tour: Sunday & Wednesday
Fishing Tour: Sunday
Hampton Tour: Earth, Moon, Mars & Beyond: Sunday
Portsmouth Historic Seaport Tour: Sunday
Ghost Tours: Sunday
Norfolk's Culture, Wine & Dine: Sunday
Spirit of Norfolk & Norfolk Botanical Garden: Sunday
Settlers From Land to Sea Tour: Wednesday
Hampton Haunts, History & Treasures: Wednesday
Portsmouth's Steeples, History & More: Wednesday
Military Tour (Norfolk & Virginia Beach): Wednesday
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Whale Watching –Virginia Beach
Historic Seaport -Portsmouth
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Bob Heinzen of Treasure Valley Tours in Meridian, ID caught a Virginia
State Citation 40 lb 3 oz Striper on a chartered fishing trip while here for
ABA. Croc’s 19th Street Bistro cooked the fish for 11 of his friends.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Cavalier Beach Club Beach Party
Saturday, February 2
· Beach party with two bands -
Butter and The Rhondels
· Sandcastles sponsored by Virginia
Motorcoach Association promoting
ABA's Top 100 Events
· Seafood, King Neptune & Lifeguards
· Fireworks
· 1,300 delegates transported by
motorcoach
"Is there any doubt that Virginia Beach knows how
to throw a party?"
- Peter Pantuso, President & CEO, ABA
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
All-Delegate Breakfast & Opening Ceremony
Honoring the Military -Sunday, February 3
Virginia Beach Convention Center
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine
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Command (TRADOC) Band from Fort
Monroe
Presentation of the colors by the
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U.S. Color Guard
Speakers from the U.S. Defense Department’s
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“Why We Serve”Program awed the crowd
with stories of their military experience.
Captain Mark Hunter, Commanding Officer,
Naval Air Station Oceana, was the MC.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
"Freezin' For A Reason"
Sunday, February 3
70 plungers braved the 43 degree Atlantic Ocean to help raise
$25,000 for the American Cancer Society in memory of Daisy
Cohan, a Virginia Beach CVB staff member.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Dine Around Nights
Sunday, February 3 & Tuesday, February 5
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27 Virginia Beach restaurants
participated
600 delegates were transported via
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motorcoach
Six restaurants offered
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demonstrations and samples of
their signature items at the ABA
Marketplace Dine-Around Booth
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Broadway Matinee
Monday, February 4
Virginia Beach Convention Center Ballroom
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Town Center “Edge of Chic”
Monday, February 4
Participating restaurants: Guadalajara, McCormick &
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Schmick’s, Keagan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant and
Gordon Biersch
Red carpet to and from each venue
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Two AEROS shows at 7:45 pm & 9 pm at the
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Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Entertainment, food and drinks at Sandler Center
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Westin Hotel ballroom with food, drinks and live band
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with dancing
1,500 delegates transported by motorcoach
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Branson Matinee
Tuesday, February 5
Virginia Beach Convention Center Ballroom
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Norfolk Evening Event
Wednesday, February 6
15 different restaurants offered a
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“Taste of Norfolk”
Food and drinks in Nauticus and the
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Half Moone Cruise & Celebration Center
Jazz Lounge
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Dueling pianos
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Tattoo Performances
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Live Mermaids and Temporary Tattoos
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DJ dancing, drinks & desserts dockside
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on the Spirit of Norfolk
Victory Rover offered two naval base
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tours
Sponsored by the Norfolk CVB
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Closing Event Disco Inferno
Thursday, February 7
Sponsored by the Charlotte CVB
2008 Marketplace Chairman John Meier
presented Jennifer Lynch, Tourism
Sales Manager at the Virginia Beach
CVB with a check for $25,000 for the
American Cancer Society in memory of
CVB employee Daisy Cohan.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Educational Outreach Day
66 students from Old Dominion University, Norfolk State
University, North Carolina Central University, Virginia
State University and University of Maryland Eastern
Shore participated in the ABA Diversity Committee's
Educational Outreach Day.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
ABA Give Back Program
Four motorcoach operators attending ABA donated
their time and buses to transport underserved
students from Portsmouth and Newport News to The
Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center and the
Aquarium's Bay Lab.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Virginia Beach Convention Center Set-up
The entire convention center staff pitched in to
flip the ballroom from one major set-up to
another throughout the week.
