Small Market Meetings June 2020

HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES | KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE | CALIFORNIA MEETING GUIDE JUNE 2020

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JOIN YOUR PEERS IN

October 4-6 French Lick, Indiana

CONFERENCE

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Ideally located on I-75, this 47,000 square foot complex has spacious and modern meeeng suites, a veranda overlooking a gorgeous cypress lake and Grand Hall that seats 650. Food and beverage service is in-house and our execuuve chef craas delighhul dining experiences. Our excepponal sta assists with menus, lodging and customized iineraries. cu

1 Meeeng Place | Valdosta GA 31601-7710 | 229.219.4405 info@valdostatourism.com | RainwaterConferenceCenter.com

There’s nothing quite like it.

FOX CITIES EXHIBITION CENTER Built into the hillside of a park in downtown Appleton, our Exhibition Center sets a new standard for modern, beautiful, and flexible event spaces. Thoughtfully designed to highlight our region’s storied history, the Center’s 38,000-square-foot interior is complemented by a 17,000-square-foot outdoor plaza. The possibilities are endless! It’s the perfect place to stage your original event experience.

For more Originals stories visit FoxCities.org/originals, or contact Amy Rivera at arivera@foxcities.org to plan your original event.

ON THE COVER: French Lick Resort in Indiana will host the 2020 Small Market Meetings Conference. Photo courtesy Visit French Lick West Baden.

INSIDE VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 6

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IDEAS Convention Centers with Outdoor Space

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TOWN Vicksburg, Mississippi

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MEETING GUIDE California

D E PA R T M E N T S

6 INSIGHTS 10 CONFERENCE 18 MANAGING The New Get to Know Post-COVID World of F&B

French Lick, Indiana

Health and Safety

SMALL MARKET MEETINGS is published monthly by Pioneer Publishing, Inc., 301 E. High St., Lexington, KY 40507, and is distributed free of charge to qualified meeting planners who plan meetings in small and medium size towns and cities. All other meeting industry suppliers may subscribe by sending a check for $39 for one year to: Small Market Meetings, Circulation Department, 301 East High St., Lexington, KY 40507. Phone (866) 356-5128 (toll-free) or (859) 253-0503. Fax: (859) 253-0499. Copyright SMALL MARKET MEETINGS, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

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2020

INSIGHTS WITH VICKIE MITCHELL

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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s states begin to relax restrictions spurred by the coronavirus and face-toface meetings slowly resume, conference dining will no doubt look different.

How will we sit together yet apart? Will servers don gloves and masks? Will we ever again stand in line for a buffet?

Tracy Stuckrath has been talking to food service professionals about these and other issues. Before she started helping planners address the needs of people who have dietary restrictions, Stuckrath was an event planner. During a free one-hour webinar in May offered by Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Stuckrath talked about possible changes and modifications to the way we dine and drink at meetings.

Here are five takeaways to keep in mind as you plan future meetings and menus.

Social distancing will bring changes to event catering

To learn more about Tracy Stuckrath and her company, Thrive Meetings, visit thrivemeetings.com.

Reset the Table, Reimagine the Room

To accomplish the six-foot gap that defines social distancing, there will be fewer of us at the table, Stuckrath said. Going forward, a 72-inch round will seat three or four, and those seats will also be six feet from those at adjoining tables. Online room layout calculators will come in handy for such reconfiguring, Stuckrath said. There’s no question, though, that room capacities for everything from banquets to breakfasts will shrink. Interesting ideas for handling mealtime logistics are starting to emerge. Among those Stuckrath has heard: dining in shifts so fewer diners can be accommodated in a space, with cleanings between shifts; spreading diners out among more spaces, including outdoors, weather permitting; and having attendees return to guest rooms and having room service deliver meals there.

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Goodbye to the Buffet

Self-serve, two-sided buffets will go the way of the Studebaker; they pose too many problems, Stuckrath said, from people squeezed together to sneezes, not to mention shared serving utensils. If serving lines are used, wait staff will do the serving. That means meal service will take longer and labor costs will increase, which will affect agendas and budgets. Box lunches might prove popular because they eliminate a number of contact issues. Plated meals could be served by servers schooled in social distancing and wearing masks, gloves and aprons. More bars will be needed to prevent lines; more bars and bartenders will mean increased costs. Clients will want to ensure that a venue’s personal protection equipment meets the client’s standards. If not, the client may have to budget extra money for PPE.

