Comment: Successes and Failures of Genealogy Conferences

Warning: the following article contains personal opinions.

One thing fascinates me: almost everywhere I go, I hear genealogy society officers moaning and groaning about declining attendance at the events they sponsor. In fact, the two best-known national conferences in North America have had difficulty in recent years attracting attendees. Their numbers bounce up and down a bit from year to year, but neither of them have been able to attract the crowds that they used to attract a decade or so ago.

Sponsors of some local, statewide, and regional events offer many similar reports: some of their conferences are not like “the good old days.” Indeed, I have heard some society officers speculate that interest in genealogy is declining or that there is too much competition from the Internet.

I think we can put those myths to rest.

This week's success in Burbank, along with the recent New England Regional Genealogical Conference (see http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/nergc-2009-is-a-success.html) show that genealogy conferences can be successful and can attract more attendees than ever before. I wasn't at the recent Ohio Genealogical Society conference or at this year's annual conference of the Ontario Genealogical Society, but I have heard that they attracted large crowds. How can they succeed at the same time that others claim that interest in genealogy is declining or that there is too much competition from the Internet?

I think the basic answers are simple; however, the topic becomes a bit complex when we start examining the details. I think there are two basic answers:

1. Like the Nike commercial, the organizers of the successful conferences “Just Do It.” The  go forward at full speed.
2. The organizers of the successful conferences are not stuck in a rut. They do not do the same things year after year. They experiment and try new things. If successful, they do it again the following year. If the experiment is unsuccessful, they drop it.

To be sure, those two points are simple. The complexity creeps in when you start to examine the details.

While others complain about competition from the Internet, those who organize successful conferences embrace the Internet with open arms. Indeed, they use the strengths of the Internet to reach even more genealogists. The Internet is probably the greatest and most cost-effective advertising medium ever created and the successful organizers see the Internet as a partner, not as a competitor.

Take a look at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree blog at http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com. That blog, or web site, is but one of the advertising vehicles the society uses to promote its annual Jamboree. First, I think you will enjoy reading it. Next, thousands of other genealogists read it. The blog is updated often, sometimes daily. Conference attendees and those who are thinking of attending the conference love information that is relevant, is updated frequently, and tells them what they need to know. The fact that new information is added often keeps the conference fresh in the minds of would-be attendees.

Now look at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference's blog written for their recent conference. You can find that at http://nergc2009.blogspot.com and you will see something similar. That blog is quiet now that the conference is over but it was very active in the weeks and months before the event.

Other successful genealogy conferences usually do something similar: it might be a blog or it might be a mailing list or it might be an on-line newsletter. Whatever the delivery mechanism, the organizers frequently post new information about the event, the presentations, the host hotel(s), where to park, nearby restaurants, local attractions, and more. What does your society do? Print a brochure and then do nothing else? Ever wonder why your attendance is declining?

The successful conferences also embrace the Internet and other technology topics in their presentations. The Blogger Summit at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree is a perfect example: the conference organizers managed to present information about a leading, state-of-the-art technology that provides benefits to genealogists every day. How many “blogger presentations” did you find at genealogy conferences five years ago? None. It is a new technology, it provides many benefits to genealogists, and the conference organizers wanted to provide the latest tools and techniques to attendees. I know that quite a few attendees made the trip simply because of this and similar presentations.

How many presentations are scheduled at your next conference about blogs? Or wikis? Or DNA? Why would anyone travel and pay the high expenses to sit through presentations about the same old topics that were presented last year and the year before?

Next, the more successful recent conferences have usually been held in lower-cost conference centers, and admission costs have been held to reasonable figures. I am sure there may be a few exceptions, but I believe that the majority of successful conferences have not been held in (expensive) downtown conference centers.

The Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree could have been held in downtown Los Angeles in an expensive, state-of-the-art convention center. Of course, that would have cost a lot of money, and those expenses would have been passed on to attendees and to exhibitors. Instead, the conference was held in suburban Burbank at a cheaper facility that does not use union labor to set up the exhibit hall. The adjacent Marriott hotel certainly was not cheap, but prices for a room there were significantly lower than the prices for a similar room in a downtown hotel. Six or eight restaurants were available within a block or so. As an example, I had a delightful dinner Thursday evening at a fast-food Japanese restaurant across the street from the conference center. The bill was under ten dollars, including a soda, for a freshly-prepared meal. Friday evening I jumped into the rental car and drove several miles to a special restaurant that I knew about. Again, the bill was far less than that of a conference center hotel's restaurant. On Saturday evening, I ate at the conference hotel's restaurant and the meal was expensive.

