More than 100 North Texas hotels, American Airlines and several ground transportation providers are offering special incentives for group meetings booked and held in
North Texas by Dec. 31, 2009. The new DFW Meet Now Promise
co-op program was introduced this week by the cities and convention and visitors bureaus of
Irving,
Arlington,
Dallas, and
Fort Worth, and
the Hotel Association of North Texas at DFW International Airport, headquarters of program participant American Airlines.
"We're thrilled to have played a role in the creation of this initiative,” notes
Maura Gast, executive director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Not only does the program offer significant exposure for the region and an excellent incentive to bring meetings to the area, it also conveys an important message to our clients.
“It presents the DFW area as a place where we understand their business, their concerns, and their needs, and are able to provide an innovative solution. The fact that the solution also highlights a strong spirit of collaboration and partnership throughout the area makes it that much more powerful."
Tim Sullivan, President of the Hotel Association of
North Texas, adds “We can not to wait for the economy to improve. The North Texas regional hospitality community has combined our time, energy, cooperative funding and ideas to help meeting planners nationwide bring their meetings to
Dallas in 2009. What’s more, every major hotel brand in the four participating cities have signed up representing every tier of services – luxury, economy, full-service and extended stay.
“DFW Meet Now Promise may very well be the largest multi-city, multi-brand, business-to-business incentive program underway in the hospitality industry today.”
This program is designed to address meeting and event planners’ most essential priorities. Under the new program, groups planning to meet in Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding area hotels prior to Dec. 31, 2009 will receive the following:
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Competitive rates and proposals from Dallas/Fort Worth area hotels with a guarantee of fully waived room attrition.*
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20 percent discount from participating ground transportation providers.
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Additional group discounts and comps on American Airlines.
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A convenient on-line solution for the meeting planner by visiting http://www.dfwpromise.com/ where they can register their RFP on line. Client preferences will be matched to venues, hotels and meeting requirements.
“I have to say that my colleagues in the industry and I are thrilled with this offer,” said Carol Benavidez, CMP, Associate Regional Vice President for Helms Briscoe and the 2008-09 President of the MPI D/FW Chapter. “It is extraordinary that the Meet Now team has been able to align so many hotels, transportation companies and American Airlines around one offer that, I have to say, is very meaningful to me as a meetings professional.”
Roger Dow, President & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association stated, “During these challenging economic times, partnership, value and creativity are going to win. The DFW Meet Now Promise is truly a win-win-win for planners, hotels and the North Texas region.”
The D/FW area is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the nation, the #1 visitor destination in the state and a leading convention destination. DFW International Airport, a successful collaborative venture between North Texas cities, is now the world’s third-busiest airport, offering nearly 1,750 flights daily and providing non-stop service to 134 domestic and 37 international destinations worldwide.
*What is attrition and why do hotels charge attrition?
- Attrition clauses are a part of standard hotel contracts used to ensure that organizations fulfill their contracted obligations.
- Attrition fees are applied when a conference group cannot fill at least 80%, or an otherwise agreed upon percentage, of the contracted number of rooms.
- The organization is responsible for using a minimum number of sleeping rooms per contract and if those minimums are not met, attrition penalties, meeting room and exhibit hall charges will apply.
- Attrition fees are compensation to the hotel for the rooms that might have been sold had they not been removed from the market by contract.