Working Out Kinks in the Food Chain

From outbreaks in meat processing plants to kinks in distribution, the pandemic has caused problems with the food supply. Stuckrath said those problems could continue in the fall, as farmers, in anticipation of falling demand, cut back on what they plant in coming months.

To assuage those problems, some chefs might turn more to locally sourced products. Others, though, have told her they plan to stick with well-known corporate food distributors because they know the processes and procedures those distributors have in place to ensure safety. There could also be a shift from customized meals and menus back to standard menus, Stuckrath said, because having standard menus allows a kitchen to operate in a simpler, more streamlined fashion, which helps with everything from maintaining social distancing to purchasing.

Considering the pressures on the workforce, food supply and transportation, planners should expect food and beverage costs to increase.

Being Proactive Is a Recipe for Success

By being proactive, planners can supply the answers to the inevitable questions and concerns that attendees raise about food. Stuckrath suggests making an FAQ page about food service and safety a part of every event’s website or app. It’s also a good idea, she said, to make attendees aware that in the current environment, supplying information when they register, whether about dietary needs or attendance at a food function, will be even more important. It may not be as easy to make adjustments and changes at the last minute. To emphasize the need for this information, planners might add disclaimers in registration materials. It is also important, Stuckrath said, to spell out everything to a venue that will be required to assure food service safety. Food safety requirements should be clearly spelled out in the request for proposal, contracts and BEOs.

June 2020

By Sharing, Chefs Will Help Diners Feel Safe

Those who prepare and serve your food want you to feel safe, Stuckrath said. “Every chef I talk to says they are going to be more transparent about their practices. They are opening the door to the kitchen.”

Planners will have many questions about safety and training, and they shouldn’t hesitate to ask them, said Stuckrath. Among them are the following: How do venues accomplish social distancing in the kitchen and prep areas? Is the venue supplying uniforms and cleaning them, or is this left up to the staff member? What are the facility’s cleaning schedules and procedures? What PPE is staff required to wear and use? Among the most important questions to ask, Stuckrath said, is whether a food safety manager is onsite and whether staff have been certified by ServeSafe training.

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TA L K B AC K

Courtesy Visit El Paso

Meeting Veterans Discuss the Path Forward

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BY MAC LACY

s destinations across America begin the process of formulating reopening plans, we asked some of our meeting planner readers about holding meetings in the coming months. These two questions offer a snapshot of the industry’s mindset as we confront the rebuilding process: • What needs to happen for organizations to begin holding in-person meetings again?

• What ideas or innovations have you heard about that may make that possible?

Here are some of their thoughtful responses.

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GOING SMALL “In-person meetings will return when organizations and employees feel safe to travel and when their organizations allow travel,” said Andrea Cannistraci of And Great. “Smaller meetings of 50 or fewer people will come back first. We’ll see more regional events that allow participation without flying — think roadshows. There will be a move toward lots of smaller regional events versus one big national event.”

“I would think meetings should go live by August or September of 2020,” said Debbie Schuler, president of Great Escapes LLC. “Food and beverage will be hit the hardest. Consider the changes for buffets and standard tables of 10. We may seat only five at a table of 10.”

Some planners see the outcome being favorable to smaller meeting destinations.

“There’s never been a better time to ‘go small,’” said Patty Stern, founder and creative director of Patty Stern Creative. “Organizations will have to start small to begin holding in-person meetings again because of legal mandates with

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

“As a small market meeting destination, this is the opportunity for many cities to introduce themselves, their resources and amenities. It is a chance to highlight to meeting organizers how smaller destinations can be the first options considered. Meeting organizers could have greater planning confidence in smaller cities with bigger health and safety amenities."

— Eduardo Arabu, National Hispanic Corporate Council

capacity maximums for safe social distancing. This is going shave meeting space down considerably. Where I could get 100 people in a room, I’ll only be able to have 40.”

“As a small market meeting destination, this is the opportunity for many cities to introduce themselves, their resources and amenities,” said Eduardo Arabu, executive director of the National Hispanic Corporate Council. “It is a chance to highlight to meeting organizers how smaller destinations can be the first options considered. Meeting organizers could have greater planning confidence in smaller cities with bigger health and safety amenities."

EMBRACING INNOVATION Planners see numerous innovations that will lead meeting planning into the future. As might be expected, these changes include the use of virtual technology, attrition flexibility from hotels and adherence to social distancing guidelines for large gatherings.