Even adding a third (overnight) shift to
accommodate.
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Pre-function area
was set for 2,200
for lunch on Monday
and Tuesday.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
"You have a beautiful facility and some
extremely dedicated staff, it really shows!
You did a great job at the Center and the whole
city did an incredible job of making it 'all about
ABA'... We definitely have a hard act follow!"
Elizabeth Wehrheim
Catering Manager
Visit Charlotte (CVB)
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
The Impact
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
The motorcoach industry contributes
over $16.5 million annually to
Virginia Beach's local economy.
Source: Bus Tours and Bus Passengers: Impact on Virginia Beach Economy
Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Association Professor of Tourism & Sports Management
The George Washington University
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
The Marketplace Payoff
· $5 million in direct spending to the City of
Virginia Beach
· $470,000 food & beverage for Distinctive Gourmet,
Virginia Beach Convention Center onsite caterer
· Over $500,000 direct spending with private
dine-around events & sponsored meal events
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Hotel Sales
First Week of February 2008 Compared to 2007
–Of the 10 ABA host hotels that responded to a
survey, all reported revenue increases between
48 and 100%.
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
Media Coverage
The most media coverage an ABA
Marketplace has ever seen!
Beach trade show shows off the region
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Joel Rubin's "On The Record"
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–Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Virginian Pilot
WVEC-TV, Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads Region,
January 20
Bus event to roll out reasons to come back
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Joe Flanagan with WVEC-TV 13 ran a story
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–Friday, February 1, 2008
Virginian Pilot
February 1 on the 5 p.m. news on the American
Bus Association’s Give Back Program.
Study: Bus tours bring in $16.5m a year to Beach
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-Saturday, February 2, 2008
Inside Business
Kristina Rohall with WVEC-TV 13 ran a story
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February 1 on Virginia Beach gearing up for ABA.
Industry leaders reflect on changing industry
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–Monday, February 4, 2008
Inside Business
WVEC News at Noon appearance Tuesday,
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February 5, 2008 with Donald A. DeVivo, President
How does a city attract bus tours? 7 minutes at a time
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of DATTCO.
–Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Virginian Pilot
Convention's success sets tone for future events
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College students check out what bus groups offer
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–Saturday, February 16, 2008
Virginian Pilot
–Wednesday, February 6, 2008
PilotOnline.com
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
· The Virginia Beach Convention Center performed
exceptionally!
· The pride & hospitality of the community shined!
· ABA Marketplace showcased the entire city, the
region and the commonwealth!
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
"You, your staff, the convention center staff and really the whole
city of Virginia Beach are to be commended on the wonderful
event you put on for the ABA convention...my experience in the
short time I was there was the best I have ever had at one of
these conventions. Since I have been attending these bus
related conventions for over 20 years that is saying a lot. I only
hope when our Center comes along that we make half as good a
showing as you and your crew did this week."
Peter F. Martino, C.H.A.
Owner/Manager
Heritage House Hotel & Chauncy's Bar & Grille
Hyannis, MA
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
“We continually heard praise from attendees from all over the
United States regarding our city, the new Convention Center and
the level of hospitality received from everyone. On top of all that
good news -Rockafeller’s experienced an 8% increase over the
same time period in 2007 –I wish that I could say that about
every week.”
Elizabeth “BJ”H. Baumann
President
Rockafeller’s Restaurant
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ABA 2008 Virginia Beach Marketplace
ABA MARKETPLACE 2008
SMASHES ALL PREVIOUS SHOW RECORDS!
“The American Bus Association Marketplace in
Virginia Beach February 2-7 set records for
registration across the board in every delegate
member category, producing the most heavily
attended Marketplace in the event’s 27-year history.”
Statement Released by The American Bus Association
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