Walk into a traditional spa and you will usually be greeted with the same few sensory mainstays: the relaxing sound of Enya-esque music gurgling softly from the speakers, the sweet smell of vanilla candles wafting around the room, the sight of a receptionist with all-to-perfect skin behind a counter sprinkled with pastel-colored bath and beauty products, serving as a mellow gatekeeper to a seductive maze of tranquil massage rooms.
Such centers of relaxation have long helped weary meeting attendees de-stress from a hard day’s work. But what if delegates want a deeper experience, one in which they leave feeling mentally, physically and even spiritually fulfilled—all in the same place they held their meeting?
This is a goal more and more meeting planners are looking to achieve. One that finds them in retreat centers that offer group programs based on improving a participant’s mind, body and spirit.
The notion of merely “pampering” has suddenly become so, shall we say, bourgeoisie.
The term “retreat,” however, is quickly becoming one of the buzziest of buzzwords in the meetings industry. It’s a place typically a healthy distance away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, usually with substantial meeting space, well-appointed guest rooms, designated areas for betterment workshops and introspective group activities, as well as traditional spa amenities and services. Here, delegates can truly relax and rejuvenate.
According to Neal Tricarico, director of sales for the Carlsbad, Calif.-based Chopra Center for Wellbeing, a facility that offers myriad programs for groups, including workshops on meditation and achieving a work-life balance, says rejuvenation “covers a physical, emotional and spiritual renewal.”
Such a renewing experience can be found at specialized retreat centers sprouting up all over, including The Chopra Center; Echo Valley Ranch & Spa in Jesmond, British Columbia; Red Mountain Spa, located outside St. George, Utah; and Harmony Hill Retreat Center in Union, Wash.; just to name a few.
“We offer an elevated spa experience,” says Denise Perkins, director of sales, marketing and public relations for the Red Mountain Spa. “We offer more than just your traditional Swedish massages.”
Transforming Stress into Strength
Usually a haven for corporate groups of 30 or less, retreat-specific properties generally offer group activity options that fit into one of four categories: spiritual, mental, physical, and nutritional. All aim to benefit the overall well-being of a group or individual.
“Because we are in a society where the attendees are in the mode of being overstressed and overworked, this allows them to gain more from the meeting because of the unique offerings within the meeting setting,” Perkins says.
On the spiritual side, participating in meditation workshops, meeting with experts on how to channel positive energy and traversing through outdoor labyrinths in order to gain a greater focus on goals and problem-solving solutions at properties such as the Harmony Hill Retreat Center are popular options for groups.
Retreat centers recognize that an individual’s ability to deal with everyday stressors, both professionally and personally, greatly affects an organization’s success, which is why many such facilities, including the Chopra Center, offer workshops to benefit the mental health of its participants.
Frequently offered mentally healthful programs include seminars, workshops and courses on conflict resolution, achieving a work-life balance, practicing effective communication, and stress reduction.
Some of the most popular programs for delegates looking to get their blood flowing are those focused on a group’s physical well-being.
While nearly all retreat centers offer a variety of traditional spa options ranging from massages to facials, others, including Red Mountain Spa, tender group-friendly yoga, fitness and personal training classes, as well as adventure hikes, horseback rides, biking trips, and in Red Mountain’s case, even group trips to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Nutritional health is also a large focus of retreat centers, many of which plate up balanced, home-cooked (often vegetarian or vegan) meals and subscribe to the idea that those who eat right, think clearly. This thought process has spurred-on properties to offer programs on balanced eating, and at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, there is even a seminar instructing groups on how to eat right for their blood type.
“If you are there for more than and day or two, the food really makes a difference in how it nourishes your thinking,” says Sheri Chow, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based marketing consultant who recently participated in a retreat at Harmony Hill.
A Shift in Consciousness
Contrary to the notion that effective meetings can only be executed within the four walls of a hotel conference center or in one of the many breakout rooms of a convention center, many agree that the tide is turning in favor of retreat settings.