“Organizations won’t be meeting until we’ve pivoted in several ways,” said Maureen Sloan of Helms Briscoe. “First, only companies and associations that still have the funds to meet will be able to. Conference budgets may need to be stretched even further, and hotels will need to be more flexible. Meetings will integrate both in-person and virtual attendance.”

“Some clients will wait for policies from the airlines that allow travelers to board and fly with peace of mind,” said Sloan.

“Other clients feel that some of the steps that hotels are taking — additional sanitation in sleeping rooms, remote check-in options that eliminate waiting at the front desk, limited per-person elevator usage, and rearranged public areas are enough to make them want to host a face-to-face meeting again.”

“Hotels will allow booking with no attrition,” said planner Sandra Constantino. “Also, language that allows for cancellation, without penalty and without a multitude of lawyers may become commonplace. Masks and sanitizing displays will be readily available for general use at any meeting.”

“National meetings will shift to being regional meetings so people can drive in and attendance is increased,” said Stern. “Companies and associations can do ‘road show’ ex-

June 2020

periences to keep regional meetings or conferences exciting by adding ‘surprises’ at each program and taking it up a notch each time.”

“At least through next summer, virtual and hybrid meetings are going to be the accepted norm,” said Stern. “While nothing will ever be as great as face-to-face, isn’t it wonderful that technology has caught up, allowing us a viable alternative? Since the world has adapted to working remotely, virtual has a much higher acceptance rate now than before.”

“So many things are being discussed,” said Terry Matthews-Lombardo of TML Services Group, “things we never dreamed we’d be considering; things like touch-free conference registration via everything prepaid and preprinted at home; badges will include a headshot, since we will all be wearing masks; there will still be a troubleshooting desk with live help on site, but the goal will be to keep the registration area clear of crowds.

NEW NORMS “The need for greater on-site security in order to enforce face masks, social distancing and cut-off capacities in meeting rooms will be the new normal,” she said. “One of my clients is concerned about elevator usage and lines for the bathrooms. They are considering staggering breakouts so the bathrooms won’t collect crowds and coffee break stations will flow better. My thought is to start utilizing an attended coffee cart situation where you place your order through an app and wait until they call your name.”

“Most importantly, planners need to count on attendee support,” said Sloan. “This means attendees need to follow the rules about having their temperature taken, using hand sanitizer stations or bringing their own water bottles. Our industry is in for an evolution of changes, more than ever before.”

“The Michigan Society of Association Executives is drafting a best practices guide to help associations think about all of the things that should be done before, during and after an event,” said Allison Beers, owner of Events North. “I think these types of guides will help planners get back to work safely while informing decision-makers on best practices to keep everyone safe.”

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CONFERENCE

AN INDIANA

s i s a O S

Small Market Meetings Conference attendees can share recovery ideas in French Lick

BY DAN DICKSON

ince the 1840s, visitors have been congregating in the twin southern Indiana towns of French Lick and West Baden to bathe in the area’s mineral-rich waters. These unusual sulfur springs were exploited for their medical benefits, and as years went by, people seeking relief for what ailed them began frequenting spas that would become world-famous.

Over the decades, French Lick and West Baden, both surrounded by the Hoosier National Forest, also became known for a wide variety of other fun attractions and activities that have greatly widened the towns’ appeal.

The French Lick Resort consists of two separate historic hotels about a mile apart. The French Lick Springs Hotel was opened in 1901 and today features 443 guest rooms and suites. The West Baden Springs Hotel, opened a year after its partner, offers 243 guest rooms and suites and is known for its spectacular lobby and atrium. The restored hotels are anything but stuffy and boast all of the modern amenities guests expect. The resort has also opened a new 71-room hotel called Valley Tower with easy access to the French Lick Springs Hotel.

By the middle of the 20th century, the hotels had fallen into disrepair. But Cook Medical, a worldwide company that manufactures medical devices, came to the rescue. The company has deep roots in Indiana with its headquarters in nearby Bloomington. Cook Medical partnered with other entities but primarily funded a massive renewal of the old hotels that began in 1996 and that was completed in 2007. The result, to say the least, is spectacular.

“The hotels were restored to the tune of $600 million, all done by the Cook family,” said Kristal Painter, the executive director of

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www.smallmarketmeetings.com

OPENED IN 1902, THE WEST BADEN SPRINGS HOTEL HAS BEEN IMMACULATELY RESTORED, INCLUDING ITS ENORMOUS ROTUNDA AND 243 GUEST ROOMS.

