The Los Angeles convention
and visitors bureau, LA Inc., has been given a
surprisingly brief six- month contract extension, a move that has
elicited mixed reactions from the hospitality industry and local
officials.
“CVB contracts are usually multiyear agreements,” said one
industry analyst on the condition of anonymity. “A six-month
contract does not look good at all.”
Some insiders think the move is at least in part due to the
drastically diminished bookings at the Los Angeles Convention
Center, which have slid from 35 conventions in 2001 to 15 in 2004,
with only 12 booked for this year as of press time.
Officials from both the bureau and the city, however, claim
that the short extension, granted in December, serves as a bridge
between contracts rather than a gradual winding down.
“The city felt it was time to upgrade to a more modern, more
explicitly process-driven contract,” said Michael Collins, LA
Inc.’s executive vice president, above, “one that would delineate
explicitly how the destination would be marketed, and how and when
the bureau would report back to the city. Six months gives us the
time we need to redefine the terms of our contract and move
forward.”
Martin Ludlow, city council member and chair of the
Conventions, Tourism and Entertainment committee, agreed, calling
the six-month extension a “temporary, interim agreement” to buy
time for rewriting and renegotiating.
When asked why so long an interim was necessary, and why the
new contract could not have been reworked before the previous
contract had expired, Ludlow pointed to the bureau’s budget, halved
just last year, and conceivably vulnerable to further cuts.
“There are a number of officials who would like to revisit the
budget question,” Ludlow said. “The bureau needs a better standing
on dollars, and I didn’t think we were ready to demonstrate the
need yet.”
While Ludlow echoed Collins’ confidence in the city and the
bureau’s relationship, claiming that there is “no threat to LA
Inc.,” he did acknowledge an imminent opportunity for outside
bids, although he attributed this to bureaucratic protocol rather
than interest. “LA Inc. works for the city,” he said. “Our city
attorney would argue that we can extend contracts for a period, but
at a certain time you need to hear bids again.”