With its flotillas of graceful yachts, treasure trove of palatial mansions and colonial-era landmark buildings, one-of-a kind museums and famous festivals, Newport is packed with possibilities for extraordinary experiences. Combine this with a portfolio of attractive waterfront hotels and inns, plus easy accessibility from New York and Boston, and there are all the ingredients necessary for a small to midsize meeting to shine.
Marketing Measures
While best known for its Gilded Age past, Newport is moving forward into the 21st century with innovative marketing ideas and continual improvements to its meetings and tourism infrastructure. The Newport & Bristol County CVB recently teamed up with Maryland’s Annapolis and Arundel County CVB to jointly market Newport and Annapolis—both known for their colonial and maritime heritage—to planners at industry events.
According to Tim Walsh, vice president-sales for the Newport & Bristol County CVB, two lunch events hosted by the bureaus last spring in the Washington, D.C., area have yielded positive results and will be repeated next March.
"We got great feedback from the clients attending our first two events—they liked the fact that it saved them time out of the office by presenting two destinations at one event," he says. "We are currently exploring trade shows that we could do as a co-op and are working on a similar promotion that each destination will run and hopefully bring exposure to both cities."
Along with teaming up with Annapolis, the bureau recently changed its name from Newport CVB to reflect the fact that its territory has been enlarged to include neighboring Bristol County.
"Bristol is a beautiful walking city that represents quintessential New England and offers wonderful shopping and dining experiences," Walsh says. "Bristol County offers a wide range of new tours, activities and off-site venues like Blithewood Mansion, Linden Place and Herreshoff Museum. Plus, we can now sell the Bristol Harbor Inn and the luxury property, Pleasant Point Inn & Resort."
A highlight of Bristol Harbor Inn is DeWolf Tavern, situated in a restored warehouse from the early 19th century. The venue is available for meetings and events.
Hotel Upgrades
Within Newport itself, new developments include the recent opening of 41 North, a waterfront property in downtown Newport with 24 luxury suites and a variety of function spaces with harbor views, which can be used as off-site venues by larger groups based at other hotels.
"Another small boutique property in downtown, Vanderbilt Hall Hotel, has been renovated to the highest standards and adds to the already strong portfolio of small meeting properties that Newport has to offer," Walsh says.
Newport is also known for its historic waterfront inns, including Castle Hill Inn, a 19th century shingled mansion perched on a dramatic seaside point and surrounded by 40 acres of grounds that include luxury beachfront cottages. The property targets corporate retreats with packages that include a sunset sail, clambake or other options.
Newport’s largest meetings hotels, the Hyatt Regency Newport, Newport Marriott, Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina and Hotel Viking, have all completed substantial renovations within the past two years. The Newport Marriott, located downtown on the harbor, refurbished all 317 guest rooms with an upscale nautical look in 2008 and wrapped up a renovation of all meeting areas last year.
Close to downtown Newport on Goat Island, the Hyatt Regency Newport received a $34 million makeover that upgraded the guest rooms and redesigned the lobby to include a bar with a fireplace and adjacent outdoor deck overlooking Newport Bridge and Narragansett Bay. A parking garage was relocated to create park-like waterfront grounds available for outdoor events.
Newport’s grande dame, the Hotel Viking, recently unveiled a renovation and reconfiguration of its 78-room Viking Wing that now includes 12 luxury suites with parlors that recall the city’s opulent mansion era. The 80-year-old downtown property also spruced up its meeting and event space.
The Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina has newly renovated public areas and a new menu of New England seafood specialties at its on-site restaurant, Pier 49 Seafood & Spirits.
While no new hotels are in the planning stages, Walsh says discussions are under way for possible new uses for land Newport recently acquired from the U.S. Navy.
"We, of course, would like to see a new hotel on this land," he says.
Meetings Outlook
While Newport, like most destinations, has felt the effects of the economic recession, Walsh says meetings business is rebounding.
