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Does Salt Lake need a convention center hotel?
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This is well spent taxpayer money. Period. If a major hotel is built it will bring more conventions and ALL of the hotels and businesses in the area will benefit. Right now there is one major convention in this town twice a year (Outdoor Retailer). That particular show brings over 6 million dollars in tax revenues every time it comes to town. If you look at the gross numbers, that means 100 million dollars is spent over a 10 day period or so. That is huge money being lost for every show of that size we can't accommodate.
The Grand America Hotel was a promise to the USOC and IOC if they brought the Olympics here he would build them a hotel worthy of their use. After the SL Olympic Scandal they ended up not using the Grand for fear of backlash. So there it sits, mostly at a low occupancy, as a memorial to the greed of Earl Holding.
Salt Lake does need a major convention hotel within a "short" walking distance or adjacent to the Salt Palace. Adding a 1,000 room hotel will only help our ability to host conventions and is a far cry from the overbuilt city of Las Vegas.
How short-sighted of you to think that creating a community amenity that enhances the flow of external dollars into our economy is a foolish use of taxpayer dollars.
Adding the hotel only enhances the desirability of our convention center.
to Spend More: people aren't booking conventions in Vegas or CA because it's EXPENSIVE. Plus, many people have the "been there, done that" attitude. Salt Lake is great. We just need more options to attract the larger groups!
Holding's Grand America was built using the "If-you-build-it-they-will-come" philosophy.
Except - they didn't.
Are we about to make the same mistake - at taxpayers' expense?
The fact is, Las Vegas (SLC's biggest competitor for this kind of business) is struggling to fill their rooms right now. And Las Vegas is typically MUCH more attractive as a meeting destination than SLC. To meeting attendees. (You know... attendees... the people who would be actually coming...)
So we've got the Outdoor Retailers. OK. That's ONE convention. What about the rest of the year? Do we have committments from meeting planners that they WILL hold their annual meetings in SLC? Can we book this thing out 12 months?
And what does building this do to change the perception of SLC as a painfully boring burg? Nada.
And what happens to the other downtown hotels when they don't get even the little meeting business they get now? They get bupkus.
Let's see the feasability studies, the marketing plan, the forward bookings, and the hard numbers BEFORE we throw away a billion or two on a new white elephant.
Dude... check their current marketing.
They're practically giving the place away. Their prices are easily on a par with SLC right now. The hotels are desperate for business.
And if SLC is such an attractive place for attendees, why is it every time I go to a conference and say I live in SLC, the response is, "Why???"
And the next question is, "Are you Mormon?" (I am not.)
Don't get me wrong: I love living in SLC. I'd almost rather the secret doesn't get out. But if we want to attract meeting business, things need to change. We need a real entertainment district. And liquor laws that don't wiffle on about protecting the eyes of the children from the SIGHT of a bottle of demon alcohol, and impose absurd and expensive restrictions on restauranturs and bar owners.
Our convention needs are such that we need a hotel not a convention center.
You don't get much more world class than that.
So why not book your people into the EXISTING world class hotel? Is it because they're not really willing to pay for "world class"? (BTW: the Grand is cheaper than most 5 Diamonds found anywhere in the country).
And if you're already booking your conventions in Salt Lake City, clearly you've found the lodging you need already here.
If not, how many conventions are you willing to COMMIT to bringing to SLC if this hotel is built? How much GUARANTEED attendee revenue will SLC see from you, personally?
When you can show me facts and guaranteed numbers, I'll be willing to conceed that a new mega-hotel will benefit SLC and Utah's(?) economies. Until then, I remain
Unconvinced.
There is a problem, though. The hotels are clustered too many blocks south. And the walk to the convention center, through giant intersections, is not pretty. And the restaurants and bars are spread so thin it is tough for them to know where to go afterwards.
Once Utah was a great deal. No anymore. You can get more fun for your money in many other cities. SF has the bay, beaches, redwood, many of the world's finest restaurants. SLC has Temple square. :-)
Yours is exactly the kind of attitude that keeps people away from Utah. If we want tourism and meeting business, we become hosts of those we seek to invite here (our guests). As such, we should be generous and considerate of our guests.
The world is full of pretty good people with different views, opinions, and beliefs from yours.
So step outside your self-imposed bubble once in a while, and greet the outside world with an open heart and an open mind. It's not that scary to get another perspective. Really.
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Those saying we need a convention hotel are after the tax payers money and is obviously not the time to be spending on an unknown future. If Las Vegas and California can't fill their convention centers what makes them think conventions will come to Utah? Fraudulent waste of taxes and pipe dreams.