Hoffman Estates leaving convention bureau wrong move?

Not everyone thinks Hoffman Estates' decision to leave the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau was a good one.

Gina Speckman, for example, said event planners prefer dealing with regional groups. She's director of the Chicago's North Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau, which represents five towns.

"Do you really think they want to try to dig out the information about dozens of individual villages?" Speckman said via e-mail.

Hoffman Estates trustees formally decided Monday that the Schaumburg-based tourism group wasn't worth the $77,800 membership fee.

Hoffman Estates officials said they want more say in how the village is marketed and will now market itself independently, directly competing for tourism dollars with the 11 municipalities represented by Woodfield's convention bureau.

Bureau President Fran Bolson said going solo would rupture the village's ties with groups like the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, the Regional Tourism Development Office for Chicagoland, and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

She's confident in the future of her group -- even though Hoffman Estates isn't the only town that has mulled leaving.

Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder said her village has "had discussions from time to time" about continuing its membership.

She said the village pays about $150,000 in dues, which are based on each town's hotel tax. With its 24 hotels, Schaumburg pays the most: almost $300,000. The bureau budget is $1.8 million, fueled by dues and grants.

The state matches tourism funds to accredited bureaus, but Bolson said "it would take years" for Hoffman Estates to gain accreditation.

Last year, she said, the bureau generated $1.5 million in hotel revenue for the village through leads generated by its relationship with Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington.

"Tourism is an important industry for our area and group sales are vital," Bolson said.

The bureau also brought back about $9 million to Schaumburg, she said.

Hoffman Estates Trustee Gary Pilafas called the bureau too "Schaumburg-centric."

He said Hoffman Estates attractions like the Sears Centre arena were buried in the back of the bureau's annual tourism guide.

Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson said he was fine with Hoffman Estates' decision.

"That's OK. That's up to them to get from under Schaumburg's shadow," he said. "We're the largest donor to the visitors bureau and we have big attractions that bring people to the region."

Besides the mall itself, Schaumburg's tourist draws include the Schaumburg Flyers baseball team, Medieval Times, Ikea and its new convention center.

Hoffman Estates is attempting to further carve out its own identity through a budding entertainment district that includes Sears Centre and the planned Prairie Creek Amphitheater off the Jane Addams Tollway, along with the nearby Cabela's outdoor superstore, Illinois' first.

"The village is at a very unique point at its history right now," said Tom Rivera, former Woodfield tourism bureau director. Rivera now serves as a consultant for Hoffman Estates. Monday, the village agreed to pay him $100,000 for a marketing study.

Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod said Rivera played no part in Hoffman Estates' decision to leave the Woodfield tourism bureau.

Though Elk Grove Village once considered leaving the group, Mayor Craig Johnson credits it with helping promote the Tour of Elk Grove cycling race. The village pays about $100,000 in membership dues. Johnson said the money is worth it.

"If we took the $100,000 alone, we could in no way match their bang for the buck," he said.

Rolling Meadows City Manager Tom Melena said city officials are satisfied, considering they pay only about $25,000 in yearly dues.

That number might increase if the long-awaited Woodfield Gardens retail-residential development goes through near Schaumburg's Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center. He also said he hopes to use Schaumburg's popularity to help drive the development's success.

Melena said being "Schaumburg-centric" isn't a bad thing.

Though Hoffman Estates Trustee Ray Kincaid voted to leave the Woodfield bureau, he said he hopes his village can help promote other towns' attractions and vice-versa.

"If we keeping acting like the stepchild or something, Schaumburg is not going to be willing to promote what we do," he said. "No one town has it all."