How the ICBA 2012 Hotel Sold Out Six Months in Advance

As you should know, the Sanibel Harbour Marriott is sold out for the ICBA 2012 Retail Conference in February. February? That's six months from now. How did that happen?

ICBA contracted with the Sanibel Harbour Marriott for 2012 before our 2011 Conference in Las Vegas. ICBA 2011 in Las Vegas set the record for ICBA hotel rooms. In event management there is something called the “Vegas Bump”. No, it's not that dance you saw Steve and Gina doing. It is that when events meet in Las Vegas they experience an unusually high attendance. So was the great attendance in Vegas the bump? Apparently not. Because room reservations for ICBA 2012 are already 6% ahead of our Las Vegas record. ICBA outgrew the Sanibel Marriott.

As soon as we saw the situation unfolding, ICBA alerted stores and vendors to get their hotel reservations, and our stores and vendors responded quickly. ICBA promptly contracted an outstanding overflow hotel, a brand new Marriott Residence Inn only two miles away, with ICBA providing convenient shuttle service between the two hotels.

The value of the ICBA Conference to both stores and vendors continues to grow, and we are not perfect at predicting our growth. The ICBA education program continues to expand and now delivers content for more staff members from each store. For example, middle management, course material managers, and marketing directors. Currently store registration for ICBA 2012 is ahead of 2011.

Each year more vendors realize the value of ICBA Business Encounter and PRIMEtime over conventional trade shows, so our vendor attendance continues to grow. Las Vegas was our record for vendor registration, but currently vendor registration for ICBA 2012 PRIMEtime & Business Encounter is ahead of 2011.

Some locations draw a larger attendance. February is peak season in South Florida, with an average high of 77 degrees :-)  The Sanibel Harbour Marriott is a very popular property. And you can top that off with the ICBA rate of $139 at a hotel that typically charges over $300 a night.

At a time when all other industry events appear to be experiencing a decline in attendance, ICBA is growing.

So what should you do?

Make your reservation TODAY at the Marriott Residence Inn

Reserve by phone: 239.415.4150
ICBA Group Code: icbicba
Be sure to mention "ICBA Group"

And REGISTER FOR ICBA 2012 TODAY!

http://www.icbainc.com/Content/Conference/Attend-ICBA-2012.aspx

See you in Florida!

Posted by Stacy Waymire, ICBA Executive Director