With so many families short on both cash and leisure time, it’s little wonder that family-friendly meetings are a fast-growing segment of the industry. Increasingly, destinations and properties are courting the market with amenities that encourage people to combine a meeting with a family vacation.
In fact, the opportunity to bring family members to a meeting can be a big attendance-builder, says Tifani Jones, director of sales for the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau.
“If they can go to a conference and do double duty by also making it a vacation, they are more likely to sign up,” she says. “Bringing the family along inspires people to attend—especially if it is a non-mandatory association meeting.”
Jones adds that the advent of virtual technology is also encouraging the family-friendly trend.
“Technology has increased so much and many meetings have a hybrid component to them,” she says. “If you can get all of your information from a live stream of the conference, people will ask themselves why they should go at all,”
She also notes that family friendly meetings are enticing to a new generation of attendees.
“Over the past five years, we’ve been seeing fewer requests for spousal outings and more requests for family outings,” she says. “It has a lot to do with generational priorities.”
Kathy V. Burton, vice president of membership and marketing for Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota, located in Eagan, Minn., agrees.
“In general, younger meeting attendees are not looking for time away from their families,” she says.
Burton adds that families are increasingly busy and are often looking for ways to spend more time together.
“Most professionals already put in enough time at their offices or job locations as well as training sessions, continuing education and business trips to meet with clients and customers,” she says. “The last thing they need or want is another week away from home to go to an association meeting.”
Destination Choices
According to Amy Parod, director of sales and marketing for the Arrowwood Resort Hotel & Conference Center in Alexandria, Minn., planners need to be extra careful when choosing a destination for a family friendly meeting.
“Attendees want to be entertained and kids are used to going to interesting places in cities, so you need to offer something more,” she says.
Parod says Arrowwood Resorts fits the bill perfectly because of its many amenities. The property sits on about 500 acres in Minnesota’s Chain of Lakes region (a little more than two hours northwest of Minneapolis), boasts 216 guest rooms, golf options, a 38,000-square-foot waterpark and a full-service marina where guests can rent jet skis, fishing boats, ski boats and pontoons.
“We’ve always been a family resort because we have so much to offer on-site,” Parod says.
The family-friendly market has always been strong for Arrowwood, but has become even more so over the past eight years, she adds.
“We opened our waterpark in 2003 and saw a major influx of families,” she says. “Since then, we’ve had a steady stream of family-oriented meetings; they love the waterpark.”
While family-friendly meetings have remained steady, the length of events has decreased, she says.
“Over the last couple of years, as the corporate side of business has decreased, we’ve seen meeting times decrease from two-to-three days to one-to-two days,” Parod notes. “I think it also has something to do with the fact that families are so busy these days. They only have a short amount of time to get away. That said, a lot of them stay through the weekend—especially if we extend the room rates offered during meeting times.”
Family-friendly meetings are also a growing source of business in Branson, Mo., according to Bill Derbins, general manager of the Branson Convention Center, Branson Downtown Hotel and the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing.
“That is our market, especially in the summer,” he says. “We have so many fun things to do—amusement parks, waterparks, lakes for boating and fishing—you can even go hiking in the Ozarks. Back in town, you can visit 80 theaters where we have 120 live shows.”
Branson’s numbers speak for themselves. According to Derbins, more than 60 percent of the city’s meetings have a family component from June through August. During the school year, they are down just 10 percent.
In Wisconsin Dells, a destination known for its waterparks, Jones says groups are attracted by the area’s variety of things to do and meeting space options.
“We have about 400,000 square feet of meeting space at multiple convention resorts,” she says. “We also have about 8,000 guest rooms in the region.”
Despite economic highs and lows, Jones says meetings bookings have stayed steady.
“We’ve been very fortunate because we offer such a family-friendly environment,” she says.
Homework Required
When it comes to planning a family-friendly meeting, experts say it’s important to do a lot of advance research.
“First, reach out to the bureau in the destination you are considering,” Jones advises. “Find out if there are activities they can help organize that would play well to families. Make sure the destination you choose has a wide range of options for different age ranges.”
Matt Banaszynski, vice president of Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin, located in Madison, Wis., recommends searching the Internet for value.
“In some cases while planning a meeting, I’ve gone online to see if the hotels or attractions in the destination are offering any deals,” he says. “Sometimes you will find a great Groupon or LivingSocial deal, and if you do, approach the hotel or attraction. Tell them, ‘I’ve noticed that you have deals out there; is there any way you can incorporate those savings for us?’
“Then, after you secure deals, promote them to your attendees,” he continues. “For example, maybe there is a go-kart track next to your hotel and you’ve bargained for $50 worth of driving for $25. Make sure to tell your attendees.”
Coupons can be a great way to attract families to meetings, according to Banaszynski.
“Families are always looking at cost,” he says. “Also, make sure to talk to your hotel about free things that they offer. You may find that a waterpark resort is happy to throw in a free pool party for kids if you book your meeting at their property. Explore your facility and its surroundings—you never know what kind of deals and discounts you can get.”
Burton recommends conducting surveys well before an event to gauge interest in various activities or if offering a family-friendly meeting is even preferable.
“Ask them a variety of questions,” Burton says. “Do people want babysitting provided? Do they want a full children’s program instead? Do they want free time during meetings to spend together as a family?
“If your potential attendees want a family-friendly event, gather a small group of respondents and get into the details,” she continues. “Also, be careful to include people who are single, those with children under 12 years old, those with teens, and even a couple of people who might have grandchildren. Ask tough questions: Have you attended meetings that have included families? What did you like? What didn’t you like?”
Also important is to carefully consider the location. According to Burton, not all hotels are equipped to handle the children of meeting attendees—especially when there isn’t a supervising parent present.
“Ask the facility sales people how many events they have hosted that have included children,” she suggests. “Find out if they have existing child care or children’s programs that you can utilize. If you choose to utilize programs at that facility, have parents make arrangements directly with the facility.”
Safety is another important consideration, according to Banaszynski.
“Make sure your hotel has the steps in place to take care of any emergencies,” he says. “For example, if you are at a waterpark resort and a kid goes missing, what protocol does the venue have to help that child find his or her family? Try to think of everything.”
Adult Time
Once you begin planning the agenda, Banaszynski recommends reserving time for adults.
“There needs to be parent time,” he says. “Especially if you have single people at the event, they will not want the kids around all the time. It is good to find a balance of adult and family time. Talk with your facility and arrange childcare. That time allows parents to unwind.”
What are the biggest misconceptions about family-friendly events?
“That children will infiltrate education sessions, kid-friendly food will rule and that everyone will be miserable,” Burton says. “My biggest piece of advice is to not schedule every minute of the day. Leave time open so that attendees aren’t forced to make choices between business and family.”
Katie Morell is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former Meetings Focus editor. www.katiemorell.com
