Interested in hosting an SEDC meeting?
The biggest benefit of membership in SEDC is professional development and networking. We accomplish both of these by hosting two face-to-face meetings a year. One of these meetings is the SEDC Annual Conference and the other is our Meet the Consultants event.
If you are an SEDC member, CVB, resort or hotel property interested in hosting one of these two meetings, please see below the status of our future meetings (to know what is open), and our process for determining the location of these meetings:
The biggest benefit of membership in SEDC is professional development and networking. We accomplish both of these by hosting two face-to-face meetings a year. One of these meetings is the SEDC Annual Conference and the other is our Meet the Consultants event.
If you are an SEDC member, CVB, resort or hotel property interested in hosting one of these two meetings, please see below the status of our future meetings (to know what is open), and our process for determining the location of these meetings:
Status of Future SEDC Meetings:
2020
Meet the Consultants- Held Virtually, November 12, 2020.
Annual Conference- Held virtually, August 16-18, 2020.
Meet the Consultants- BOOKED- Atlanta, GA., November 16-17.
Annual Conference- BOOKED- Tampa, FL, August 15-17, 2021. The host hotel will be the JW Marriott.
2022
Meet the Consultants- Date and location TBD
Annual Conference- BOOKED -San Antonio, TX, August 14-16. The host hotel will be the Marriott River Center.
2023
Meet the Consultants- Date and location TBD
Annual Conference- SEDC's Mid-Atlantic Region. Cities being considered are: Williamsburg, VA and Northern Virginia (Alexandria and Arlington).
Process for determining the location of an SEDC meeting
Annual Conference- SEDC’s annual conference rotates annually between a major city/resort area our three regions:
Western- Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas
Southeastern- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina
Mid-Atlantic- Kentucky, Maryland/District of Columbia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
This conference is booked three years out (In 2021, we are deciding on a location in our southeastern region for a 2024 conference). Below is the annual timeline in our site selection process:
Early March - We survey our members to see which major city or resort (in the region being considered) they would like to see host our conference.
Mid-March- Next, based on the survey results, our site selection committee determines the top few cities to be considered as the host city. Our state directors, in the selected cities, are charged with putting together a bid package from state economic development organizations that demonstrate their support to host the conference. Potential hotels are not involved at this point.
May- Based on the strength of the proposals submitted, the site selection committee will decide which communities make the top list of finalists. At this point, RFP’s are sent to the CVB’s in the top choice cities for distribution to any hotel that meets our criteria.
June- In early June, proposals are due from interested hotels in the selected cities. The committee reviews the hotel and CVB proposals and then determines which cities to make site visits.
July- In early July, the site selection committee will visit 2-3 cities from the top choices and make visits to the various hotels that meet our criteria.
August- The site selection committee makes a recommendation for the host city to the SEDC board at our August board meeting.
Meet the Consultants- This annual event features presentations from consultants in the new business site location profession. The event is held only in locations featuring concentrations of these consultants which are: Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago or NYC/NJ). It is usually held between mid-march and mid-April. Below is the annual timeline in our site selection process:
June- Based on survey results from the membership, the site selection committee determines which city (from the list above) will be the host city and then RFP’s are sent to their CVB.
July- The CVB in the host city sends out the RFP to qualifying hotels and proposals are received by mid-July. Site visits are scheduled to visit prospective hotels.
August- The site selection committee announces the host hotel.