Visit French Lick West Baden, the local convention and visitors bureau. “It was voted the best historic resort in the U.S. by Historic Hotels of America and is listed on the National Historic Register. We like to describe what we have as European elegance in southern Indiana.”

In 2015, the two hotel properties were reunited.

Meeting planners from across the country, as well as the destination providers that hope to invite them to their cities and towns, will gather at the French Lick Resort October 4-6 for the 2020 Small Market Meetings Conference. First-time visitors to the resort are in for a treat.

Planners can choose from among many meeting options available at the resort. Whether it is a company department meeting, a board meeting, an executive retreat or a large convention, the Event Center at the French Lick Springs Hotel can accommodate it with flexible room plans and all the necessary catering and audio and visual equipment. An exhibition hall, ballrooms, several pavilions and a mansion are available for gatherings. In addition, meeting rooms are available at the neighboring West Baden Springs Hotel.

Away from the resort, interesting and uncommon venues, such as the Legend of French Lick Boutique Hotel and Resort, which used to be basketball hall-of-famer Larry Bird’s estate, are available for meetings. Bird grew up in the area and was affectionately known as the hick from French Lick. Or meeting attendees can use a local adventure hotel with an indoor water park, a marina at a nearby lake and the local scenic railroad, to name a few attractions.

GOLF AT FRENCH LICK RESORT

“It was voted the best historic resort in the U.S. by Historic Hotels of America and is listed on the National Historic Register.

We like to describe what we have as European elegance in southern Indiana.”

— Kristal Painter, Visit French Lick West Baden All photos courtesy Visit French Lick West Baden

June 2020

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Clockwise from left: A concert at West Baden Springs Hotel; French Lick Scenic Railway; French Lick Winery JOE CAPPUZZELLO

NEW HOST, NEW IDEAS Meeting planners who want to make new contacts and potentially book new sites for their meetings can do the smart thing and attend the 2020 Small Market Meetings Conference. It is scheduled for October 4-6 in French Lick, Indiana.

“This conference is always a great way for meeting planners to learn about the second- and third-tier cities and destinations that could host their meetings,” said Joe Cappuzzello, CEO of The Group Travel Family, which organizes and manages the conference.

“The planners could hold dozens of meetings with site representatives during our two marketplace sessions.

They can get a lot of new ideas.”

Cappuzzello is excited for the planners because of the conference’s location: the historic French Lick Resort. The resort is a distinctive site for meetings, retreats, conferences, conventions and more. Planners will get to do some sightseeing during the conference and will see how the small cities of French Lick and West Baden are the focal point of a region that promotes a wide range of activities.

Cappuzzello is pleased with the resort’s leadership team and how it treats conference guests.

“I didn’t think they could take it up to another level, but they definitely took it up a few more steps,” he said.

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RESORT ACTIVITIES

For many years, people poured into the area to take advantage of the unusual mineral water springs and the spas that developed around them. With the property restorations, visitors have even more reasons to come for a relaxing escape. The spa at West Baden is a two-level layout with 12 treatment rooms that cover 28,000 square feet and boasts Old World luxury and European influences. The spa at French Lick has 28 rooms and offers the best classic American features. At either site, guests can enjoy massages, facials and cleansing scrubs; work out in a fitness room; or take a dip in a pool.

There is plenty to do on the resort properties, which are serviced by a 24-hour-a-day trolley that runs between the two hotels. There is fine and casual dining available on-site. Several championship-level golf courses challenge players as they traverse the gently rolling hillsides. The French Lick Casino is a Vegas-style entertainment palace full of gaming, fun and excitement.

The indoor and outdoor swimming pools are popular, as are the bowling alley and the stables for horseback riding and carriage trips. Guests can also rent bikes or hike trails for exercise and nature viewing in the forest. Wine lovers will be happy to know about the French Lick Winery and Vintage Café. The tasting bar offers as many as 30 different wines of all types, including sweet, dry and sparkling varieties.

Besides the beautiful historic hotels, guests may decide to stay at any of the nearby cottages, cabins, condos, bed-and-breakfasts and other inns.

Railroading has been a big deal in Indiana over the past 150 years. And one remnant of that era is just as popular as ever in the local communities. The French Lick Scenic Railway provides old-fashioned entertainment on the rails, with dinner excursions that last two and a half hours, scenic trips into the Hoosier National Forest, exciting Wild West train holdups, a dinosaur adventure train ride and trips that feature chocolate and bourbon tastings. But the Scenic Railway’s most sought-after event — and the one that always sells out the fastest — is the Polar Express trip, which delights children and adults alike and brings the famed book and movie to life. The trips are offered throughout November and December.

