Following an in-depth study and review of the Event Impact Calculator's use and methodology, DMAI presents a selected case study on how Columbia Metropolitan CVB harnesses the power of economic impact data for its destination and meeting planner business.

1. DMAI’s Event Impact Calculator
Columbia Metropolitan Convention
& Visitors Bureau
reated in 1786 as South
Carolina’s state capital,
Columbia is no stranger
to any number of pivotal meetings
and conventions in history,
most notably the South Carolina
Secession Convention which
resulted in the state becoming the
first of 11 states to secede from
the United States in the American
Civil War. Fast forward nearly
230 years, and Columbia has
enjoyed a boom beyond simply
what history has endowed, and
is commonly recognized as one
of the most livable communities
in the country. Boasting an
incredibly creative economy by
diverse industries, the Midlands
Authority for Conventions, Sports
and Tourism, under which operates
the Columbia Metropolitan
Convention and Visitors Bureau
(Columbia CVB), positions the
“Famously Hot” capital city as
South Carolina’s new hot spot
beyond the usual tourist attractions
of Charleston or Myrtle Beach.
Columbia currently welcomes
about 1 million visitors a year,
spending an estimated $572 million
in the county. However, a simple
$572 spend per visitor certainly did
not suffice for the Columbia CVB’s
needs when understanding the
economic impact of meetings and
events in their market. According
to Jason Outman, Director of
Sales & Services for the Columbia
CVB, the organization needed a
tool that calculated impacts in an
efficient manner, using local taxes,
room rates and captured the local
industry behavior.
“When we were made aware
that the Event Impact Calculator
utilized this information, and
incorporated prolonged research
for group behaviors, we quickly
made the decision to adopt [the
tool],” Outman explains. “The
Event Impact Calculator has helped
C

2. DMAI’s Event Impact Calculator Columbia, South Carolina | User Case Study
The results of these fields help show the relevance of
the Columbia CVB and the importance we have on the
success of this community
“ Jason Outman, Director of Sales & Services
Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
our CVB show a greater economic
impact for the region, has made us
more credible with data that can
be provided to our stakeholders in
an instant, and has allowed us to
more accurately review potential
business for the market.”
Previous to using the calculator,
the Columbia CVB used a
mathematical formula developed
through research of the local
market, which multiplied the
total number of rooms booked by
a client with average number of
persons per room and a daily per
diem spend. However, the numbers
were several years old, and the
organization became one of the
first destinations to adopt DMAI’s
new industry standard tool in
October 2011.
As a small-market DMO, Outman
has been a one-man show in
the tool’s implementation and
continued maintenance, running
calculations for all events coming
into the city. While the calculator’s
results are visible to sales managers
and shared with the CVB’s
President/CEO and Vice President
of Sales and Marketing of the
Midlands Authority, all of the
collecting, inputting and reporting
is done by Outman alone.
“The data collection for the Event
Impact Calculator is simple,”
Outman said. “Since we are
integrated with Simpleview, a large
portion of the data is merged with
the form when creating an impact
for a given group.”
While the interface between the
online tool and the organization’s
CRM solution streamlines much
of the entry process, Outman also
established ways to standardize
certain fields according to his
market or the type of group.
“We did run into some challenges
in trying to obtain additional
information from meeting planners
like persons per room or percent
arriving by air, so our organization
set standards to use for a few of
the fields in the form,” Outman
explains. “We based our standards
on answers that were received from
meeting planners that did respond
and used them as the general
answer for the fields. For example,
a regional meeting in Columbia,
due to our central location, was
determined to have approximately
45% of the attendees arrive via air.
We also set predetermined entries
for the number of persons per
room based on three categories:
Traditional Markets, Sports
Groups, and Religious Groups.”
With about 11,000 hotel rooms to
fill, the Columbia CVB pursues all
business willing to consider its city.
Therefore, Outman takes advantage
of the ability to estimate room
night demand, taxes generated,
jobs supported, delegate spending
and return on investment at
present values for a diversity of
event types, to inform the CVB’s
decisions to award incentives to
meeting planners that book his
city. However, the primary benefit
to using the calculator has been to
help underscore the importance
of destination promotion as an
economic driver to the city, of
which meetings and conventions
are only a part.
“Unlike most traditional CVBs,

3. DMAI’s Event Impact Calculator
we do not have set funding, and
have to apply for funding on an
annual basis. The results of these
fields help show the relevance
of the Columbia CVB and the
importance we have on the success
of this community,” said Outman.
“The calculator has been a great
tool for the CVB, and we truly
believe that it has helped solve our
biggest problem, which is relevance
within our community. It shows the
impact that we make and provides
sufficient data to back it up.”
Adoption, therefore, has largely
been a widely supported process.
Since the previous method used
was outdated and did not account
for all pertinent information
that informs the Event Impact
Calculator, the tool was accepted
rather quickly. However, it was
important for the organization
to show its stakeholders exactly
how the calculator worked and
the research that was completed to
make the tool work efficiently and
provide accurate results.
Interestingly, the only figure that
the organization currently uses
from the calculator’s report for
goal-setting is in regards to annual
economic impact. “We explored
using the room night figure from
the calculator as an addition to
our room night goal, but it was not
well received in the community,”
recounts Outman. “The only field
that we share is the direct business
sales impact.”
The Columbia CVB publishes
these results in a monthly report
provided to its community partners
as well as its Board of Directors,
and will use this figure when
contacted by media outlets who
request the information.
Use of this calculator has been
sought after by city officials for
events that did not book through
the Columbia CVB, and the Sports
Module to the Event Impact
Calculator is also used by the
local Sports Council in much the
same manner. Looking ahead,
Outman is encouraged to learn
how other DMOs are addressing
the upfront analysis of visitor data.
“I would challenge DMAI and
CVB administrators to find a more
efficient way to capture data such
as percent of air travel, overnight
visitors and persons per room,
since this information is not readily
shared by the meeting planner,”
he added. “Overall though, we
are very satisfied with the Event
Impact Calculator, and adoption
has actually been a simple process
for us.” •
Columbia, South Carolina | User Case Study

4. Jason Outman started in the
meetings and conventions industry
in 2005, serving as the Corporate
Sales Manager at the Georgia
World Congress Center. After
becoming a National Sales Manager
for the GWCC, Outman was then
offered the Director of Tradeshow
sales position with the Cobb
County Convention and Visitors
Bureau.
In 2010, Outman accepted the
position as Director of Sales in
Columbia, SC for the Columbia
Metropolitan Convention and
Visitors Bureau and Columbia
Metropolitan Convention Center.
In April 2014, his titled changed to
Director of Sales & Services for the
bureau.
He has served the past four years
on the DMAI Sales & Marketing
Committee, and recently received
his MBA in Hospitality & Tourism
Management.
About Jason Outman
Director of Sales & Services
Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
DMAI’s Event Impact Calculator Columbia, South Carolina | User Case Study