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Event bookings down, revenue and customer ratings up at Overland Park Convention Center

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IndiaFest is among the events hosted at the Overland Park Convention Center.
IndiaFest is among the events hosted at the Overland Park Convention Center.

By Andy Graham

While customer surveys indicate record high satisfaction ratings, event bookings and attendance were down in the second quarter of 2017 at the Overland Park Convention Center.

At Overland Park’s Monday night meeting of its Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee, members received an update on the center. Brett Mitchell, convention center general manager, reported that while customer experiences are positive, bookings are slightly lower than anticipated.

Year-to-date, OPCC has hosted 142 events, with an attendance of 186,702 – slightly down from its projected 107 events with 201,500 attendees. By the end of the year, OPCC predicts it will host a total of 292 events and 340,777 total attendees, down from a budgeted 317 events with annual attendance of 369,953. However, total revenue for the year is projected to be $59,341 more than the budgeted $11,887,509.

“The more critical number will always be revenue. When compared to last year thru Q2 (which was a record revenue year), our revenue is up.” Mitchell wrote in an email.

Mitchell said the decrease may be due to a shift in the size of corporate meetings to smaller events that take place in-house at company headquarters.

“The number of events are down due to small corporate-type meetings,” he said. “As business and technology evolves, more of those events are housed internally at their offices, or online.”

However, future projections remain positive.

“Very few convention centers have operating revenues that exceed operational expenses without the need for additional subsidy,” Mitchell said. “Even fewer do that without paid parking. We have done that since our second year of operation and forecast we will deliver an operational surplus of greater than $800k this year, which helps to fund our capital expenditures moving forward.”

In a recent customer survey, the OPCC received its highest marks in ten years. Respondents rated areas that included customer service, food and beverage service, facility operations, and audio-visual capabilities.

According to Mitchell the high ratings are due to service.

“Clients love our staff,” he said. “I receive consistent feedback that our staff enjoys serving people which creates a great environment. They are best I have ever been around in all my years in this industry. They are why we are so successful.”

Approximately $628,392 in facilities improvements will be complete by the end of 2017, including IT upgrades, food and beverage facility enhancements, and miscellaneous projects related to the exterior and overall structure.

About the author

Jay Senter
Jay Senter

Jay Senter is the founder and publisher of the Post.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he worked as a reporter and editor at The Badger Herald.

He went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, where he earned the Calder Pickett Award. While he was in graduate school, he also worked as a reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World.

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