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

“You’ve got Amish communities directly west, the caves region to the east. There is Spring Mills State Park to the north of us, and there’s the limestone architecture near Bloomington and Columbus, as well as the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand.”

— Kristal Painter, Visit French Lick West Baden

June 2020

REGIONAL ACTIVITIES

Many consider the French Lick Resort to be the hub of southern Indiana. Some visitors stay at the resort but then take off for day trips to the many sites and attractions elsewhere in the region.

“You’ve got Amish communities directly west, the caves region to the east,” said the CVB’s Painter. “There is Spring Mills State Park to the north of us, and there’s the limestone architecture near Bloomington and Columbus, as well as the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, where you can tour the grounds, attend Mass and see the nuns who live there. We help promote attractions that are an hour or less from us.”

Another highlight of the region is beautiful Patoka Lake, the second-largest man-made lake in Indiana. Visitors enjoy taking scenic boat rides on the lake to view wildlife and see the scenery.

Boat trips may include dinner or lunch, and there are midday or sunset cruises available. Viewing is especially nice from the boat’s upper deck. Expert narrators make the ride even more informative and fun.

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Clockwise from left: An animal encounter at Wilstem Wildlife Park; a banquet at West Baden Springs Hotel; Patoka Lake Boat Cruise

Another fascinating destination between Paoli and French Lick is Wilstem Wildlife Park, which is spread out over more than 1,000 acres. Here, visitors can have encounters with elephants, a giraffe, kangaroos, a grizzly bear, lemurs and more. With special arrangements, a guest may even get the VIP treatment by participating up close in the animals’ daily routines.

“There are three African elephants with which you can have close encounters, and that includes an educational component,” said Painter. “Or you can take the experience a step further for a more intimate level of engagement and actually help feed or bathe the elephants.”

There is a 5,000-foot zip line with nine lines available for canopy tours on the ranch. Guests can also go on one-hour, side-byside all-terrain-vehicle tours that are led by a guide. In addition, guests can saddle up and do some horseback riding.

Photos courtesy Visit PCB

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www.smallmarketmeetings.com

MEETING LEADERS

“It’s how people know who you are — leadership is all about your relationships, and your employees will make or break you.”

LINDSAY FERENCE

L

BY REBECCA TREON

indsay Ference was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, and grew up playing in the waters of Lake Michigan, boating and biking the trails that run along the shoreline. Her active upbringing gave her a both a love of the area and a local’s familiarity with it, making her a great candidate to be the South Bend/Mishawaka CVB’s director of sales.

“I’ve always worked on conferences and meetings throughout my career,” said Ference. “It comes as second nature for me; building relationships and helping people problem solve is my niche.”

While a freshman in college at St. Mary’s in South Bend, where she studied business administration with a focus on management, she got a part-time job working at the front desk of a hotel near campus. She stayed there for four years, moving up the ranks to guest services management.

“I never thought of hospitality as a career path, but I just sort of got sucked in,” she said.

Ference then went on to work at the Inn at St. Mary’s on campus. In 2009, the owner of the hotel, Holladay Properties, built a Hilton Garden Inn and the Gillespie conference center on the adjacent property to the Inn at St. Mary’s, and Ference took on a role in sales and office management and corporate business management, selling meetings at all three properties. The role taught her what it is like to organize and implement large group events from the hotel side.

In 2014, Ference moved to the other side, working for a corporate incentive travel and meeting group and planning all aspects of corporate meetings for groups of 150 to 5,000 people.

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Her previous hotel experience proved invaluable.

“I organized all of the group’s air travel, food and beverage, AV, hotel and event space, and off-site activities,” she said. “I focused on groups going to tropical destinations, but having worked in hotels, I was able to negotiate contracts successfully because I knew that I could ask for. The goal is to try to find the best fit for both sides.”

In 2016, an opportunity to join the team at Visit South Bend/ Mishawaka opened up when the director of sales retired, and Ference could step into the role of sales and service manager. Ference had worked closely with the team during her time in the local hotel industry, and soon afterward, she was promoted to director of sales.

Ference believes the key to her success is her intimate knowledge of the area.

“I would tell people who are interested in this career to know the local area they’re representing well,” she said. “Another key is to know the logistics that go into planning a successful event and be able to make suggestions to the client on what amenities the facility can offer.”

Though moving up the ladder may take time, Ference recommends that anyone choosing a career with the CVB get as many perspectives as possible to see how the different elements work together and how different roles can work together.

