City Still Convention-Friendly Despite Price Hikes

Despite increases in the cost of food, security and facilities downtown, corporate event planners continue to laud Spokane as a premier convention destination.

ARAMARK (formerly ARA Leisure Services) ends its contract on July 1 for food and beverage service at Spokane Convention Center, Ag Trade Center and the Opera House. After, Service America will take over and prices may go up.

Service America’s menu is as much as 25 percent higher than the old menu - $3.75 versus $2.75 for a bottle of imported beer, for example. But Service America’s local manager was quick to point out that those prices are based on the company’s Seattle menu and are likely to change locally.

“The first thing we’ll do when we get on board this summer is to make new menus and come up with competitive prices,” said Scott Middleton, food and beverage director at the Spokane Arena.

Although new prices may be incrementally higher than the old prices, Middleton said the increase is to be expected. ARAMARK had a three-year, fixed contract here, and prices haven’t risen since 1992.

The cost of security - fixed for three years in a similar contract - also increased. Portland-based Starplex Corp., which provides security guards for Spokane Center, bumped up its hourly rate this year.

A Washington tax on the service industry went from 1.5 percent to 2.13 percent in 1992. James Deloretto, chief executive officer of Starplex Corp., said the beefed-up tax translates into an additional 10 cents per guard per hour.

Typically, convention organizers hire five to 13 guards. The new rate means that organizers will pay an added 50 cents to $1.30 per hour for security.

The rental cost of the facilities also increased. One bay of the Ag Trade Center, which seats about 1,000 people, costs $500 per day, compared to $475 in 1994. Mike Kobluk, director of entertainment facilities at Spokane Center, said the increase is standard and nothing to get excited about.

“Spokane is still an amazing bargain,” Kobluk said.

Convention officials agree, citing the April edition of Corporate Travel. The magazine ranked Spokane in the top 10 most affordable convention cities in the United States, with an average daily cost of about $150 per business traveler. (New York, the nation’s most expensive convention city, costs convention goers more than $325 per day.)

“There are some increases, sure, but we’ve got 12 new restaurants, new hotels, beautiful facilities and a beautiful river. For all that, Spokane is a very affordable town,” said Martha Lou Wheatley of the Convention & Visitors Bureau.

After price, Spokane’s biggest draws are its manageably small airport and lack of traffic. Downtown’s restaurants and shopping - all within walking distance of Spokane Center - are also desirable to cardeprived tourists, Wheatley said.

, DataTimes