Resort Meetings: Embracing the Exquisite

On May 17, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn., will open its doors to two types of customers it's used to: tourists and corporate meeting attendees. However, it also will be going after another kind of customer, one that's beginning to make its presence known in the national resort hotel market: association members.

There are thousands of associations, and most are required to hold annual meetings. Some of these meetings are huge affairs, complete with their own Tradeshow Week 200 showfloors, but some are smaller gatherings, of perhaps 50 to 500 attendees. And these are increasingly seeking out the resort experience.

The MGM Grand at Foxwoods is just one of many resorts that now cater to the needs of these unique clients whose impact on the resort business cycle has been strong since at least 2004. That was the year the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North in Arizona felt the market shift so strongly toward association business that it brought on a sales manager, Vickey Pettypool, to focus on the market.

Associations provide “a good base or filler business,” Pettypool said, “and typically they secure their space one to three years out, depending on the meeting.”

Pettypool has been impressed with how associations conduct their business, she said, adding, “(They) keep very accurate records from each event, they know what their specific needs are and will contract accordingly.”

The director of group sales at the Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, Ruth Naccarato, said associations have a great impact on resorts. “(It's) nearly 40 percent of our overall group business,” Naccarato said, “so associations of all types are hugely important to our success.”

Plus, she added, they often bring guests or family members, “and turn their stay into a mini-vacation of sorts.”

Associations often adhere to geographic rotational patterns in a way that for-profit tradeshow managers don't necessarily have to, and it can sometimes be hard to turn a new piece of business into an annual return customer. But, according to Joan Esnault, vice president of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, association meeting attendees are often converted into tourists who make return visits or pass on the good word about the resort to others.

Associations are turning – and returning – to resorts with their business because the resorts provide a way to mix business with pleasure, she added.

“Resorts offer their attendees great meeting space and, after the business is done at the end of the day, (they offer) a variety of dining and activities,” Esnault said. “Now, with casino resorts, we add a different dimension because there are even more options such as entertainment, celebrity chef restaurants, spa facilities and luxury retail shops.”

Toastmasters Intl., an organization that helps people feel more comfortable speaking in front of audiences, was drawn to Foxwoods because “it's an attendance builder and a source of motivation for people to attend an international meeting,” said David Kull, Toastmasters' meetings and special events planner.

When booking meetings, Kull said, he seeks destinations with a broad variety of restaurants and amenities that are attractive to both attendees and their guests.

Naccarato pointed out that Snowbird, the property she represents, offers hiking, mountain biking, an aerial tram, ATV and horseback tours, skiing, snowmobiling and ice skating. Association members can “meet and accomplish goals and objectives, then relax and rejuvenate on the mountain,” she said.

Disney Resorts, which has long focused on the meetings business, makes a point of providing more than just activities.

“Disney has created a brand that's based on storytelling,” said George Aguel, senior vice president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Our creative teams can tap Disney's communication, entertainment and production expertise to help associations tell their stories.”

Such Disney park stories could reflect experiences beyond the norm. For example, associations can project their logos on the sides of railroad trains in the Disney parks if desired, Aguel said. “We have a host of materials (organizers) can leverage, including custom-created Web sites and staff to assist them in making the most of the destination and marketing tools we offer,” he added.

The California Podiatric Assn. has held its meetings at Disney properties for the past nine years. Andrea Carrick, the association's meetings director, said it would only leave if it outgrew the space Disney has to offer, “which is highly unlikely.”

But when it comes to indulging in all a resort has to offer, the price still has to be right.

Sarah Hagy, executive director of the North American Horticultural Supply Assn., which has frequented the Snowbird resort, said association convention organizers might be surprised by what they can get for their money.

According to Hagy, the pricing at a resort can be comparable to that of hotels with fewer amenities. “You can spend less than $200 per night, and that's great in terms of what you're getting,” she said.

Not all convention managers share those sentiments, of course. Connie Young, conference director for the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (which has contracts to hold meetings at Snowbird through 2013) said cost is key in determining whether she chooses a resort – or a hotel – for her meetings. “We go where we get the best value,” she added.

At Disney, according to Aguel, “groups are always offered the best rates available.”

“Resorts can be a bit higher (in price) than hotels,” Pettypool pointed out, “but that's because they have more to offer in regard to amenities.”

Marketing staffs from resorts employ many of the same tactics their more traditional hotel competitors do to encourage associations to dip their toes into the waters of a resort experience.

Attending industry meetings is one of these tactics. Snowbird and Foxwoods marketing staffs have attended meetings of the American Society of Assn. Executives and the Professional Convention Management Assn., among others.

“(Snowbird) has seven dedicated sales professionals focusing on various geographical and vertical markets,” Naccarato said. “We travel 20 times per year and attend numerous industry-related meetings and events across the country.”

Foxwoods holds client events in major cities (like Washington, D.C., and Chicago), employs direct mail campaigns, advertises in key association publications, hosts familiarization tours and makes sales calls, Esnault said.

As for how associations feel about being reeled in, Hagy said personalized efforts mean a lot.

“(NAHSA) booked at a Hilton in Hilton Head, N.C., in 2009, and I got a holiday card and a personal note thanking us for the business,” she said. “That meant a lot.”

Kull said he believes good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth and sales calls remain effective as marketing practices.

“I feel that association resort business will grow,” Carrick said. In long-term relationships like the one CPA has with Disney, “everything seems to click much better and everyone is much happier. It just fits so nicely.”