Summertime bookings for meetings in Western mountain resort areas are on the rise, coming at a time when high-altitude destinations continue to add high-end facilities, innovative activities and customized services for groups.
While the upturn in business is welcome news for mountain resorts, it does a have a flip side for planners. In some locations, preferred dates are getting hard to obtain and the days of deep discounting are coming to a close.
Western Canada
The majestic mountains in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia offer business groups a wealth of sites for summer business events and wilderness recreation. The architectural legacy left by the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler is particularly enticing.
The Whistler Sliding Centre is one example, with multiple sites where groups may inject Olympic themes into team-building programs. Located on Blackcomb Mountain, the venue has stunning views of Whistler Village and surrounding mountains. Another great choice is Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Center is an architectural masterpiece with several dramatic venues for events, including a 220-foot deck overlooking Blackcomb Mountain.
New to Alberta’s Banff Center is the Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation, an IACC-certified facility offering 21,000 square feet of space in multiple theaters and auditoriums accommodating up to 1,000 people.
"Our new Kinnear facility is a state-of-the-art venue that handles just about any meeting configuration you would want," says Tracey Hebenton, corporate sales manager for Banff Center. "The unobstructed views of the Bow Valley are breathtaking. And coming to the centre in time for this season is The Shaw Communications Amphitheatre. It’s an open-air, 1,500-seat venue that will host rodeos, concerts, plays and opera performances."
According to Cathy McDonald, senior manager, meetings and incentives for Banff Lake Louise Tourism, booking trends for the upcoming season are up over the past couple of years.
"Our groups are tending to be smaller than they used to be, and programs are more creative in integrating outdoor experiences with productive meetings," she says. "Short-term bookings continue, and there are many open dates and very affordable rates in the Banff Lake Louise region."
California/Nevada
North Lake Tahoe straddles the California-Nevada border and offers 200,000 square feet of meeting space and 7,000 guest rooms for year-round business and leisure. The region is 45 minutes from Reno-Tahoe International Airport and two hours from Sacramento International Airport.
The area’s Squaw Valley USA, the new owner of The Village at Squaw Valley, is adding meeting spaces that will increase its group facilities tenfold, taking it from 7,500 to 75,000 square feet. The new space will accommodate small groups as well as those of up to 700 people.
"We have also added some new recreation and team-building activities," says Amelia Richmond, spokeswoman for Squaw Valley USA. "Our new paintball areas at High Camp are almost guaranteed big hits for business groups. Full face masks and canvas suits required!"
Some summer valley meetings guests also will find a challenging new mountaintop disc golf course to their liking. Disc golfers may ride the cable car up to High Camp, elevation 8,200 feet, to play the valley’s new course.
The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe is the latest addition to the North Lake Tahoe facilities portfolio. Located mid-mountain at Northstar Resort in Truckee, it has 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Colorado
Colorado’s many mountain resorts provide business groups with a good range of choices for summer meetings.
The giant "14ers" peaks around Telluride look down on summer festivals, concerts and events every weekend from Memorial Day through October. And there are a range of meeting platforms.
"Summer is a wonderful time for utilizing our outdoor environments and activities to exceed meeting goals and objectives, says Todd Gehrke, group sales director for the Telluride Tourism Board. "Telluride is a destination that’s designed for the next generation of event participants."
Among new options for groups meeting in Telluride is Experiential Development Tracks, a program designed to foster career and personal growth. The tracks cover areas such as collaboration and relationship growth, motivation, engagement and loyalty, leadership development and social responsibility.
There is over 50,000 square feet of meeting space in this former mining town, including the Telluride Conference Center, with its wraparound mountain views.
Beaver Creek’s Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa has received Colorado’s first LEED (silver) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as a Four Diamond ranking from AAA and other accolades. The Westin features 4,200 square feet of meeting space, including a 2,000-square-foot outdoor banquet terrace.
Vail Valley has several new lodging properties, including Four Seasons Resort Vail, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and Solaris Residences.
With over 100,000 square feet of exhibit, function and meeting spaces, The Keystone Resort and Conference Center is the largest conference site in the Colorado Rockies. It accommodates up to 2,000 people and the convention services staff manages culinary conference needs from ballroom events to mountaintop dining.
Smaller meetings of up to 30 can find an affordable home at the legendary Glenwood Hot Springs. Known as the Spa of the Rockies, the resort has a natural outdoor hot springs pool, a 107-room lodge and a newly renovated spa. Groups booking 10 guest rooms or more pay nothing for the resort’s meeting space.
Idaho
Sun Valley Resort, one of the nation’s original mountain retreats, has a newly remodeled convention center. Also new in Sun Valley is a golf clubhouse with a boardroom, nine additional holes of golf and a 1,500-seat pavilion for live summer concerts and other events.
According to Brent Gillette, director of sales for Sun Valley, the enhanced infrastructure is coinciding with an anticipated uptick in summer business.
"We are seeing an increase in corporate business for the coming season," he says. "This is especially true for board groups of 25 or fewer people."
Gillette adds that summer is Sun Valley’s peak group season, especially from the end of June through Labor Day. Shoulder value periods include May through early June and mid-September through October.
Summer groups can enjoy such activities as riding the lift up Bald Mountain, hiking, mountain biking, tennis, swimming and horseback riding up Dollar Mountain.
