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By Dan Olson
Minnesota Public Radio
September 20, 2001
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"A major group that was supposed to have checked in around September 26 is mothers of pre-schoolers - about 5,000 people in a nationwide group - and they have cancelled," says Greg Ortale, president of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association.
Last week organizers of a large medical technology convention called off their Minneapolis gathering. Ortale says the cancellations affected the region's medical technology companies, who were unable to show their wares to buyers. Big conventions are scheduled years in advance, Ortale says, so there's no way for groups to change their minds and reschedule large gatherings for a few weeks or months from now.
The Minneapolis convention business is sizable. Last year, approximately 500,000 convention-goers spent about $500 million on rooms, food and shopping in the Twin Cities. Officials say business lost from the cancellations last week and this week totals roughly $20 million. Minneapolis Downtown Hilton Hotel manager George Prine says the downturn is affecting his business.
"We lost just about $1 million in business last week alone - which really carried us up to this Friday - of immediate lost business with convention groups and business travel."
On the other hand, Prine says, another fairly large group of Minnesota convention-goers decided to go ahead with their meeting in early October.
Prine says he's had to lay off 100 of the just over 500 Downtown Hilton hotel workers. Jaye Rykunyk, principle officer of the Hotel Employees and Restuarant Employees Union Local 17 says layoffs began last week. She says 600 airline food workers lost their jobs within a day of the federal government shutting down commercial travel in the wake of the attacks. A few of the workers have been called back. The union has 5,000 members who prepare and serve food and beverages in Twin Cities area hotels, convention halls and other entertainment sites. Rykunyk says the employees qualify as the working poor.
"Those folks are making between $8 and $10 an hour, and cooks are making between $11 and $16 an hour," says Rykunyk. "Most of our members work one full-time job and another full-time job and another half-time job, and they are really going to suffer economically from this downturn in the hospitality industry."
Retailers, restaurant and bar owners are also feeling the effects. Minneapolis Downtown Council president and chief executive officer Sam Grabarski says there are more empty tables than usual at downtown restaurants. He says office workers account for a lot of weekday business, but the convention trade is a growing source of revenue.
"On an average weekday there's 250,000 people in downtown Minneapolis, but of that number, about 90,000 of them are visitors," says Grabarski.
St. Paul officials also report a decline in convention business. They've created a group to try to hold on to remaining events, and appeal to tourists to visit the area. The convention slump comes at what is normally peak season. Money made from the September and October convention business, officials say, is comparable in importance to the Christmas shopping season for retailers.
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