“Working in a hotel that didn’t have a bunch of departments was helpful because with a small staff we planned and executed every event and made sure everything was running smoothly,” she said. “Having behindthe-scenes knowledge helps the wheels turn when you are thinking about which people can pull off the event you want to do.”

EXECUTIVE PROFILE NAME Lindsay Ference TITLE Director of Sales ORGANIZATION Visit South Bend Mishawaka LOCATION South Bend, Indiana BIRTHPLACE South Bend, Indiana EDUCATION Studied business administration with a concentration in management at St. Mary’s College CAREER HISTORY • Inn at St. Mary’s Hotel and Suites • Hilton Garden Inn and Gillespie Conference Center • Summit Planner Inc • Visit South Bend Mishawaka

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

LINDSAY FERENCE POSES WITH TEAM MEMBERS AT VARIOUS SITES AROUND SOUTH BEND.

TIPS FROM

LINDSAY FERENCE • Use your DMOs (destination marketing organizations) for sourcing. Local DMOs are experts on their products and can make suggestions on best-fit venues or locations to make your event unique and memorable.

• Ask what services each DMO offers.

You can benefit from visitor information to each attendee to financial sponsorship incentives. We are always looking for ways to assist with the experiential portion of your event.

• Where possible, try to incorporate a local theme into your event. Have your DMO suggest items or locations for off-site events that will incorporate local businesses. Attendees like to be immersed in local culture and experience things they can’t get anywhere else.

Photos courtesy Visit South Bend Mishawaka

June 2020

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MANAGING

The New World of Meetings

HEALTH AND SAFETY TAKE CENTER STAGE FOR FUTURE EVENTS

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BY RACHEL CARTER

onvention centers are shuttered. Stadiums sit silent.

Theaters are dark. But behind the public stillness, industry associations and thought leaders are working feverishly to come up with guidelines, resources and tools for meeting planners, event organizers and venue managers who will eventually find themselves operating in a postcovid world.

“No one has a crystal ball, so we don’t know what the steps will be,” said Brad Mayne, president of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), but everyone knows events will look different, from how people enter buildings to how attendees eat meals.

“This is going to have to be the collective industry coming together and using the best practices that have been made available.”

WORKING TOGETHER IAVM created a covid-19 working group called Public Entertainment and Event Industry Recovery. The group’s wide-ranging representation includes convention centers, stadiums, performing arts centers, movie theaters, concert venues and sports commissions, as well as entertainment companies and industry groups — all tied in with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

“So, we’re trying two things there,” Mayne said. “One is, let’s create similar guidelines so we’re on the same page. And No. 2: Let’s get it from as diverse a range of industries as we can.”

The group also created alliances with associations for infectious diseases, and epidemiologists are helping with written guidelines, guidelines that Mayne said IAVM is finalizing, though it will continue to be a living, breathing document after it’s released.

On May 8, the Events Industry Council announced the members of its Apex Covid-19 Business Recovery Task Force, including the CEO of Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

There’s tremendous pressure to put out guidelines, said Melinda Burdette, director of events for MPI, “but we don’t want to put out a set of guidelines and then change those guidelines as the world changes. There’s too much in the world right now that’s unknown.”

IAVM’s goal is to provide a toolbox for venue managers as they navigate uncharted waters, Mayne said.

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Brad Mayne PRESIDENT AND CEO

International Association of Venue Managers Experience: 44 years

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

“We’re trying to think of everything that we might deal with and create a tool for every one of those scenarios,” Mayne said.

“We're not quite to the white suits yet, but how do we be responsible in creating barriers and reducing transmission?

How do we embrace that and be true to the inherent need to meet face-to-face? Zoom is great, but we all need the ability to truly look into someone’s eye.”

ENHANCING SANITATION Venue sanitation has never been so important. IAVM is working with the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), which offers the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) certification, the cleaning industry's only outbreak response and recovery accreditation.

Third-party, GBAC-certified sanitation companies use misters to spread specific food-safe chemicals to sanitize large areas, general areas and touchpoints — even cleaning eight feet up the walls.

GBAC is well established in other industries, including the food and technology industries, but ISSA “had not worked with the venue industry before,” Mayne said. “We found out about that a couple weeks ago, and now we have draft protocols in place. It won’t be prescriptive, but we’re telling our members it’s a great product.”

Venues will likely need to adjust or upgrade heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems to use higher-quality, heavier-duty air filters and increase the amount of fresh air the system brings in.