The conference hotel in Burbank was easy to access; there was no need to tip a bellman or a parking valet. The exhibitors were able to load and unload their own display materials without paying exorbitant fees to union workers. At past conferences, I felt that my own equipment was kidnapped and ransomed back to me as I had to pay sixty dollars or more for somebody to move my small amount of material to the exhibit hall, something I can do easily myself in a minute or two. That was not a problem in Burbank or in Manchester, but has been a problem in past years at major conferences held in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and elsewhere.

Parking was ten dollars a day at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree. I think it was even less than that at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference's event in Manchester, New Hampshire. I would prefer free parking, but ten bucks is still cheaper than the $42 a day I have paid at other conferences in the downtown area of large cities.

Wi-fi connections were free in the hotel lobby in Burbank, and there were still other wi-fi options available in the exhibits hall and at nearby restaurants.

It all adds up. One of the reasons I went to the Jamboree in Burbank is that I felt I could afford it. I won't be attending future conferences in large city downtown locations, simply because the costs involved exceed the benefits.

Finally, I think the biggest single reason for success is that the conferences were held on days when most people could attend. Who can attend a conference on a weekday? Certainly not the working folks! Both the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree and the  New England Regional Genealogical Conference attracted large numbers of local, “walk-in” attendees. In fact, most of the attendees at the Jamboree in Burbank lived within 100 or 200 miles.

The Jamboree in Burbank started on Friday afternoon, but most events were held on Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. The local working folks could get there and the crowds reflected that; the crowds were certainly bigger on Saturday and Sunday than they were on Friday afternoon. That obviously results in more revenue for the sponsoring organization.

The recent New England Regional Genealogical Conference held in Manchester, New Hampshire, wasn’t quite so daring: that conference was held on Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning. Although obviously I cannot prove it, I suspect they would have had an even larger attendance, had they delayed everything by twenty-four hours.

If you are planning to hold your genealogy event on Wednesday or Thursday through Saturday, don't complain to me that attendance is down! You ignored the best day of the week to attract a crowd: Sunday.

If you want to attract a large crowd, make sure that you hold the event on days when everyone can get there, and also make sure that the total expenses are reasonable. “Total expenses” includes the attendance fee for the conference plus hotel rooms, restaurant meals, parking, and all the other incidentals that drain the pocketbook.

Other societies can offer proof that meeting your customers' needs results in more business.

Comments

[Elyse]

Dick - this was such a great article. Societies need to start looking to the future and incorporating the internet and new technologies in order to attract new crowds. Honestly, I would not of had so much fun if it wasn't for all the geneabloggers - they are such a fun group of people. If societies don't start embracing the internet, then they are going to be losing prospective customers.

And if the societies don't keep costs down, then they better be expecting the loss of attendance. Especially now with the recession and people losing their jobs and houses - genealogy conferences go to the back burner.

Once again - great post!

[Holly Hendricks]

I attend few genealogy conferences and also thought the New England RGC in Manchester was superbly planned and run. I only ran into one poor session with a rambling presenter and non-clarifying visuals, the others were absolutely superb. If anything, many of the rooms were bursting at the seams with enthusiastic participants. They got some amazing speakers as well as the familiar big names.

I only had one negative - Internet access was awful if you weren't staying in the hotel but commuting. Yes, the parking cost was great, but there was almost no way to be freely online. There was one tiny corner of the lobby where you could get both a plug and some free wifi, and one miniscule corner of the main hall where I found the same by accident.

I happened to need to be online to support a project I was on and stupidly never questioned easy access to free wifi because it has been available at all my professional meetings. I carry a light laptop everywhere and during sessions often grab URLs mentioned by a presenter and bookmark them, as I multi-process with ease. I get so much more this way than trying to go back after the fact and re-establish context.

For some of us, working "in the cloud" is a daily reality. I plan to only patronize conferences in the future that use venues that provide this.(Cruise conferences are more in the vacation category, and understandably different at this time.) It shouldn't be a big problem to give attendees a temporary password for wifi, and commuters should be supported in the same way as on-site guests with full access in the meeting areas. I know this was also a problem for several presenters.

