Volunteers sell Hawaii as business destination

Meet Hawaii, a collaborative effort between the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Hawai‘i Convention Center, fell short of its year-end goal again for room nights but is poised to improve with greater reliance on an unlikely weapon: a growing envoy of volunteer salespeople called ‘Elele.

Business travel to Hawaii remains a hard sell. To some the state’s beautiful beaches, sparkling waters and tropical foliage are incongruous with boardroom and convention gatherings. And, in recent times, Hawaii’s business travel sellers have discovered that their arsenal of volunteer community ambassadors in the Meet Hawaii ‘Elele program often are better at elevating Hawaii’s business brand through old-fashioned peer-to-peer contact. To be sure, since 1998 ‘Elele have helped business travel sellers close more than a half-billion dollars in Hawaii business travel deals. Six of them alone have netted travel deals worth more than $40 million.

"People who haven’t come to Hawaii are always struggling with the perception issues. The ‘Elele program brings a wealth of educational and professional experience to the table," said Brian Lynx, Hawaii Tourism Authority vice president of meetings, conventions and incentives. "These are people who love Hawaii, want to showcase their home and are beyond willing to help us craft winning proposals. They will be key for our strategy to close more tentative bookings."

Hawaii’s leisure brand hasn’t always been compatible with business travelers, especially those tied to the government sectors. After the 2008 global financial crisis, Chinese travel sellers said they had a hard time selling business trips to fun destinations like Hawaii. And in many ways the state’s group business is still coming back from the dramatic drop in U.S. business travelers in the aftermath of the Lehman Bros. collapse, the Troubled Asset Relief Program bailouts and the subsequent public outcry regarding company travel. Though Hawaii has seen an improvement in business group bookings and inquiries, some companies are still holding tight on the reins and urging employees not to go so far from home. At the same time, global competition is growing.

"We really cranked up the goals last year with the intention of AEG Facilities (the convention center operator) playing a huge role quickly, but it’s taken them some time to ramp up. Our total goal is 347,500 room nights, and we are forecasting to be at 265,000 or 76 percent of our goal," Lynx said.

Hopes have been high that AEG Facilities, which replaced longtime contractor SMG Hawaii on Jan. 1, 2014, would be able to fill Hawaii hotel rooms with high-spending business visitors. So far, that partnership hasn’t met its highest expectations, and the business side of Hawaii travel has struggled with competition from destinations like Thailand; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; San Diego; Las Vegas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, where prices are sometimes $100 per person per night cheaper. Through November, Lynx said, Meet Hawaii was 20 percent down on its definite room night production, which was at 208,985 versus 264,226. Meet Hawaii’s international contractors realized 71,794 room nights, or 81 percent of their goal.

Still, better times are expected. During the same period, arrivals related to meetings, conventions and incentives were up 11.2 percent to 441,559 visitors. The Hawai‘i Convention Center though October delivered 170,149 room nights, or 151 percent of its three-year-historical goal of 113,652. Also, Lynx said, Meet Hawaii was heading into the end of 2014 with 46 percent more tentative business bookings in the pipeline, which if converted would fill more than a half-million room nights at Hawaii accommodations.

Community leaders who have ties to national and international organizations will play a vital role in helping Hawaii pursue and close these meetings and events, said Debbie Zimmerman, ‘Elele program director. Using their lifetime of professional relationships, the ‘Elele have worked in cooperation with the tourism industry to attract dozens of important meetings and conventions to the state, including the annual meetings of the American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Plant Biologists and American Society of Human Genetics, as well as Pediatric Academic Societies and ocean sciences conferences.

"We have the potential to be the Geneva of the Pacific for research and tech meetings," Zimmerman said. "We are working hard on that using our ‘Elele to make connections and start facilitating those relationships."

As a result, Meet Hawaii and the state’s tourism industry recently honored the University of Hawaii as the ‘Elele Organization of the Year for increasing convention business. Magdy Iskan­der, director of the Hawaii Center for Advanced Communications at UH, said the relationship between the Meet Hawaii team and UH’s ‘Elele will expand beyond the recognition, which solidified the partnership at the highest level.

"It’s the right thing to do," Iskan­der said. "It’s a win-win for all involved. It’s good for the university and for the community and for our colleagues and friends across the globe. It takes a little work but it’s all worth it."

Lynx said the partnership with UH also helps Meet Hawaii reach its goal of bringing enough meetings and events to Hawaii to build the state’s innovation economy by spotlighting research, drawing national companies and capitalists with the ability to invest in the state.

For instance, Wayne Shi­roma, UH engineering professor, was instrumental in bringing the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to Hono­lulu in 2007 and getting it to book a return trip for 2017.

"There was trepidation to attract exhibitors because of the high cost of equipment and the idea that any attendees that came would be stuck at the beach," Shi­roma said. "But we were able to pull it off. Because it was Hawaii, companies sent their top decision makers. It was the largest conference in 2007, and they’re coming back."

Shiroma said UH also benefited from the conference’s presence in Hawaii.

"We now have a student chapter of the IEEE society, and enrollment in my class has doubled every semester," he said. "One former student started two companies based on wireless technology."

Iskander said bringing business and industry events to Hawaii saves travel costs for local businesses and the community.

"Instead of sending people to the mainland or abroad, it’s great if we can bring them here to meet with our students, the community, the military and industry," he said.

While the Hawaii Tourism Authority has yet to set new goals for Meet Hawaii, Lynx said 2015 looks to be a stronger year with improved conversion opportunities.

"Our conversion rate is 41 percent overall, up from 36 percent at the beginning of 2014," he said. "The Meet Hawaii team is working feverishly on increasing our conversion rates at every opportunity in order to maximize our group business."

Lynx said 2016, 2017 and 2018 continue to be opportunity years for business travel to Hawaii. However, he’s convinced that events like the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, to be held in Hawaii in 2016, can be leveraged like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for continued business success.

Denise Konan, dean of the College of Social Sciences at UH Manoa, said she’s working hard with faculty to identify further opportunities for Hawaii.

"To me there are some topics where Hawaii is world-class and we forget it," Konan said. "When groups come and they see our university and our city, they form a different, more sophisticated and mature impression."