Nashville’s Big Comeback: How the Music City Is Gearing Up for Better Times Ahead

March 1, 2021
Nashville’s Big Comeback: How the Music City Is Gearing Up for Better Times Ahead

Last year wasn’t exactly a great one for Nashville. The popular music and events destination not only suffered fallout from the pandemic, but also a Christmas morning suicide bombing that injured eight people, severely damaged more than 40 buildings in a historic downtown district and crippled telecommunication systems throughout the Southeast for days.

While some cities might still be reeling from the one-two punch of such overlapping misfortune, the Music City is doing anything but ruminating. In the more than two months since the bombing, Nashville has been picking up the pieces, focusing on recovery, restoration and rebuilding for when tourism, meetings and events begin returning.

According to Adrienne Siemers, senior vice president of sales for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, although the bombing was a horrific experience, it brought the community together as a family. Efforts included raising funds to aid in the recovery and assist impacted homeowners, businesses and workers, as well as honor the heroic police officers who cleared out residents prior to the blast.

“Because Second Avenue is a historic district, many of the [businesses are] now faced with the task of rebuilding to historic standards, which is underway,” Siemers explained. “The majority of Second Avenue is now open with the exception of one block. In the meantime, the rest of the downtown area is open for business and we look forward to the grand reopening of those businesses that were impacted in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Nashville’s hospitality community has been busy preparing for tourism, meetings and events to resume by putting an array of COVID precautions in place to ensure guest safety. For example, added measures at local restaurants, hotels, convention centers and the airport include added sanitization, updated and additional creative catering options and revised seating charts that allow for social distancing. 

“We know we have to go above and beyond to make travelers feel as though they’re entering a safe environment — that’s the only way we’re going to ensure that citywide groups return to Nashville,” Siemers said. “Our hotels and convention centers have been very proactive in taking these precautions.”

These proactive venues include the state-of-the-art Music City Center, which recently became a GBAC Star accredited facility to demonstrate its ability to prepare, respond and recover from infectious disease outbreaks and biohazard situations.

In addition, the NCVC launched last summer Good to Go, a local hospitality safety program established in coordination with Ryman Hospitality Properties and Vanderbilt Health. So far, more than 700 local businesses have signed up for the program and agreed to adhere to a set of safety standards established by the CDC as well as state and local governments, Siemers said. 

“Participants in the program have placed a green music note in their front window to show guests entering that they’re working closely with the city and local partners to ensure guest safety,” she added. “Those businesses are also denoted on the NCVC website with a green music note.”

This progressive program appears to be capturing the industry’s attention. On Feb. 24, the city was named a Safe Travelsdestination by the World Travel & Tourism Council, making it one of only two U.S. destinations to achieve the designation, alongside the Lake Tahoe Visitor Authority.

As the world’s first-ever global safety and hygiene “stamp” for the travel and tourism industry, Safe Travels is specifically designed to address COVID-19 and similar outbreaks, created for travelers to recognize destinations and businesses around the world that have adopted the program’s extensive health and hygiene global standardized protocols. The program takes into account current World Health Organization and CDC guidelines and is continuously updated as new COVID-19 information becomes available.

“Nashville’s inclusion in the Safe Travels program speaks to our early efforts to send the right message in our Good to Go program of putting safety first,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the NCVC. “While we are still taking precautions and remain vigilant about masks and distancing, this is great validation as we prepare for the return of tourism.”

As if all of those safety measures weren’t enough to help event planners, attendees and exhibitors alike feel confident about returning to Nashville, new hotel properties and attractions will make the destination even more appealing to future guests. 

New hotels, including a Grand Hyatt, The Joseph, a Luxury Collection and Virgin Hotels Nashville, opened within the last year, and several additional full-service options are under construction in the downtown area, including a Four Seasons, an Embassy Suites and a W Hotel. 

In all, approximately 3,000 additional sleeping rooms are currently under construction in the city, Siemers said.

To honor the musical heritage of African Americans and the pioneering artists who were part of Nashville’s music scene, the city’s downtown opened the new National Museum of African American Music on Jan. 30, just in time for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. 

As the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced and inspired by African Americans, the NMAAM’s expertly-curated collections share the story of the American soundtrack by integrating history and interactive technology to bring the musical heroes of the past into the present. Visitors can experience more than 50 music genres created or affected by African Americans, including Fisk Jubilee Singers, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles and Little Richard.