"Newport has experienced a surge in inquiries and booked business that started in March and has grown each month in comparison to 2009," he says. "It remains to be seen how the European economy will affect the U.S. market in the coming months, but right now the numbers, and especially the attitude, show that we are on the mend."
Even during the height of the recession, Newport still managed to hold its own, particularly with SMERF groups and regional meetings, according to Walsh.
"We did well with the SMERF markets in both the downtown hotels and outlying limited service properties," he says. "Banking, insurance and pharma/biomedical always seem to remain strong, and, as rates start to creep back up, the SMERF market will start to lean more toward the limited-service properties."
Walsh adds that Newport’s location has kept it on the radar screen for drive-to meetings.
"During the recession, we benefited from our geographic location as many businesses that still had meetings could utilize drive destinations, which gave us a strong advantage with our proximity to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts," he says. "Regional meetings are more common than ever, which is to our benefit."
Although corporate business took a hit from the AIG Effect, Walsh says perception issues are receding, with more groups choosing to take advantage of Newport’s deluxe options for groups.
"The AIG Effect is definitely dwindling down—a group recently rented Rosecliff, one of our most spectacular mansions," he says. "And groups always love to do a regatta, a great team-building event where you can charter America’s Cup boats and have a race followed by a trophy dinner. The sailing crews know what they’re doing, so not to worry. It’s our No. 1 event."
Small to midsize meetings not requiring a convention center continue to be a prime niche for Newport, Walsh adds.
"Our largest hotel has 317 rooms, but the other convention hotels are within walking distance, so we easily accommodate groups requiring more sleeping rooms," he says. "To the advantage of smaller groups is the fact that you will not be overlooked because of your size. The CVB has assisted groups as small as seven attendees in the past that have taken over an inn and been the only group in house."
Great Venues
Newport is a small city with a huge array of off-site venues. While best known for its mansions and yachts, some of the city’s most unique and versatile event space can be found at a site nestled behind a downtown row of shop fronts—the Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.
Just beyond an arched entryway is a masterpiece of ornately turreted 19th century shingled buildings surrounding meticulously groomed grass tennis courts that are often used for team-building events as well as for tennis and croquet tournaments where participants can don Victorian attire. The complex’s charming Horseshoe Piazza and museum galleries, which display eight centuries of tennis memorabilia, are among the many spaces available to groups.
Groups large and small can enjoy indoor and outdoor events in a dramatic setting at Fort Adams, the largest coastal fortifications in the U.S. and an active military base from 1824 to 1950. Site of annual gatherings that include military reenactments, classic car shows and the Newport Jazz Festival, the fort offers numerous spaces for private groups, including a waterfront lawn and the six-acre Parade Field encircled by 19th century battlements.
Within the walls of the fort, the North Casements offer interior space in three vaulted chambers with brick ceilings and granite walls. Group options include catered events such as clambakes and gourmet dinners, along with guided tours of a permanent exhibit about the fort’s history called Defense of Narragansett Bay.
Another great venue choice is the Newport Museum of Art, which offers nine galleries of permanent and changing exhibitions housed in the mid-Victorian splendor of Griswold House, one of the palatial "summer cottages" built by Richard Morris Hunt, the architect who later designed The Breakers and Marble House for members of the Vanderbilt family. The mansion can host up to 200 people for a reception, while the landscaped grounds and shaded verandah accommodate up to 350.
Operated by the Preservation Society of Newport, several other mansions from the Gilded Age are available for everything from board meetings to gala parties. The Elms, built in 1901 for a Philadelphia industrialist, provides a grand ballroom opening onto a terrace that overlooks a classical French garden with fountains and white marble pavilions. The Stable and Carriage House, which also overlook the gardens, offer space for smaller groups.
Modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, Rosecliff has been the sumptuous setting for films that include The Great Gatsby, True Lies and Amistad. Along with a ballroom, terrace and salon, Rosecliff offers a splendid dining room seating up to 30.