Aside from this concern, NERGC was superbly run and presented!

[Barbara Vines Little]

Just to set the record straight; not all national conferences are having trouble attracting numbers. The NGS National Conference in 2007 in Richmond exceeded the attendance in 1999. And in 2008 in Raleigh, some vendors didn't run out of receipts; they ran out of products.

Not all national conferences are held in first tier cities, nor in downtown locations. NGS has offered free wireless access in the lobby area of its convention centers, free hotel parking (Raleigh) and will be doing so again in Charleston in 2011.

One and two-day attendance packages are available for those who can't come for the whole week.

What conference planners need to do is provide a variety of opportunities for a variety of people. One size doesn't fit everyone. Some may opt for the small week-long institute, others for the larger national conferences and still others for the long weekend Jamboree.

[Natalie Chopey]

Although it was mentioned at the outset that you would be posting personal opinions, I feel that your statement about union labor driving the cost of a downtown hotel up offensive. It is NOT singularly union labor that drives costs up, and those types of comments have NOTHING to do with genealogy. Perhaps I, as a union member, should discontinue my subscription to your newlsetter because I feel that YOUR costs are too prohibitive compared to other editors. In any case, personal opinions are fine, but keep it related to genealogy.

[John]

Dick: A very useful article which I'll be sending to colleagues organizing a forthcoming conference. On Sunday being the best day of the week to attract a crowd, our experience is that Saturday consistently does better.

[Dae Powell]

If anyone knows about the success and failure of genealogical conferences, expos, jamborees and cruises it is Mr. Dick Eastman. Thank you, sir, for addressing this area of genealogy. It is a MUST-READ for all organizers of events genealogical. The advice and tips you present here are spot on!

Happy Dae·
http://ShoeStringGenealogy.com

[Cathy Walters]

Rochester,MN may be a gem to hold one,Mayo Civic Aditorium,plenty of hotels, motels&airport. Also if Genealogical Societies get togather, buses and rates package rolled into one may bring success too. Just my thoughts-

[Deanna B]

Dick - I found this an interesting article. I have not attended the two big national conferences in recent years because I found I was not getting the value for my resources. I do a lot of British research and while the two national conferences have some British classes, it is my finding that neither the presenters nor the classes change much from conference to conference.

However, my local and regional conferences often include fresh new speakers and work really hard to add new mixes of classes to their line up each time. Personally, I have turned to online classes such as Pharos Tutors and GenClass to replace my attendance at national conferences. It doesn't do much for my networking, but it seems to be cost-effective in keeping my skills sharp.

Thanks for all your great work.

[M. Diane Rogers]

Agree with most of your points (as usual), Dick. I think conference topic focus can be important too. I just attended the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia convention in Medicine Hat, Canada. Lots of special interest focus there, as well as a nice variety of tour activities to choose from, access to the society's library and databases and good Internet info beforehand too. Also Medicine Hat was chosen as a 'cheaper' city than some others in western Canada. A well attended conference, despite the travelling many had to do, and, I believe, almost everyone was happy with the sessions and the facilities. (I did blog about it.)
Anyone wanting some Canadian focus content for a conference, just let me know!

[Dick Eastman]

As to the exorbitant expenses that exhibitors incur in unionized conference centers: I can appreciate that you feel insulted when I mention union fees and rules. In turn, I feel insulted when someone insists that I pay $60 or more to move a 20-pound box. In fact, "insulted" isn't a strong enough term for my feelings. Sadly, I have experienced that a number of times over the years.

If you feel insulted when I mention union fees, I would strongly urge you to stop reading this newsletter.

I have no intention of ignoring the exorbitant expenses of attending or exhibiting at a genealogy conference, whether those rip-off fees come from unions, hotels, restaurants, airlines, or anyone else. They are indeed genealogy-related expenses if you have to pay those fees to attend or exhibit at a genealogy conference. As such, I fully intend to write about ludicrous charges again and again in this genealogy newsletter.

Thank you.
- Dick Eastman

[M. Diane Rogers]

An additional comment - I noticed the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree had a Kids Camp (for Scouts?). For the bigger genealogy conferences, are there often sessions/activities for the 'non-gens' - significant others or family members, children or teenagers?

http://fgsyouthsociety.wordpress.com
-Youth Genealogists Association

[Shon R. Edwards]

This is so very true. I plan and have paid (my work (Family History Library) is too broke this year to pay for me) to go to the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International conference in Ohio this year. But as I bought the plane ticket ($400), looked at the hotel prices (over $100 per night), the conference price (nearly $200), I see it's more expensive than what others are able to do.

