The mountain regions of the West offer groups high-quality team-building options and realistic rates. Add to that the stunning scenery and great weather of the summer months and you’ve created an ideal venue for groups, according to Pat Moloney, president and founder of TMN Events, a full-service event company and DMC operating in Idaho; Lake Tahoe, Calif.; Park City, Utah; and the Tetons.
“The mountains in the West during the summer are some of the absolute best locations for groups,” he says. “Nature is the calling card of the region. As a rule the best weather in America is summer in the mountains in the West; warm days and cool nights.”
Luxury outdoor properties shot onto the regional, and international, travel scene a few years ago. The remote locations and tranquil ambience of these outdoor venues make them great spots for groups.
Luxury Meets Roughing It
Some say the term “glamping”— a combination of “glamorous” and “camping,” referring to properties where one might sleep in tents yet have access to amenities like butlers and gourmet cuisine—was coined in reference the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in British Columbia.
Offering a complete escape from harried city life, the resort sits within the UNESCO Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve on Vancouver Island and is a rare geographic point where mountains, ocean and rivers meet. Instead of honking cars and traffic lights, groups will experience an intersection of land and sea, and the only things crossing attendees’ paths will be the area’s abundant wildlife.
Its unique natural setting allows Clayoquot to offer a broad range of team-building and adventure activities, including whale watching, deep-sea fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, kayaking and horseback riding.
“Last year was our best year ever, and bookings are looking strong for 2012,” says Sue Bodset, Clayoquot’s director of sales and marketing.
That’s due largely to the recent construction of en-suite bathrooms in 12 of the property’s 20 fully furnished tents. Clayoquot will be adding bathrooms to the rest of the tents within the year.
“Before, we had composting toilets and it was a walk to the shower. The bathrooms have made a huge difference in business,” she says.
As Clayoquot is only accessible by boat or seaplane, the adventure begins with a 45-minute seaplane flight from Vancouver, which is included in the all-inclusive pricing. After a water-landing on the ocean in front of the resort, groups are welcomed with a quick bear-safety orientation. Then, they embark on highly-personalized daily activities, planned by the resort’s activities director.
With the help of experienced guides, visitors can conquer activities such as whitewater kayaking or zip-lining.
Food is locally-sourced and gourmet. Dinners are a five-course affair; Clayoquot grows much of its own produce and pairs dishes with local wine. According to Bodset, guests have been known to exclaim, “Holy smokes, I can’t believe how good the food is way out here!”
Groups looking for CSR opportunities or a way to connect with their wilderness surroundings can participate in Clayoquot’s Environment Legacy Programs. Three percent of the resort’s rates are funneled toward these educational projects, which allow corporations to give back to the area. Three different projects are currently under way, involving bear-habitat mapping, exploring connections between salmon and bear populations in the area, rebuilding salmon habitats that were decimated by logging and mining in the 1960s and a marine biology education session.
“It’s great to escape cities and our busy work lives and get a breath of fresh air,” Bodset says. “We are a luxury safari-style tent resort like you would find in Africa but much closer to home.
Completing Bucket Lists
At a higher elevation, a new property entered the relatively vacant Wyoming upscale-wilderness resort market in 2010. The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, designed to host groups, is set at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountain range. Located in the Platte River Valley, this 15,000-acre resort and all-inclusive ranch is available for buyouts.
The ranch offers a variety of accommodations, from cabins and suites to lodge rooms, totaling 60 bedrooms. Additionally, the secluded Magee Homestead, which opened Memorial Day of 2011, offers seven cabins with a total of nine bedrooms.
Team-building is one of the ranch’s strengths, according to Alana Morris, public relations manager. Small-game hunting and wing shooting are offered year-round, and resort staff will schedule hunts and guide visitors through the process of acquiring tags if they want to chase larger game.
“One of the greatest benefits for groups is that everything is totally customizable,” she says. “We’ve had groups do all-day shooting lessons out at the range, or go on a buffalo hunt, which is a unique opportunity. The ranch is everything on your bucket list.”
From fly-fishing to a ropes challenge course and a zip line designed by endurance athlete and adventure racer Mike Kloser, or a poker tournament in the saloon, the team-building options are endless.
CULTURAL COMFORTS
For less outdoorsy types, the mountains of the West still have much to offer, as many regional venues and DMCs are branching out and providing team-building activities that go beyond staple offerings. Moloney recommends taking the gondola lift at Sun Valley Resort up to the historic Roundhouse, where visitors can take a history or art class before riding down to “civilization.” He also highlights digital nature photography workshops available throughout the region.
“The view of the Grand Tetons is just like the Ansel Adams picture, only in full color,” Moloney says.
Even in the wilderness, Brush Creek offers comforting touches, including Native American-influenced spa treatments and baked goods prepared by a pastry chef who competed on the television show Cupcake Wars, which airs on the Food Network. The resort also offers groups privacy as it’s three hours away from the Denver airport.
“If you’re planning a major corporate takeover, no one will know you’re here,” Morris jokes.
Memorable Team building
Northern California-based Adventure Associates takes a more structured, urban approach to team building, and hosts many small strategic planning groups that need to refocus their energy.
The company runs Geotreks [where groups breaks into teams of five and use GPS coordinates to find hidden caches and explore a city] with groups as large as 250 people and has prepared courses in 80 cities nationwide, according to the organization’s co-director, Rebecca Tilley.
Organizations can blend half-day programs to combine training-intensive sessions with interactive programs. The programs are designed to help groups create memorable, productive events.
“Groups want meetings to be memorable and worth their time. They want people to come back the next year,” Tilley says. “That’s why it can be nice to add value and structure to these activities. When participants return to the work environment after these team-building meetings, they’ve bonded, making it easier to pick up the phone, connect with resources and do better work.”
Distinct Flavor
When it comes to summer activities in the mountainous west, there are many regional similarities, but each property has distinctive highlights.
Mark Gillespie, a group sales executive at Idaho’s Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, often helps groups take part in unstructured team-building activities, like fishing or rafting on the nearby Salmon River.
“These activities aren’t led by a facilitator explaining each step, but corporate groups often see a correlation between paddling together and working in unison,” he says.
Lake Tahoe is a Northern California meetings gem, with resorts like the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village boasting 50,000 square feet of function space, unobstructed lake views and a private beach. Last summer, TMN Events offered a “Day on the Water” package to showcase Lake Tahoe. The event included paddle-boarding, canoeing and jet-skiing, allowing guests to play on the lake, giving them an up-close vantage point to take in the view.
Stanley Basin, Idaho, in the heart of the Sawtooth Mountains, is “the town with million-dollar views,” Moloney says.
Groups can raft or kayak there with the Sawtooth Adventure Company, eat dinner and watch the sunset at the Redfish Lake Lodge.
On the Idaho side of the Tetons sits Teton Springs Resort and Spa, which offers great fly-fishing on the Snake River and easy access to Grand Teton National Park.
Adding team-building programming to meetings can increase your return on investment, Moloney notes.
“There is no substitute for beautiful surroundings,” he says.
