Please welcome our newest members who joined IAVM in December 2014 through February 2015—a total of 507 new members. Our network of professionals is growing and we are reaching record numbers. Thank you for being a part of the association!

Continue Reading →

IAVM is pleased to announce the nomination of Doug Booher, CFE, for Second Vice Chair of the IAVM Board of Directors, a prestigious honor denoting exemplary leadership and dedication to the sport, entertainment, and convention/exhibition industries. In this role, Booher will become a Senior Officer of the organization, serving a four-year term, ascending to the Chairman position for 2017-2018.

Booher currently serves as director of Indiana University Auditorium and University Events. Known for its presentation of a wide variety of events, from university ceremonies and conference events to the latest comedy, concert, and Broadway attractions, this 3,200-seat proscenium venue has been a model of campus and community programming and engagement since it was built in 1941. In 2010, IU Event Services was created to provide event staffing, management, and consulting for major university events including IU Athletics events at Assembly Hall, Memorial Stadium, and Bill Armstrong Stadium. As an integral facet of the university community, IU Auditorium and IU Event Services thrive on student involvement and participation. Each year, more than 1,000 IU students work in volunteer, internship, and hourly employment positions within the organization, for which Indiana University earned IAVM’s 2012 Venue Education Award. Together, IU Auditorium and Event Services serve more than one million visitors each year.

Throughout his 20-year career in venue management, Booher has presented extensively in the areas of guest service, event management, and artist contract negotiation—and serves as an adjunct lecturer in IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Booher joined IAVM in 1996 and is a graduate of the Public Assembly Facility Management School (now VMS) at Oglebay. He earned his Certified Facilities Executive (CFE) designation in 2010.

“I am so excited to have someone as smart and thoughtful as Doug Booher joining us as a senior officer of IAVM,” said Kim Bedier, CFE, chair of the IAVM Board. “Our membership can rest assured it is in very good hands for years to come.”

“I’ve worked with Doug in numerous capacities in my time here at IAVM, and he always provides thoughtful input,” said Vicki Hawarden, CMP, president and CEO of IAVM. “He is an accomplished professional and a strong leader, and I look forward to welcoming him to the IAVM officer team.”

Upon being notified of receiving the nomination, Booher added that, “IAVM is a venerable organization with a rich history of supporting its members’ efforts to enhance their communities. It is an incredible honor to have the opportunity to work with our 4,800+ members, volunteer leaders, and dedicated staff to insure that our association continues to be a source of unmatched educational programs and rich networking opportunities for generations to come.”

Booher follows in the path of a great number of predecessors that, over the past 90 years, have helped to shape the industry, and ultimately, the communities they serve. IAVM members will vote electronically on this nomination, and, if elected, Booher’s service as Second Vice Chair will be formally recognized at IAVM’s annual conference and trade show, VenueConnect, August 1-4, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland.

The hospitality world can offer the venue world some great insights, especially when it comes to revenue management. Consider a 2013 study from Pennsylvania State University that looked at how user generated content works alongside price to affect perceptions of quality and value. Findings from the study include

—Price is not an indication of quality for consumers. In fact, reviews have a strong influence on consumers’ perceptions of hotel quality.

—Competing on price alone is not a winning strategy. Bench marking against the competition isn’t enough.

—Reviews are preferred to evaluating a hotel purchase. When reviews conflict with ratings, consumers rely on sentiment and ignore ratings.

—Discounting poorly rated properties doesn’t build perceived value. Negative reviews and low ratings doesn’t change the difference in value between low and high price.

One of the most powerful drivers in pricing decisions is social media.

“Social media has added another layer to the already complicated job of pricing hotel rooms,” said Breffni Noone, PhD, associate professor at the School of Hospitality Management at The Pennsylvania State University. “The advent of online travel agents, such as Travelocity.com and Expedia.com, ushered in an era of price transparency, forcing revenue managers to pay close attention to their price position relative to competitors. With reviews and ratings readily available at the point of purchase another element is interacting with price to influence the purchase.”

Noone is one of the professors at this year’s Senior Executive Symposium (SES), May 11-14, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Her class, “Managing Facility Capacity: The Revenue Management Approach,” will focus on the types of revenue management, the necessary conditions for revenue management, and guidelines for application in facility management, all using examples from the airline and hotel industries.

SES applications close on April 10.

(Image: reynermedia/Creative Commons)

Indiana’s new “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” has attracted a lot of attention over the last few days. Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed it into law last week, and already several organizations have either pulled their conferences out of the state or indicated they would. Now, bands are taking a stand, as well, with Wilco canceling its May 7 show in Indianapolis.

We’re canceling our 5/7 show in Indianapolis. “Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act” feels like thinly disguised legal discrimination.

— WILCO (@Wilco) March 30, 2015

The “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” allows individuals and corporations to claim religious beliefs as a defense when sued by private parties. The NCAA and the NBA have spoken out against the law, along with politicians in other cities and states.

“The mayors of both Seattle and San Francisco have said they won’t allow taxpayer money to be used for city employees’ trips to the state,” Paige Lavender reported for The Huffington Post. “On Monday, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) said he would sign an executive order banning state-funded travel to Indiana because of the law.”

Indiana is the latest state to pass a religious freedom bill, and Arkansas is on the verge of passing a similar bill. That state’s House committee on Monday, March 30, advanced an amended version of House Bill 1228, where it will go to the full House for consideration.

“I have said if this bill reaches my desk in similar form as to what has been passed in 20 other states, then I will sign it, but I am pleased that the Legislature is continuing to look at ways to assure balance and fairness in the legislation,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement.

While there has been much criticism about these types of laws, there has also been support for them.

“I just don’t see how this prevents conventions from coming here,” Micah Clark of the American Family Association told The Indianapolis Star. “Popular convention cities such as Chicago, Orlando, Phoenix, and New Orleans are located in states with similar (religious freedom) laws in effect, and there’s no outcry by convention organizers to pull out of those locations.”

Indiana’s religious freedom law goes into effect July 1.

UPDATE: Wilco has rescheduled its show.

We consider the changes to Indiana’s RFRA a good first step. Our May 7 show at The Murat is back on. Details: http://t.co/toWXSqCpFM

— WILCO (@Wilco) April 3, 2015

(Image: Planeta del Cangrejo/Creative Commons)

Congratulations to the following IAVM members who were named 2015 Generation Next winners by Venues Today.

• Rebecca Bolton—general manager, Las Cruces Convention Center, New Mexico
• David Farrar—general manager, Santander Arena & Performing Arts Center, Reading, Pennsylvania
• Gunnar Fox—general manager, PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Russell Gordon—senior director of events and venue operation, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, Los Angeles, California
• Casey Sparks—assistant general manager, BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Generation Next award honors influential leaders, 35 or younger, who make a difference in sports, music, conventions, family shows, and festivals. Venues Today subscribers and staff chose the winners by votes, and the winners will be profiled in the June issue of Venues Today.