Vegas Events

USA TODAY recently published an interesting article about meeting planners turning to second-tier cities as meeting destinations. Thanks to lower costs and less negative perception, these secondary destinations make sense for planners facing budget cuts and public scrutiny.

Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association Mark Sharp, for example, choose the Marriott Renaissance in Oklahoma City for the group's biennial convention. He also rented the city's main concert hall, and found the convention overall was 30 percent to 40 percent less expensive than its last one in Miami.

"Oklahoma City saved me from being in the red," Sharp told USA TODAY. "This part of the country is cheaper."

Not surprisingly, mid-tier meeting destinations have jumped on this trend by marketing their locations as such. Ads for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau promote the city as an "accessible, affordable alternative," according to Christopher Baum, marketing and sales vice president. Visit Milwaukee dedicates an entire page of its planners' website on why it offers "Big City Bang for Small-Town Price."

At the same time, many big cities have venues offering deep discounts in an attempt to prevent losing groups to smaller destinations. Mark Pond, president of Computerized Airline Sales and Marketing Association, told USA TODAY that he choose Las Vegas for the great discounts at the Monte Carlo.

Have you been looking at more second-tier locations for their inherent affordability? Or would you rather stick to big cities and take advantage of the great hotel deals and promotions going on?

Something I found interesting about this article was actually a comment on it. One reader remarked that you need to factor in other costs like travel expenses. Often times it's harder to find affordable, convenient air travel options to smaller cities. Obviously you have to look at the big picture when planning an event.

Check out the whole USA TODAY article, and don't forget, you can read more about the meeting options for all these cities at the Cvent Destination Guide.