But sanitation must go beyond the building, Burdette said.

“You have to partner with your hotels, with your venue, with your city, if you’re using public transit — every partner at every touchpoint, you’re going to have to enhance the sanitation,” she said.

That includes working together on appropriate signage, supplying hand sanitizer, setting up handwashing stations and deciding whether to require face masks — and who will provide them.

“The hotels and venues are partners in this, so we’ll need to reach an agreement together about what level we’re going to do a particular meeting,” Burdette said.

Buffets will have to change significantly for sanitation reasons. Maybe servers dish up food cafeteria-style behind sneeze guards, or maybe plated, sit-down meals come back with a vengeance.

Perhaps planners allot more time for lunch, and a seated meal becomes an education opportunity.

IAVM is holding onto hope that its annual VenueConnect conference will take place in July, and “I can tell you, of the multiple items in that swag bag are a face mask, portable hand sanitizer and guidelines,” Mayne said.

Melinda Burdette DIRECTOR OF EVENTS

Meeting Professionals International Experience: Over 25 years

June 2020

SOCIALLY DISTANCED SPACES Gathering in a postcovid world also means redesigning public spaces.

“How do we redesign the registration checkin or a meeting room? How is that going to look to help with social distancing?” Burdette said.

For building entry, IAVM’s working group is looking at everything from walk-through sanitizers

19

MANAGING

CDC GUIDELINES While there remain many questions to answer about how to hold meetings with public health and safety in mind, these guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will give meeting planners a place to start in their discussions and preparations.

• • • •

• • • •

Promote the daily practice of preventive actions.

Use health messages and materials from the CDC or your local public health department to encourage your event staff and participants to practice good personal health habits.

Provide covid-19-prevention supplies to event staff and participants.

Ensure that your events have supplies for event staff and participants, such as 60% alcohol hand sanitizer, tissues, trash baskets, disposable face masks, and cleaners and disinfectants.

Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched.

Plan for staff absences.

Develop and implement flexible attendance and sick leave policies.

Require staff to stay home if they are sick or caring for a sick household member.

• • • • • • • •

Consider alternatives for event staff and participants who are at increased risk for complications from covid-19.

Promote messages that discourage people who are sick from attending events.

If possible, identify a space that can be used to isolate staff or participants who become ill at the event.

Plan ways to limit in-person contact for staff supporting your events.

Develop flexible refund policies for participants.

Stay informed about the local covid-19 situation.

Update and distribute timely and accurate emergency communication information.

Identify and address potential language, cultural, and disability barriers associated with communicating covid-19 information to event staff and participants.

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— dry-chemical booths you step into for three seconds — to using ultraviolet light to disinfect. Venues or organizers may also opt to take everyone’s temperature as they enter.

“Not any one of those is going to work; you’re going to use multiples of those,” Mayne said.

Enacting timed entry for events is another option. Giving attendees specific times to arrive will help minimize crowds so they can practice social distancing.

For registration, check-in kiosks could be stationed throughout the venue for people to scan a QR code from their phone and print their own badge. Maybe the screens have tearaways, like a single-use screen protector, with a new one for each attendee. There’s even talk of using facial recognition or beacons to register attendees.

MPI is also moving beyond providing basic first aid at conferences. Planners should consider offering telemedicine or having a doctor or nurse on-site to ensure attendees’ safety, something MPI will be doing at its World Education Congress in November.

Groups that typically use only a hotel as their venue may need to expand into a convention center to have more space to create socially distanced setups.

With social distancing mandates, “you really have to start thinking outside the classroom,” Burdette said, and that could mean moving events outside. Venues with outdoor event space

June 2020

in fair-weather destinations may offer planners more flexibility. Groups could spread out on a lawn for breakout sessions or hold a general session at an outdoor amphitheater.

COVID-19 COVERAGE Just like there were no terrorism clauses before 9-11, this pandemic will forever change force majeure clauses —clauses that permit a company to depart from the strict terms of a contract because of an event or effect that can't be reasonably controlled — and insurance policies.

Planners should make sure they have language in their contracts related to pandemics, shelter-in-place orders from governments or recommendations from the CDC. “It will definitely affect the contracting stage,” Burdette said.

“In addition to making sure the force majeure clause has the appropriate wording to protect you, it is about putting clauses in your standard contracts that address the safety of your attendees.”

Planners need to negotiate clauses in their cancellation insurance that cover pandemics or shelter-in-place orders.