Connected to NMAAM and currently underway is Fifth + Broadway, a mixed-use development that will feature a 100,000-square-foot European-style dining hall. Scheduled to open in Spring 2021, it will include more than 20 local restaurants.  

 

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Partner Voices
Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors. TSNN had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to future female leaders. Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, LVCVA With Las Vegas becoming The Greatest Arena on EarthTM, what are some of the things you’re most excited about in your role? Our team was at The Big Game’s handoff ceremony earlier this month, and I couldn’t help but think, “We’re going to crush it next year!”  These high-profile events and venues not only drive excitement, but also provide unmatched opportunities for event planners. Allegiant Stadium hosts events from 10 to 65,000 people and offers on-field experiences. Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Las Vegas in November, after the year-one F1 race, the four-story paddock building will be available for buyouts and will also offer daily ride-along experiences that will be available for groups. And, of course, the MSG Sphere officially announced that it will open in September, ahead of schedule, with a U2 residency. It’s going to be the most technologically advanced venue as far as lighting, sound, feel, and even scent, and it will be available for buyouts and next-level sponsorships inside and outside. There’s no ceiling to what you can do when you’re doing events in Las Vegas.  Allegiant Stadium As the trade show and convention business returns to the pre-pandemic levels, what shifts are you noticing and how do you think they will impact the industry going forward? Our trade show organizers are very focused on driving customer experience. Most of our organizers are reporting stronger exhibitor numbers and increased numbers of new exhibitors, with trade shows proving to be almost or above 2019 levels. Now our organizers are really doubling down on driving attendance and focusing on the data to provide that individualized, customized experience to help attendees meet their goals and get the best value. Some companies continue to be cautiously optimistic with their organizational spend when it comes to sending attendees, but I think it will continue to improve. As the U.S. Travel Association makes more progress on the U.S. visa situation, we also expect a growing influx of international attendees. What are some innovative ways the LVCVA helps trade show and convention organizers deliver the most value for their events? We focus on customer experience in the same way that trade show organizers are thinking about it. We got rave reviews with the West Hall Expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), so over the next two years, we will be renovating the North and the Central halls, which will include not just the same look and feel, but also the digital experiences that can be leveraged for branding and sponsorship opportunities.  Vegas Loop, the underground transportation system designed by The Boring Company, is also a way we have enhanced the customer experience. Vegas Loop at the LVCC has transported more than 900,000 convention attendees across the campus since its 2021 launch. Last summer, Resorts World and The Boring Company opened the first resort stop at the Resorts World Las Vegas , with plans to expand throughout the resort corridor, including downtown Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport. The LVCVA also purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in 2020, the 3.9-mile-long elevated transportation system that connects eight resorts directly to the convention center campus. This is the only rail system in the world that integrates fares directly into show badges and registration. For trade show organizers, these transportation options mean saving time, money and effort when it comes to moving groups from the hotels to LVCC and around the city. Also, the more we can focus on building the infrastructure around the convention center, the more it supports the customer experience and ultimately supports our trade show organizers. Scheduled to debut in Q4, Fontainebleau Las Vegas will offer 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting and convention space next to LVCC.  What are some of the plans for advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within your organization? We’re currently partnering with instead of working with a leading consulting firm, to lay the foundation and create a solid DEI plan and be the leader when it comes to DEI initiatives. The heart of that journey with the consulting firm is also talking to our customers about their strategic approaches to DEI and driving innovation in this space.  What are your favorite ways to recharge? My husband and I have an RV and we’re outdoorsy people. So, while we have over 150,000 world-class hotel rooms and renowned restaurants right outside our doorstep, one of my favorite things to do is get out to Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. Five of the top national parks are within a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, so there’s a lot you can do. We love balancing the energy of Las Vegas with nature, and we’re noticing that a lot of attendees add activities off the Strip when they come here.  Valley of Fire What advice would you give to women following leadership paths in destination marketing? I think it’s about being laser-focused on what you want to accomplish; building a team around you that lifts you and helps you achieve your goals; and being humble and realizing that you do it as a group. No one gets this done alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of women in leadership in this organization, in our customers’ organizations, and in this city that we can be really proud of. We’re a formidable force that is making things happen.   This interview has been edited and condensed. This article is exclusively sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. For more information, visit HERE.