Successful Meetings - May 2008 - (Page 208)

Best Practices > MiGurus experts’ blogs from www.MiMegasite.com Words from the Wise A RESORT BY ANY OTHER NAME A hotel is a hotel, right? So what’s the difference if it is a resort hotel instead of a business hotel? Actually, here are some of the more significant points of differentiation: Access—since, by definition, many resorts are considered “getaway” destinations, they tend to be located farther away from major hub cities than hotels. This means that your attendees need to be prepared to change planes, fly on smaller aircraft, and/or sit on a shuttle bus of some sort for a fairly significant periBy Steve Collins od of time. Resort Meeting Source, LLC Deposit/Cancellation Policies— Breckenridge, CO hotels in major metropolitan areas generate a significant amount of walk-in business, which means they can typically have lax deposit and cancellation requirements— thus, the 4pm (or 6pm) cancellation policy that is very common in cities. Since there are plenty of other lodging options available nearby in the event of a walk situation, they can overbook the hotel by as much as 25 percent or more, and count on the attrition rate to even out their room count each evening. This also allows them to book groups with little to no advance deposit. Not so with resort properties. In many resort areas—particularly destination resorts—a room that is unsold 30 days prior to arrival will most likely not be sold. FIT guests don’t just “show up” without a reservation at a resort that may be two to three hours away from the nearest major metro area. This means that most resort hotels are going to be much more stringent with both their deposit policies and their attrition/cancellation policies. Seasonality—most resorts have very distinct seasons where they will be absolutely full or absolutely empty. If you are trying to book a resort during their peak season, expect to pay top dollar and have little flexibility. If you are booking during the off-season, they will typically bend over backwards to attract your business, but be aware that there may not be many activities available in the area over those dates. Pattern—most business hotels have a Monday through Thursday pattern for the majority of their business, so weekends are typically empty for them. In a resort setting, typically Friday and Saturday are the busiest days of the week, so be aware that you will pay top dollar for those two nights— and some resorts will not even take your group if you will break up a weekend by booking only a Friday or a Saturday night. On the other hand, you will generally find them to be much more flexible with you for a booking during the Monday-Thursday time frame. Facilities—always remember that most resort areas are geared toward leisure travelers, and as such, may not have some of the amenities available that have become expected among business travelers. Some things are obvious—for example, not many secluded resort areas are going to have a convention center available that can seat 10,000 people plus 25 breakouts and meals for the entire group. Other differences are much more subtle. Be aware that things like high speed Internet and consistent cell phone coverage are still not a given in many areas—particularly in the more rural parts of the western U.S. Just make sure that your attendees can live without these things for a few days if you decide to book a resort in a more remote area. This is by no means a complete list, but it gives you an idea of some of the items to consider when looking at resort destinations. Holding a meeting at a resort can be fun and rewarding for the attendees as well as cost-effective and impactful for the sponsoring organization, but you, as the meeting planner, do need to be aware of these differences when you are conducting your searches. MAY 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 208 mimegasite.com http://www.MiMegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - May 2008

Successful Meetings - May 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry Trends
Destination News
Destination News
Suppliers
Destination News
Calendar
On the Record
Websites of the Month
Management Matters
Mouth for Sale
Meetings Law
Planner's Spotlight
Pre-Event
On Site
Tools of the Trade
Pre-Event
Counting Change
Giving Them the Business
The Magnificent Seven
All-American Gift Guide
Green Lights
Places & Spaces
Anaheim & Orange County
Upstate New York
Cincinnati
Detroit
San Diego
Phoenix
Gurus

Successful Meetings - May 2008