Relax... Resort Meetings | By Marlane Bundock

Relax…

Resort Meetings

Resorts continue to be the "it" place for meetings, according to ConventionSouth's most recent meetings industry survey, where resorts were found to be meeting planners' most preferred type of hotel. Nearly 60 percent of responding planners placed resorts as their top choice for holding events, with city hotels coming in at second.

Similarly, Meeting Professional International's 2008 FutureWatch report showed that U.S.-based planners use resort hotels for 29 percent of all their meetings (city hotels are used for 40 percent) with corporate planners showing that they select resorts, on average, for 30 percent of all their meetings.

Much of the attraction to resort properties can be attributed to their ability to increase attendance rates. "My experience in the meetings industry," said Pola Laughlin, director of group sales for The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville, N.C., "shows that attendance is always higher than expected when a group meets at a resort and that allowing a half or full day of down time for attendees to enjoy the resort's amenities will keep attendance up in the meeting sessions."

Attendees Need To 'Get Away'

This draw to a resort could be attributed to findings that show U.S. employees suffer from "vacation deprivation," according to a 2007 online survey by travel services provider Expedia.com. Results showed that Americans not only have the worst vacation privileges among all countries surveyed, but they also tend not to take advantage of their vacation privileges. The survey found U.S. workers will leave an average of three vacation days on the table this year.

At the same time, the survey found that Americans crave time to "get away" from their daily routines. Close to 40 percent reported they feel more productive and better about their job upon returning from vacation. "Spending time away from the daily grind is good for all of us," said Ted Jansen, vice president of retail for Expedia.com, "and has been proven to yield incredible health and wellness benefits, as well as recharge our work batteries."

Resorts Offer 'Workations'

For some attendees, resort meetings fill a need for work-related vacations or "workations," according to resort officials like Jennifer Wasserman, director of sales and marketing for the new Hilton Bella Harbor Resort in Rockwall, Texas.

Wasserman has created a term for the opportunity for groups to take care of business and relax. "The 'Convene and Retreat' motto," she said, "was adopted internally to convey what the hotel can offer organizations: a place for business meetings as well as for rest and relaxation. Hilton Bella Harbor offers state-of-the-art technology and business capabilities in a wonderful setting."

In April, weeks after opening, the resort kicked off its first Convene and Retreat season by hosting the seventh biennial Urban Counties Education and Policy Conference, where attendees where able to meet within the property's 25,000 square feet of space equipped with wireless Internet throughout.

Attendees were also able to participate in an amazing list of activities, Wasserman said, explaining that the 231-room resort provides a a host of recreational opportunities, including a 31-acre waterfront entertainment development for "retail therapy," golf privileges at the nearby Buffalo Creek Course, a 5,000-square-foot spa designed for "holistic rest and relaxation," and sailboat cruises on Lake Ray Hubbard aboard a 40-foot sailing catamaran. "We are winning these conferences because we have the right mix of what businesses need for successful events," she said.

Laughlin, of The Grove Park Inn, agreed and said on-site recreation and amenities are a critical draw to both planners and attendees who want to limit hassles during a meeting.

And her statement is further supported by the fact that nearly 40 percent of the planners polled in ConventionSouth's survey said on-site hotel amenities were "very important" to their site selection decisions and their attendees' needs.

Distinctive Activities For Synchronizing Brain & Body

To further distinguish themselves as a place where attendees can participate in a quality meeting while relaxing and enjoying a vacation-like experience, resorts in the South are tailoring their services and offering unique opportunities that allow attendees to unwind.

For example, at Wild Dunes Resort, located on Isle of Palms near Charleston, S.C., there are numerous resort privleges that allow delegates to synchronize both brain and body, said Andressa Chapman, director of marketing communications. "The resort provides opportunities for getting centered at every turn—just looking out the window at the Atlantic Ocean or Intracoastal Waterway is enough for some. But more than that, we provide for wellness and relaxation."

Especially for meeting attendees, the resort recommends specialized spa services like the Thai Herbal Compress massage and wellness programming such as yoga and Pilates, all of which Chapman said are offered on site. "Attendees can also retreat through our miles of biking and walking paths, on the beach or by the pool, and through kayaking the ocean or the marsh, sailing and eco-tours. Through this they can get back to nature and experience the area's abundance of indigenous wildlife such as dolphins, alligators, blue crabs, osprey and more."

At The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, a 512-room resort with 54,000 square feet of meeting space, relaxation opportunities abound, Laughlin said. "Because the unique interior of the inn is unlike any other resort, attendees find themselves drawn to certain spots. For attendees who relax by watching people, the central meeting point of The Great Hall has got it covered. If reading helps you relax, just glance around and find one of our oversized rockers, either in front of the huge fireplace or outside facing the Blue Ridge Mountains. Explorers will find many nooks around the resort with original Arts and Crafts furnishings as a place to read or play board games. Attendees can also take part in one of many fitness classes at our deluxe, state-of-the-art sports complex, or just take a nap."

