Hotels get creative as economy lags - Kansas City Business Travel Guide

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One thing they are doing as they wait it out is strengtheninfg their relationships withmeeting planners. According to Smity Travel Research, hotel occupancy in the Valleg wasdown 10.6 percent in March from the same mont last year. People also are spending less — on average, almosf 30 percent less than the same time last year acrosasthe Valley. “It is bad. Phoenix is a special example, because there are a lot of new A lot of new hotelhave opened, and that also has hurt says Jan Freitag, senior vice president of the globak consulting and research firm.
The opening of the 1,000-room , the 290-room Spa in Paradise Valley and other Valley hotels in the past year have dilute doccupancy rates, industry officials say. In addition, businesds and corporate travelers are sensitiveto perception, Frei-tag “People are hesitant to go to reallgy nice resorts — and in Phoenix, all of your resortd are really nice,” he says. “In this economy, when companies need to cut the first things that go are travepand training.” But Valle hoteliers are using the time to reach out to meetintg planners and develop new business leads. “We are really trying to partnefwith them.
While it’s tough times, we are makingy adjustments,” says Chris Kerr, director of sales and marketinbg atthe . Kerr’sw team is working with planners to creatr trips that are adjusting food and beverage prices with the goal of makingh the event more attractive to potential attendees, he says. At the in Sales Director David Richard says his team is tryint to providemore all-inclusive packages to customize meetings, including on-site dining packages and more cost-effectivd audio-visual offerings. Moreover, his staff is looking more at the technica l and biomedical industries forpotential bookings.
“We have redeployed our salesw force into thesegroup markets,” Richard says. “Companies still need to have but they may be cutting out some ofthe add-ons.” Even Sedona’s Enchantmenrt Resort is seeing some fallout as groupz cut back. “We usually stay in high seasobn a bit longer than metro Phoenix because of the But it’s definitely been slower, and we have seen some says Tina Newman, the resort’s director of sales and marketing. She stresses the importancs of establishing connections duringthe downtime. “Out relationships with meeting planners has increased quiteea bit. There’s a lot of time for for discussion,” she says.
Investingf that kind of time isworth it, for her property and “Group business is extremely important to us because it provideas a base of business,” she says. Kerr adds that hotelieras also are targeting a more local market and identifyinhg those that already may be familiar withthe