It wasn’t long ago, with the AIG Effect in full swing, that resort and spa meetings were seen as frivolous—to the point of being a nearly taboo subject.
But with the economy in apparent recovery, and groups perhaps discovering greater values in resort stays, the situation appears to be in full turnaround. Meetings Focus East checked in with some top resort spas—and a high-caliber corporate sales executive—to get a pulse of the current trends. Here’s what we found:
MASS APPEAL
“We are seeing the return of corporate groups that were reluctant to come to a resort property over the past several years,” says Dawn Ramsey-Jacobsson, director of sales at the historic Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox, Mass. “They realize our rates are competitive with properties that don’t provide what we offer. We are even seeing meeting planners book more team-building and educational events built around spa/wellness and recreational activities, like golf,” she says.
Among the group lures at the Berkshire-based estate are a spa; indoor and outdoor heated pools; a championship 18-hole golf course; 96 guest rooms and suites; and 16,000 square feet of meeting space.
MAINE ATTRACTION
At the Cliff House Resort & Spa on the shores of Maine, it’s about rewarding employees, says Charlene Banulis, director of sales and guest services.
“The idea of a luxurious hot stone massage or nourishing blueberry body treatment after the next meeting is a powerful incentive.”
Since its spa opened in 2002, the property has seen countless corporate clients add spa offerings to meeting agendas, with some opting for full treatment packages while others select a la carte services, such as five-minute Coffee Break Chair Massages during meeting breaks.
The oceanfront offering has over 13,700 square feet of meeting and function space, with high-speed Internet access in all meeting rooms; 166 guest rooms, all with ocean views, balconies and high-speed Internet access; and New England’s first oceanfront spa and fitness center, overlooking the picturesque Maine coast. The resort is about an hour’s drive north of Boston.PageBreak
TOPNOTCH TRENDS
In Stowe, Vt., at the Topnotch Resort and Spa, Director of Sales Erik Dombroski stressed the importance of the bottom-line value of resorts and discussed some recent shifts at the Green Mountain State getaway.
“What we’re seeing is a shift in the perception of resorts as luxury,” Dombroski remarks. “Planners have come to recognize that our concentration of amenities and services actually provides a value to them.
“Concurrently,” he adds, “many resorts have stepped up their offerings in response to economic concerns, creating value-add throughout their product in order to enhance the overall package. Resorts have the services, amenities, staff and experience to facilitate this.”
In terms of the types of groups that have been ‘Stowe-ing’ away to the Topnotch, one trend has definitely caught the eye of Dombroski.
“We are seeing an increase in the number of C-suite off-site retreats—more-intimate events organized around a specific objective,” Dombroski says. “Companies from New York, Boston and Montreal are finding it fortunate that they are located within driving distance of our resort.”
He adds that a big group draw is the resort’s unique 120-acre setting, sporting a backdrop of the Green Mountains and neighboring the charming town of Stowe and its many shops and galleries. The property includes 68 guest rooms and 40 luxurious resort homes. PageBreak
NATIONAL HIGHS AND ‘LOEWS’
For the larger scope, we checked in with Mike Dominguez, vice president of gobal sales at Loews Hotels, which operates 18 luxury hotels and resorts around North America.
“We are seeing strength in the corporate group market,” Dominguez remarks. “Substantial changes have taken place in the length of meetings. Industry-wide, this has shrunk slightly. Challenges still exist with the rising cost of air travel consuming a larger portion of the overall group budgets and the impact of the aggressive commodity price increases that are pushing up costs—especially in the food and beverage area—to produce meetings. These increases are moving at a faster clip than overall meeting budgets.”
The Loews exec opines that resort meetings may have taken the brunt of media fallout, but are bouncing back nevertheless.
“The optics of meetings have settled down, as has the media hype surrounding meetings and where they are placed,” says Dominguez. “As an industry, we have done a much better job of articulating the importance of face-to-face meetings, whether they are incentive or content-driven.”
