THOMAS HAZINSKI is the managing director of HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting in Chicago, Illinois. His consulting practice is dedicated to the market and financial analysis of public assembly facilities. Mr. Hazinski has 18 years of experience in the public policy arena, as both a public official and a consultant. He specializes in providing economic and financial research to public agencies involved in economic development initiatives. Before starting his consulting career, Mr. Hazinski served in several positions for the City of Chicago, including assistant budget director. In this capacity, he managed the city’s revenue analysis unit and was responsible for revenue estimation, legislative review, and fiscal impact analyses for numerous city projects. Mr. Hazinski holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Email: thazinski@hvs.com
HVS recommends using regression models to measure the impacts of convention centers on their surrounding hotel markets. HVS recommends using regression models to measure the impacts of convention centers on their surrounding hotel markets. These models can provide statistically significant estimates of the net change in new group room nights and changes in average daily room rate caused by conven...
IntroductionSales managers hear the word “no” more often than “yes.” Booking group business in hotels, conference centers, and convention centers typically requires a large number of leads in the expectation that a few of those leads will ultimately convert into the sale of hotel rooms and function space. Most sales managers would consider the conversion of one in five leads to a piece of group b...
In January of 2005, the Bookings Institution published a policy brief authored by Prof. Heywood Sanders called Space Available: the Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Sanders paints a grim view of the convention industry as one in which out of control local government investment in convention center space is underway despite a precipitous and permanent decline in th...
