Seasoned planners are already fully aware that timing can be everything when trying to match a top locale with a challenging budget. But they might not realize how creative—and cost-friendly—some destinations and properties are becoming in their efforts to fill “need” periods, even during the current hotel boom.
Here’s a quick look at a handful of getaways around the U.S. and beyond that are presenting innovative incentives for groups to visit in the off-season.
Out of Thin Air
Park City, Utah, is a popular destination much of the year but can struggle with springtime group commerce; and it’s hard to imagine a more innovative effort to fill a need period than what’s currently in the works there.
“We are launching a new event—the Thin Air Innovation Festival—this April to specifically address that ‘off-season’ period here in Park City,” says Linda Jager, director of communications for the Park City Chamber/CVB.
The festival, she says, is about reaching higher and achieving more through creative collaboration among forward-thinkers.
“Attendees will be innovation-oriented companies and private group conferences with their own agendas and participants, all held simultaneously in Park City,” Jager explains. “The concept is to have these groups ‘bolt on’ to Thin Air events to create a much larger festival experience.”
Elsewhere in the eye-catching resort town, Westgate Park City Resort & Spa, a AAA Four Diamond Resort set at the base of Park City’s Canyons Village, created a special offer to attract meetings in its slow seasons of mid-April through mid-June and mid-September through November.
Planners who book their groups during that time period can receive Luxury Studios starting at $99 per night, complimentary meeting room Wi-Fi service and a Visa gift card with a sliding value based on the size of the group.
Westgate has found this strategy so successful it is planning to launch similar types of deals at some of its other properties during off-seasons, including Florida’s Westgate River Ranch, located about one hour from Orlando. The company is preparing to roll out a summer offer for groups to entice them to book between June 1 and Aug. 31. The property is known as “Florida’s Dude Ranch” and hosts numerous Western doings, including some unusual equestrian-focused teambuilding.
Room to Roam
In Greenough, Mont., The Resort at Paws Up sprawls across 37,000 acres and is known for helping pioneer the “glamping” (glamorous camping) trend. With summer being its peak season, the resort has a regular round-up of group savings offerings to lure events in its need periods.
Savvy meeting planners can take advantage of Paws Up’s Value Dates for groups, available in the spring, fall and winter. During these periods, planners can potentially reserve all of the 28 home accommodations at Paws Up (73 bedrooms and 65 bathrooms) for as little as $25,000 per night for their entire group, with private use of the entire massive property.
Paws Up can also provide special all-inclusive group rates that include luxury suite accommodations, round-trip airport transfers, breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a wide selection of outdoor recreational activities. Additionally, the resort creates what it refers to as “customizable break-outs” for groups that can run the gamut from a team cattle drive to on-site rodeos; a natural, given that the largest private equestrian facility in the state is located on the resort.
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Ice to Meet You
In climes like the Midwest and New England it’s often impossible to ignore the winter cold, so why not embrace it? That’s the thinking behind a pair of recent icy adventures launched in Minnesota and Vermont.
In the Twin Cities, the Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis launched a cool (literally) culinary experience package that invites groups to get “Hooked On Winter” with a VIP offering that begins with a full-day guided ice fishing excursion. The outing includes locally brewed beer and a full lunch, followed by dinner at MARIN Restaurant & Bar, where Executive Chef Mike Rakun cooks up the day’s catch for a decadently delicious wine-pairing meal. Guests can then continue warming up with some hot chocolate or adult libations in the penthouse suite.
In Burlington, Vt., where January and February can be a downtime, the boutique Hotel Vermont created a similar experience known as the Ice Breaker Meeting Package.
“The property has recently developed an innovative package utilizing the hotel’s complimentary snowshoes to venture onto the frozen Lake Champlain to test their luck at ice-fishing—shielded from the elements courtesy of the hotel’s over-ice shanty,” says spokesperson Hannah Redfield.
Once they finish fishing, she says attendees will feast on a lunch or dinner crafted by Executive Chef Doug Paine showcasing the day’s catch. Later, attendees can relax and warm up beside the lobby’s wood-burning hearth with hot chocolate, hot toddies or other seasonal cocktails.
Here and There
Provenance Hotels has prompted promotions in Portland, Ore., and New Orleans, to combat need periods in winter and summer, respectively. Portland’s elegant boutique properties Hotel deLuxe and Sentinel are offering a “Meet Longer, Spend Less” package through the end of March; and The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery is offering a similar savings package dubbed “Bring Your Krewe to New Orleans” that’s good for group stays between June 1 and Sept. 14. The Portland packages primarily reward extra nights, while the Big Easy bargain is based more upon actualized room nights.
And in Britain’s charming Cotswolds region, the enchanting Ellenborough Park manor house venue is luring groups to the often-rainy winters with a pair of unusual teambuilding experiences: Duck Herding and Husky Sledding.