The Texas Czechs, for example, just had me speak there, and we spent the night in an affordable hotel ($50 per night), the conference was around $70 for most, I think. And the plane ticket was about $300.

One conference was over $1000 (many conferences are way over that - and it depends on what you're willing to spend - how good the presentations are). The other half the price. And the talks at CGSI are the same old ones or even worse. The Texas society had many interesting speakers speaking on new topics. Lots of fun little things, in addition. They trucked in some ice cream famous all over Texas from that local area, for us all to sample. I even won a Texas atlas at a raffle. Little things like this can make a conference more fun. And you don't have to make it cost a mint - especially, as someone has mentioned, in these hard times.

I wish I hadn't bought the plane ticket this time on my own. I've learned my lesson on being more careful.

[Shon R. Edwards]

I love the comment about the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree with the Kids' Camp. My little 8 year old loves to do genealogical data entry for me. Sometimes I pay him. Sometimes he does it for free. My 10 year old also helps. He likes to use the paper cutter to cut documents for scrapbooks. The 8 year old even trained the 10 year old on data entry. Involve the kids.

[Michael Melendez]

Yes, you are right, I headed up the Kids Camp and we had over 80 kids show up, including abt. 65 boy scouts. It was not a Boy Scout specific event, but the Genealogy Merit Badge was a significant part of the agenda. Thanks so much to SCGS for allowing the Youth Genealogists Association to come in and help with this wonderful event. We hope to see similar events with our involvement as a youth organization in other national and regional conferences.

And the key word for the event was, that it was FREE. Kids cannot spend a ton of money, so FREE brings in a lot of people who would not come to this type of event.

Michael Melendez
Web Mangager
Youth Genealogists Association

[Shon R. Edwards]

I agree Dick. You've got a right to express your opinion on anything you want on your own newsletter :). It's a privilege for those who have opposing views to post here, and they should be more considerate, I feel. I agree that anyone involved in a genealogical event in whatever capacity, should try to be honest and not gouge us poor honest participants.

[Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG]

The "Ask the Experts" (more than 200 experts) section of Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London was a big success this year. Else Churchill reports "The [top two] reasons given for attending WDYTYA?Live were to get answers to specific questions and speak to an expert" (see Genealogists' Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 10 (June 2009): 382).

[Amy Kenneley]

I agree with Natalie. Stick to genealogy issues. My husband and I can afford now to do genealogy because of his well run and respected International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Amy Kenneley

[Huggin in Texas]

Dick, your comments on the unions are right on! What were, at the turn of the last century, much needed organizations to protect the right of down-trodden workers has morphed, in many cases, into groups who try get a choke hold on some aspect of our economy. Hotels that enter into such arrangements deserve to lose conference business.

[Michael Melendez]

I would disagree with anyone who thinks that union fees at genealogy conferences has nothing to do with genealogy. That exact issue has become one of the reasons some vendors can no longer afford to come to genealogy conferences. People expect and want to see a lot of different vendors (with good sale prices as well), but the union labor that the vendors are forced to use is stealing quite a sum of money.

I have already heard of many vendor complaints about union fees and some have decided to simply stop coming to some of the national conferences. How can we expect these companies and societies to offer us the attendees "low prices" if the unions force them to pay large amounts of money.

I will take special offense because currently the state of California (where I am from) has a gun pointed to its head by a number of power hungry unions who continue to be given massive pensions and salaries in the midst of this budget crisis.

[Tina Micheal Ruse]

My union job allows me the luxury of my HOBBIE of genealogy.Most of us do not have the luxury of making a living from genealogy and need good paying jobs with a retirement that allows us to travel and participate in events such as these.There are many factors that contribute to the high costs in major conference areas.It appears you have let your personal opinions out way your professional ones.Stick to the facts-all of them,not just one.

[Dick Eastman]

I must admit that I am a bit surprised by the reaction to this article. Let me add a few clarifying comments. The following are obviously my personal opinions and I expect that a few people will disagree with me:

First, any exorbitant fees that are required to attend a genealogy conference or to exhibit at a genealogy conference ARE genealogy-related. As such, I certainly expect to write about those expenses when describing genealogy conferences. I expect to write about my experiences and to describe "typical experiences" for the benefit of others who are thinking of attending future genealogy events. I believe that such reports are VERY appropriate for this genealogy newsletter.

