It’s not unusual in the world of meetings and conventions that a convention city reserved for one organization’s convention might find themselves in a situation where a different organization with exciting opportunities wants to hold their convention over the same dates.  In some cases it’s workable but in other cases it is not.  We found the latter to be the case for the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2011 Midwinter Convention in Tucson, AZ.  The city of Tucson came to us and asked if it was possible for us to come the following year (2012) and provided some incentives that would be beneficial for both the attendees of that convention as well as the organization (which ultimately benefits the rest of the membership).  We of course did have the right to refuse their offer and keep our dates; but in the spirit of working with the city, we decided to look for an alternative city for 2011.  We also discussed this possibility with the local Tucson, AZ Chapter and they also agreed.

We have been approached by the city of Las Vegas in the past about the possibility of holding one of our conventions there.  Las Vegas also scores pretty high on our convention surveys on the “where would you like to go for a convention” question.  It seemed only natural that we approach them and ask for a bid for our Midwinter convention in 2011.  After reviewing the bid packages from several hotels and determining what would be the best situation for our attendees we decided the Riviera Hotel fits our needs the best.  Aside from Las Vegas being a major tourist attraction, here are some of the direct benefits you’ll experience as an attendee:

• All hotel rooms will be in the completely renovated “Tower.”
• $99/night rooms all week.
• Hotel and contest/show venue under the same roof (no bussing).
• Plenty of “non-casino” lobby space for singing all day and all night long!

So mark your calendars for Las Vegas, NV in 2011 (January 25-30) and Tucson, AZ in 2012 (January 17-22).  See you there!