When it comes to energized fun, the resort's western North Carolina setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains provides an opportunity for groups to play golf at the Donald Ross-designed golf course or give "teambuilding a whole new meaning" through a whitewater excursion, Laughlin said. "Understanding the dynamic between your employees takes on a sharper focus when they are working to paddle a raft through a class two or three whitewater rapid."

Along with distinctive activities, planners may want to seek resorts that have well-appointed, relaxation-inducing accommodations, said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which operates the Cherokee Casino Resort in Tulsa, Okla. Along with 7,500 square feet of meeting space, the resort offers two hotels, the 150-room Cherokee Casino and the 113-room Cherokee Casino Inn. "Each room contains king- or queen-sized beds with high thread count linens, both down and down-essence pillows, and luxurious down blankets. All beds are triple sheeted to give guests a more comfortable sleeping experience. Authentic Cherokee art embellishes each room, from the Art Deco featured on the walls to the tiles hand-crafted by Cherokee artisans. Hotel amenities include valet parking, room service, a fitness center, a gift shop and, for the business professional, complimentary high-speed wireless and hard-wired Internet connections."

Staff Support For Creative Planning

Resort officials are working to anticipate meeting planners' need to incorporate relaxation opportunities into their meetings. And at the Cherokee Casino Resort, the staff is prepared. "At Cherokee Casino Resort, our staff works closely with the client to ensure that their stay here is fun yet accomplishes the goals the company or event planner has set forth," Stewart said. "We pride ourselves on our exemplary staff that eagerly waits to assist and fulfill the needs of each guest."

"Our staff is always willing to work with planners to incorporate relaxation into their agenda," said Ruth Ann Hatcher, convention coordinator for Pipestem Resort State Park in Southern West Virginia. "Pipestem offers natural beauty blended with its exciting facilities and helpful staff will provide you with a perfect mix of business and pleasure." Hatcher added that many times, when meeting at resorts, planners themselves can relax and let the on-site staff assist with the management of the meeting.

The 143-room resort with 26 cottages offers more than 16,000 square feet of event space and is located on 4,000 acres on the edge of the Bluestone River Gorge. Hatcher said attendees and planners have the ability to participate in golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, fishing, canoeing, and nearby white water rafting and skiing. "You can also enjoy Pipestem's sauna, exercise and game rooms or year-round nature programs," she said.

And, at the 525-room Wild Dunes Resort, Chapman said, "Our conference services team adds value to events by working closely with our meeting planners to understand their objectives and they suggest ways to make planner's meetings more successful at Wild Dunes. Having that interactive working relationship in the planning process is the key to the success for our meeting planners."

Blending Events With Activities

EMD Chemicals, for example, recently spent four days at Wild Dunes with the overall purpose of education, Chapman said, explaining that the group's goal was to come together to get to know one another better. "Our conference services team orchestrated fun runs on the beach, and golf and tennis tournaments outside the scope of the meeting. This advanced planning ensured that EMD team members had plenty of time for their meeting and time to get to know one another better in a more relaxed setting."

While Wild Dunes Resort offers 11,000 square feet of meeting space, Chapman said many groups like to take their events outdoors to capture the area's soothing ambiance. "For example, a meeting planner could easily work an eco-tour into the agenda by also making the experience serve double duty as dinner. Planners have arranged for a dinner on Caper's Island, which is a remote, uninhabited island 20 minutes from Wild Dunes. Guests take a scenic open-air boat ride through the waterways surrounding the islands to their final destination. They may see dolphins playing or a congregation of white egrets nestled among the palms and oaks or an alligator sunning on an embankment as they ride to Caper's, where an island cookout awaits. It's truly a full sensory activity that provides for a memorable experience that meeting attendees take back home with them."

At The Grove Park Inn, the convention services department can arrange for groups to incorporate a spa activity into breaks, Laughlin said. "Even if a meeting doesn't allow for much free time, we can create meeting breaks that will include chair massages, aromatherapy and healthy elixirs."

Fighting The Distractions

Chapman said planners should not be concerned about attendees being too distracted at resorts. "One suggestion we provide to our planners who want to ensure their attendees aren't distracted is to make allowances for recreation when creating their agendas. That may mean starting the day earlier with shorter breaks to ensure attendees have enough time in the day for play. Or, they may work planned recreational activities into agendas so attendees get to experience all a resort has to offer."

At Cherokee Casino, Stewart said, "We can schedule meetings in private, quieter areas and help set a firm agenda that includes lunch in a private area of one of our restaurants and breaks in private lounges. This helps keep people from straying from the group, but maintains the fun atmosphere of the event or meeting. A good agenda often includes scheduling in plenty of fun time so meeting goers have time to explore and relax without using meeting time to do this. We want everyone to have fun, but still meet goals. If our clients don't meet those goals, they may go away unhappy, which means we've failed to provide the right mix of work and play. That's why our staff is so important and works so closely with the client organization."