Next, I expect to report about ANY excessive expenses. I am not singling out unions. I don't care if the expenses are charged by or caused by unions, hotels, conference centers, restaurants, airlines, or anyone else. If the fees are high and they affect those attending or exhibiting at genealogy conferences, we all should be writing about these things in genealogy newsletters and elsewhere.

Finally, I have a lot of respect for unions. Both my mother and my father were lifelong union members (of two different unions) and both served as officers in their locals. I heard many discussions of unions over the dinner table as a child. While I respect unions, I don't think that gives them license to charge excessive fees. A mandatory $60 fee to move a 20-pound box less than 100 feet (as I have experienced more than once) is excessive, regardless of the history and benefits to union members.

Yes, some people will disagree with me. That's their right and I respect their rights. I will even allow comments that disagree with me to be posted in this newsletter's comments section and I even encourage dissenting opinions to be posted here. However, I won't keep quiet about rip-offs, regardless of who creates them. I hope to write again and again in this newsletter about excessive charges that are required when attending genealogy conferences or when exhibiting at those conferences.

- Dick Eastman

[J Ramsey]

As a recent "new-comer" to big genealogy confrences, I hugely appreciate your comments about costs that aren't really talked about. Like most this year, budget is a big determining factor in whether I attend or don't, but now, thanks to you, Dick, I am armed with even more information of costs that could creep up....I would never known about this union cost...

Really wished I could have made it to the So. Calif Jamboree...had to work all weekend.Thanks for all the info.

[Silvia]

Registration, hotel, airfare, banquet, luncheons, computer classes, tours and other "incidentals" - for a 5 day genealogy Conference in a major city - is adding up to close to an exorbitant $2000.00.
Not realistic for the present day crunch!

[Lisa Alzo]

Having attended the SCGS Jamboree, I agree with Dick's comments. Over the years I've been involved in conferences as an attendee, speaker and conference chair. Cost is most certainly a concern and everyone is watching their budgets these days, including me. However, I want to make a comment about the upcoming Czechoslovak Genealogical Society event in Cleveland in response to the posting above. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a CGSI Board member and will be a speaker at this conference. I know that the conference chair and committee work very hard to keep costs down and select the most appropriate hotel/venue for their events. They also hold their event every two years. I have attended a number of conferences this year, and I believe that the CGSI Conference is in the middle price range of conferences. And while the conference organizers hope that attendees will stay at the conference hotel in Cleveland, there are other hotels nearby (a few within walking distance), which could perhaps provide savings on lodging. Last year I attended the CGSI symposium in Seattle. I was not a speaker at this event. I just attended because I wanted to and I paid my own way. To help cut my costs I shared a room with another attendee.

Cleveland is home to a large population of Czechs and Slovaks, and is within driving distance of cities with similar ethnic make-up: Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, etc. Regarding the comment about: "And the talks at CGSI are the same old ones or even worse..." The speakers selected are experts in their respective fields and chosen based upon evaluations from previous conferences where attendees indicate which sessions they liked or didn't like, or ones they would like to see at future conferences, as well as on topics that would best fit the expected audience.

I am very much looking forward to the CGSI event this year. http://www.cgsi.org

[Paul Makousky]

As the Conference Co-Chair for the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International I must set the record straight regarding pricing for our Cleveland Conference. This Conference will be held in the suburb of Independence, OH at a Holiday Inn. The hotel room rate is $94 per night, with both free parking and free airport shuttle to the hotel. The hotel meal prices are very reasonable and there are many other eating establishments in walking distance. The registration fee is $105 per member with the opportunity to choose from 5 presentations on Thursday, 16 on Friday and 16 on Saturday. We have 2 genealogical experts coming from the Czech Republic, one from the Slovak Republic and one from Canada, among 21 speakers. Cleveland is a hotbed for Slovak and Czech activities with large concentrations of Slovak, Czech and Carpatho-Rusyns living within the metropolitan area. Finally, I don't see any vendors having to pay $60 to move a box into the Ballroom of the Holiday Inn. Persons with this particular ethnic interest will be hard pressed to find a better value for the dollars they invest.