Meeting Expectations
It’s called the Assoc. of Rural and Small Libraries, or the ARSL.
As that name suggests, its mission is to “build strong communities through advocacy, professional development, and elevating the impact of rural and small libraries.”
Its members were in Albuquerque last week for the group’s annual conference. But a year ago, they were in Springfield, some 1,400 of them.
This is a national association that takes that annual conference to every corner of the country, said Alicia Szenda, vice president of Sales for the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, now doing business as Explore Western Mass, adding that it will likely be several years before it returns to the Northeast and maybe several more before it comes back to the City of Homes.
But there’s a decent chance it will — because the group liked what it saw, everything from a library with some architectural significance to an attraction that can’t be found in New Mexico or anywhere else.
“They couldn’t have been more thrilled with the fact that Dr. Seuss was from Springfield and there’s a Seuss museum here,” said Szenda, adding that ARSL typifies the type of group this region is trying to attract, and its reasons for coming here point to why the past fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) was a good one for the 413 when it came to both hosting meetings and conventions, and, even more importantly, putting events on the books for the next several years.
Alicia Szenda
“They couldn’t have been more thrilled with the fact that Dr. Seuss was from Springfield and there’s a Seuss museum here.”
Indeed, just five years after COVID devastated the conventions sector, it has made a nearly full recovery, said Mary Kay Wydra, longtime president of Explore Western Mass, adding that, by and large, meetings and conventions have returned to in-person affairs.
And this region is more than holding its own in the increasingly competitive climate for gatherings large and small, with the main competition for those eyeing the Northeast coming from Hartford, Conn. and Providence, R.I., but also Boston for some shows, as well as Worcester, Lowell, Manchester, N.H., and other cities. For national groups, there is obviously much more competition, said Wydra, adding that this region bumps up often against such cities as Des Moines, Iowa and Harrisburg, Pa.
As it has for years now, the region continues to try to sell event planners on what Szenda and Wydra call the ‘3 A’s’ — affordability, accessibility, and attractions.
Affordability comes in many forms, but especially a $169 hotel room rate, on average, for groups, which is far less than Boston and competitive with those other cities listed above. Accessibility refers to the region’s proximity to several major highways (for groups that will drive to their meetings), but also a location that makes it convenient for residents of all six New England states and New York. As for attractions, the Seuss Museum and MGM Springfield now give the region more selling points in addition to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Six Flags, and other destinations.
For this issue and its focus on travel and tourism, we talked with Szenda and Wydra about the region’s ongoing efforts to attract meetings and conventions and the dollars they bring to several different sectors of the local economy.
Staying Power
The state’s Democrats staged their annual convention in Springfield earlier this month.
Most business was conducted over a Saturday, but still, more than 300 hotel rooms were booked for the gathering, said Wydra, adding that the Democrats meet in different Bay State cities on a rotating basis.
Such return business — and this region sees a good amount of it — is one of the keys to long-term success in this business, she said, adding that another is getting in front of groups and making a pitch for the 413.
Mary Kay Wydra
“When we saw it, we said, ‘we know we can do an amazing job of hosting this event,’ and we started working then and there to push the Commonwealth to come west.”
And the team at Explore Western Mass has been making more of these pitches, which is indicative of the aggressive nature of its pursuit of convention business, but also stronger interest in this region and those 3 A’s.
“In fiscal ’25, we had more site visits than we did the year before,” Szenda said. “And those are so important to us because we find that, once meeting planners and event right holders come to the area and see what we have to offer and meet the teams everywhere, we have a really good conversion rate.”
In fact, she noted, 75% of those groups who came to this region for a site visit wound up booking their event here.
“That’s a great number,” she said, adding that it can be attributed to several factors, from the region’s affordable character to the strong customer service provided by the team at Explore Western Mass, to the fact that the Convention Center Carpark was nearing completion and is now open, making downtown Springfield much easier to navigate.
“Opening the parking garage is huge,” she said, adding that the carpark and the new space next to it called the Landing gives the city and this region another strong selling point.
Szenda was pushing these points at the recent Destination East trade show in Providence, attended by groups looking to meet in the eastern part of the country.
“We had planners from Florida up to Maine, all the way up the coast,” she explained. “I’ve already had several conversations since I left Providence with some meeting planners and have received some opportunities for business specific to Western Mass.”
And there is already a solid number of meetings and conventions on the books for the next few months and years, a mix of new and repeat business that includes the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Massachusetts Health Officers Assoc., Yankee Security’s annual trade show (coming in October), the New England Grooming Show (a dog grooming competition coming back for a third year in Springfield), the Steubenville East Youth Conference, New England Regional Volleyball (slated for next February), a variety of regional dance and cheer events, the Ironman triathlon, and more.
Putting more events in the pipeline, the goal of every city and region, often comes down to making a strong case, and then, when an event comes here, helping to make sure things run smoothly, said Wydra, adding that communication is key, as is working with groups on issues such as the closed parking garage.
Both ends of the equation were on display with a gathering of the Governors Conference on Travel and Tourism, an event that was resurrected by the Healey administration after not being held for several years.
The first conference was staged in Boston, said Wydra, and while attending that gathering, those at Explore Western Mass became determined to bring it here — and they did.
“When we saw it, we said, ‘we know we can do an amazing job of hosting this event,’ and we started working then and there to push the Commonwealth to come west,” she told BusinessWest. “Alicia put together a great response to their request for proposals, and we did a lot of hospitality. We wanted to showcase to the Office and Travel and Tourism and all the people in our industry how we service visitors. The amenities we offer when a pet groomer comes or the rural librarians come, we did for the guests of the governor’s conference.
“And we got high marks on the survey after the conference for all those extra steps,” she went on, adding that these good scores are common and help explain why the region often stands out in the crowded field for meetings and conventions, and why there is so much repeat business. “We’re competing with other destinations all the time, so the little stuff really matters.”
Drawing Conclusions
As noted earlier, the rural librarians may not return to Springfield and the Seuss Museum for several years, given the many areas of the country it will visit for its annual conference.
But they liked what they saw, and they gave the 413 high marks for its hospitality. This is all a region can hope to do as it brings groups in for their gatherings — make a solid impression that will bring them back.
This formula has helped Western Mass. make a full recovery from the pandemic when it comes to meetings and conventions — and create some real optimism for the years to come.