Montana
Located 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky Resort is Montana’s largest resort, offering 750 guest accommodations and 45,000 square feet of meeting space. New at the property are high ropes and paintball courses designed for team-building programs.
According to Katie Grace, national sales manager, the new courses are having a big impact on summer meeting business at the resort.
"Several groups have booked solely on using our high ropes course for team-building activities," she says. "Groups of all sizes and meeting themes have shown interest in getting outside."
New Mexico
The high desert terrain and dramatic skies of Santa Fe offer a wide variety of venues for meetings and events, ranging from historic and luxurious to inspiring and spiritual.
"Santa Fe was not so affected by the recent economic downturn," says Rich Verruni, managing director for The Bishops Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa. "Many who come here in summer combine family vacations with meetings because there is so much to do. We offer a historic authentic property just five minutes from the center of town, and have 15,000 square feet of meeting spaces. Our focus is corporate meetings and retreats and board meetings."
Bishop’s Lodge offers customized business programs, including The Cowboy Solution for team building that utilizes the lodge’s equestrian amenities. Cowboy Cookouts with campfires, cowboy songs and sunset views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are in the repertoire as well.
With over 60,000 square feet of meeting space, Glorieta Conference Center outside Santa Fe hosts religious groups and others seeking inspiration. The center accommodates executive retreats for 10 or an annual retreat for 1,000 in several styles of accommodations, including deluxe lodges with free Internet, RV/camping sites and dorm facilities.
Oregon
Central Oregon’s Bend region is filled with activities for groups, including cycling, cave tours, geo-coaching and canoeing near Mt. Bachelor. Options also include the Bend Ale Trail, a new tour of breweries in what has become one of the country’s foremost craft brewery capitals.
Golf with views of the Deschutes River is also in the local mix, along with contemporary conference facilities at Riverhouse Convention Center with its 30,000 square feet of meeting spaces.
One of the largest resort conference centers in the Northwest, Sunriver Resort is located 15 miles south of Bend in a pristine high-desert setting that promotes growth, achievement and intellectual exchange. Team-building activities and a variety of housing options are available at this self-contained resort offering 44,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor venues.
Utah
45-minute drive from Salt Lake City International Airport, Park City is a mountain town with a wealth of accommodations, activities and meeting facilities. Winter is the high season, with summer the time to findgreater flexibility and value.
"Winter is our larger season in general, so summer rates are a fourth to a third of winter ones," says Dirk Beal, director of sales for Deer Valley Resort, but adds that improving business has stabilized rates for the upcoming season and that "discounting seems to have bottomed out."
Park City’s newest properties include The Montage Deer Valley, a hotel with 17,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, and 31,000 square feet of outdoor function space and the 35,000-square-foot Spa Montage. The Waldorf Astoria Park City and Golden Door Spa is open at The Canyons, offering 175 guest rooms and suites, a boardroom and other spaces for small groups.
According to Vicki Gaebe, meetings and conventions marketing manager for the Park City CVB, corporate groups are returning to the destination, many booking meetings just a few months out.
"We are seeing a trend toward shorter meetings by a day or so to meet budget constraints," Gaebe says. "Park City accomplishes this with our easy accessibility and more. With over 800 flights a day, groups can arrive in the morning, begin meeting in the afternoon of the same day and depart any evening following a full day of meetings."
Washington
Suncadia Resort, on the "sunny side" of the Cascade Mountains, has an enviable 3,500-acre site along Interstate 90, 82 miles east of Seattle. According to Scott Verrue, director of sales, companies based on either side of the Cascades find the resort to be very strategic for meetings and events of up to 500 attendees.
"We are fortunate that the Pacific Northwest hung in pretty well during the recession, and we are now seeing some tightening in availability," he says. "We’ve had some groups—even repeat customers—get boxed out of preferred booking dates. Rates are inching up because of the uptick in demand, and we expect that booking windows will be longer in the near future."
Just open at Suncadia is Swiftwater Cellars, a winery adjacent to the 18-hole Rope Rider golf course opening in August. The winery has a restaurant, pro shop and indoor and outdoor event spaces accommodating up to 300 people.
Wyoming
While winter is high season for many mountain destinations, the opposite is the case for the Jackson Hole area, according to Jim Goslin, director of sales at Snow King Resort.
"We have between 15 and 20 percent more guests in summer because families want proximity to Yellowstone and activities like whitewater rafting," he says.
Groups who book Snow King’s Grand View Lodge will find 10,000 square feet of new meeting space in addition to nearly 400 guest accommodations.
"We are six blocks from Jackson’s historic town square, and we’re at the base of the Snow King Recreation area where groups find miniature golf, horseback riding, and mountain biking available," Goslin says.
Many visitors arrive in the area for the Grand Teton Music Festival, a seven-week "super bowl" of orchestra music that runs July through mid-August. The new Jackson Hole Alltrans shuttle service helps visitors get around the valley and up to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
In eastern Wyoming’s North Platte River Valley, The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch is a new destination with 9,000 square feet of meeting space and 34 lodging units, designed specifically for private corporate and leisure events, including buyouts. The historic cattle ranch offers the quintessential Western experience combined with a high level of service and luxury on 13,000 acres.