“If you are stuck in a hotel somewhere, that is the least likely place where you will be able to foster an environment for optimal creative strategizing and dialogue,” says Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of Body for Life for Women and founder of the Peeke Week Retreat, a program held at Red Mountain Spa each year and aimed at showing participants how to achieve a balance of mind, body and spirit in their lives. “Instead, when you integrate the mind and body, what you end up with is having optimal attention and interest.”
Tricarico agrees, saying that more and more organizations have expressed an interest in hosting their meetings at retreat centers in past years.
“I think this trend really started about two years ago,” he says. “That is when I started to get calls about it. I think that people are starting to realize, especially business owners and high-achievers, that in order to find an edge, we can’t overwork people anymore, we have to take care of them. When they are coming out and doing these kinds of things, they feel like they are making an investment in their employees and in their businesses.”
Such an investment is a meetings industry trend Peeke says is about to seep into gatherings not only at specialized centers, but also at traditional meeting establishments.
“I predict that the most successful meetings will be taking place in the future in environments that liken themselves to these places, and current hoteliers will be altering their environment to create that type of [retreat] environment,” she says.
Benefits of the ‘Oom’
Unlike the greater part of traditional lodging establishments, the majority of retreat-like properties are located in remote areas such as in the center of a forest, desert or mountain range, thereby adding a natural component to the benefits of visiting such a locale.
“I felt like I hadn’t been breathing in a long time and it was the first breath I’d had in years, the air is so magnificent,” says Sandy Wade, publisher of Security Management Magazine, who recently planned a meeting at Red Mountain Spa.
The atmosphere around such centers may lend itself to a level of unparalleled relaxation and calm, but officials also can’t say enough about the programs on the inside of the facilities and how they affect their participants.
“I think we are all looking to be a healthier culture,” says Nicolle Williamson, sales and marketing director for Echo Valley Ranch & Spa. “People are harried and a little bit frantic in their minds. When they come to a place like this, it takes them a minute to step back and relax. You see people rejuvenate themselves into healthier people, looking into themselves a little bit more and taking the time they didn’t have before.”
The personal benefits of relaxation and rejuvenation are innumerable and often documented in publications ranging from newsletters to business journals, but what some business leaders may not realize is that retreat-specific settings are also conducive to the success of serious meetings.
The Chopra Center’s Tricarico says attendees are usually astounded when they realize that secluded retreats are not only personally beneficial for their employees’ stress level, but that such activities also increase workers’ productivity.
That’s something Wade buys into, too.
“I would say that focus is a big advantage because you are in a relatively small, isolated situation,” she says. “You are not downtown in the city where people can wander off and do other things.”
The isolated atmosphere lends itself to bringing attendees into the present, allowing them to live in the moment, drawing away everyday distractions and allowing them to focus solely on the business at hand.
“You don’t have interruptions and you have the amenities [retreat activities] that give you a new brain,” Chow says. “You are able to resolve issues and problems with a totally new perspective and get into an environment that allows you to think differently.”
Converting the Skeptics
Skepticism—usually originating from an organization’s management—about the choice to bring a group to a retreat-like setting may stem from the concept’s newness to most people, bringing up seemingly perplexing questions about how, exactly, an exercise of convening in a room to practice deep breathing and twisting oneself in various positions (a.k.a. yoga) can bring a group closer together.
“The challenge meeting planners face is a lack of familiarity with this option,” Tricarico says. “Those crusty, grizzled vets say they don’t know the first thing about it and they want to do the same thing year in and year out, so the challenge is breaking that mode and opening them up to the flexibility of trying something new. Once they do try it, the feedback has been incredible.”
Chow concurs.
“People think that you have to work hard and be in a room that looks professional, but you are running around in circles when you are in a situation like that,” she says. “When you want creativity, you have to do it differently.”
Beyond convincing upper management to agree to an out-of-the-ordinary location, another challenge some planners face is organizing transportation to the often far away properties.
Chow explains that places such as Harmony Hill are a good distance from the nearest airport, but even though planners looking to execute meetings in such locales often need to arrange for private transportation, the hassle is worth it.
“You do give that [convenience] up in order to have the serenity and peace to get away from it all.”
