And though the concept of family-friendly meetings is not something conference hotels and resorts openly promote, meeting planners looking for this option can now negotiate multiple activities with the right properties well in advance.
Leading the pack in the family-friendly teambuilding activities segment in the West are some of following properties.
Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove, Calif.
Great Wolf Resorts opened the 603-suite Great Wolf Lodge Southern California in March 2016, the company’s 13th U.S. property. It features 21,226 square feet of separate and configurable meeting rooms and is located near the Anaheim Convention Center. It is also the home to a 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, featuring water slides and attractions, including the six-story Howlin’ Tornado, a multi-level interactive tree house and the body surfing experience Wolf Rider Wipeout.
“While the indoor waterpark primarily attracts our leisure clients, it is a brand differential for us,” said Taren Rathman, corporate manager of group sales of Great Wolf Resorts, based in Madison, Wis. “Planners often look to us not only because they know we deliver on exceptional service and support for meetings, but also because we are a destination for families, which allows meeting attendees to potentially bring their family and combine work with pleasure.”
Rathman said though the lodge’s waterpark can be a complement to a meeting client or it can just as easily have no role or involvement at all, teambuilding activities available include culinary events inspired by popular cooking competitions on TV, challenges on some of the leisure attractions such as bowling, and private parties hosted after hours in the waterpark.
Noting that the lodge is a “full-service resort,” Rathman said there are several suite styles to accommodate the needs of a conference attendee who prefers separate work space from sleeping space, on up to families that travel with children and grandparents at the same time. “We have several on-site dining outlets to appeal to guests who prefer grab-and-go meals to buffets with a wide array of options to full-service restaurants,” she said. “Our catering and banquet teams have also evolved and we create unique and memorable menus to meet the desires and dreams of our clients.”
JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass, Tucson, Ariz.
The JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort and Spa, located 12 miles from Tucson International Airport, features 575 guest rooms, 88,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, six dining experiences, the 20,000-square-foot Hashani Spa, a fitness center, a collection of outdoor water features (including the meandering Starr Canyon River and Monsoon Falls waterslide), the Blur Teen Lounge and Rising Starr Kid’s Club, two tennis courts, access to multiple hiking and biking trails on property, and the Starr Pass Golf Club, which features 27 holes of championship golf designed by Arnold Palmer.
According to Carey Higgins, destinations operations manager, teambuilding options that can be adjusted to be family-friendly (children or spouses) include a human foosball tournament, a Hungry Hungry Hippos inflatable, corn hole/volleyball/ping pong tournaments, giant interactive games (oversized Jenga, giant Connect 4 and giant chess), a low ropes course, teepee building, cooking challenges and off-site options such as a desert jeep rally and a scavenger hunt at Old Tucson Studios.
PageBreak“There is a minimum number of participants required for some programs, but meeting planners can work out those details with the resort sales manager,” said spokesperson Carol Baetzel.
Baetzel also said spouses and meeting members can experience a variety of indigenous treatments at the spa or participate in a full-moon poolside meditation on those calendar days with full moons. Other activities take advantage of the resort’s location along with health, wellness and fitness programs that are indigenous to the region.
YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park and Snow Mountain, Colo.
YMCA of the Rockies features two Rocky Mountain locations: Estes Park Center is surrounded on three sides by Rocky Mountain National Park; and Snow Mountain Ranch is nestled in a wide valley with long views of the Continental Divide and a short drive from Winter Park.
According to Lisa Neujahr, marketing and communications director, every year YMCA of the Rockies serves more than 800 family reunions and 1,200 conferences. Estes Park Center can host as many as 5,032 guests and Snow Mountain can host as many as 1,640 guests. Lodging options at each location include hotel-style lodge rooms, family cabins and large group/reunion cabins.
At Estes Park Center, the newly remodeled Reusch Auditorium offers state-of-the-art video and audio capabilities and seats 800, with three breakout rooms and two separate lobbies. The Longhouse is a double gymnasium that is 22,000 square feet and seats 2,600, and is used for concerts, tradeshows, sports and other events. And Assembly Hall offers 11,520 square feet with seating for 1,300 and breaks into three smaller meeting rooms.
Snow Mountain’s largest lodge is also its newest and features 2,600 square feet of meeting space that seats 400. It is available for a variety of set-ups and includes state-of-the-art visual systems and Wi-Fi. Schlessman Commons offers 2,000 square feet of meeting space with options for private dining or catered meals.
Neujahr said YMCA’s programs department has a variety of teambuilding programs available to groups for meetings, including high and low rope courses, rock climbing, ziplining and other outdoor adventures. “In addition to being large conference centers, we also host families of all sizes,” she said. “Our family programs are both educational and exciting with topics such as bugs, beavers and water ecology. And depending on the season, families can enjoy ziplining, bike riding, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, roller skating, swimming, ice skating, tubing and more.”
The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo.
This historic 784-room retreat offers 185,000 square feet of sophisticated event space and such teambuilding events as mountain biking, caving, archery, laser tag, rock climbing and hiking via its Broadmoor Leadership Center. The resort also offers falconry and fly fishing, as well as top-rated zip line courses that span 1,400-plus acres of wilderness and ends with a 180-foot controlled rappel into the Seven Falls attraction.
Allison Scott, director of communications, said what truly sets The Broadmoor apart “is the fact that we are just that -- a destination onto itself. With a campus that encompasses many different types of spaces, from large to small, and with a full array of activities and amenities for attendees and their families to enjoy, we are essentially a one-stop location.”
Scott said the resort creates programs for groups all the time, based around its extensive list of attractions. “However, one of the most unique things we offer groups is the ability to buy out and close our attraction of Seven Falls for an evening function,” she said. “Groups have taken advantage of doing light shows on the canyon walls and have had bands and cocktail receptions on a platform that overlooks the falls.”