MPI has contracted for its annual World Education Congress through 2023, “and we’ve gone back and said, ‘We have some addendums,’” Burdette said.

“Don’t be afraid to go back and ask your hotel to add safety or sanitation addendums to your contract,” she said.

21

IDEAS

Courtesy Spokane Convention Center

OUTSIDE OPTIONS These conventions centers feature inviting outdoor meeting spaces

M

BY RACHEL CARTER

eeting planners have long thought outside the classroom, finding new ways to get attendees out of the building and into the great outdoors. Outdoor events can range from open-air receptions under the stars to walk-and-talk learning sessions en plein air.

But outdoor event space may take on new importance in a post-pandemic world. Though no one knows for sure what meetings will look like when they start again, moving events outdoors would allow more space for social distancing and provide plenty of fresh air.

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These convention centers offer a range of outdoor spaces, from rooftop decks to waterfront stages, grassy courtyards to sandy beaches.

SPOKANE CONVENTION CENTER

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON The Spokane Convention Center hugs the banks of the Spokane River, and the venue takes every advantage of its waterfront location with a variety of outdoor spaces.

The center has four main outdoor spaces for events, and the Roof Deck is the most used, said Jessica Deri, director of sales and marketing. With nearly 7,200 square feet, the Roof Deck can seat about 250 for meals or host receptions for up to 350 people, who are treated to views of the river, Riverfront Park and the Great Northern Clocktower.

The Roof Deck also overlooks the tiered amphitheater-style steps that lead down to the water’s edge, where a floating stage can also be reserved for events, like a general session with the audience on the steps or a morning yoga session on the stage itself.

The 5,230-square-foot Riverside Terrace also overlooks the river and provides access into adjacent

Above: A waterfront amphitheater and floating stage at the Spokane Convention Center provide an inviting alternative to indoor meeting spaces.

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meeting rooms or steps down to the Riverside Lawn.

The center once used both the terrace and the lawn for a sit-down dinner for 950, though 800 is probably a better size, Deri said.

From the floating stage, the riverfront steps lead directly up to Centennial Trail. Groups will often use the paved trail for a 5K, and organizers can reserve the Roof Deck for spectators, or people can watch from the walking bridges over the river.

A five-minute walk on the trail also takes visitors to Spokane Falls, where attendees can ride an aerial tram over the dramatic cascades.

The 5,230-square-foot Riverside Terrace also overlooks the river and provides access into adjacent meeting rooms or steps down to the Riverside Lawn.

Unlike some other venues that count outdoor spaces separately, planners are able to use spends from outdoor events at the Spokane center to meet their minimums on campus. spokanecenter.com

OVERLAND PARK CONVENTION CENTER

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS Between the Overland Park Convention Center and the adjoining 412-room Sheraton Hotel is a grassy courtyard that can serve as flexible meeting space — except it’s meeting space under the sky.

The city of Overland Park, Kansas, sits about 36 miles south of Kansas City International Airport and about 20 miles south of downtown Kansas City.

The center’s 25,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard is a private area sandwiched between the convention center and the hotel, with lawn-side entry to both buildings. There, on the large green lawn, hotel guests and meeting attendees will find Adirondack chairs encircling low tables, and yard games like cornhole, croquet and giant Jenga.

Photos courtesy Visit Overland Park

June 2020

Left: The 25,000-squarefoot courtyard at the Overland Park Convention Center is ideal for casual recreational breaks or scheduled functions.

23

IDEAS

The courtyard has ample space for a stage, food stations and bars. Planners have used the space for a convention opening party with live music, large video screens, lawn games and a catered dinner.

Other organizers have used it for teambuilding events, like competitions, build-your-own challenges and group yoga classes. The courtyard has hosted an ice cream social, a tailgate party and even a helicopter display.

On the convention center’s lower level, a 13,000-square foot prefunction area features walls of windows that deliver courtyard views. The lobby connects to seven flexible meeting rooms, making the courtyard great for breaks between sessions. opconventioncenter.com

ALBUQUERQUE CONVENTION CENTER

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO Civic Plaza sits directly in front of the Albuquerque Convention Center’s West Building, and the plaza is “the largest public space in all of downtown Albuquer-

que,” said Kristin McGrath, vice president of convention sales, services and sports for Visit Albuquerque.

The convention center completed a $25 million remodel in 2014 — and then it was Civic Plaza’s turn. In 2018, the sprawling plaza, with a capacity of 20,000 people, underwent a $6.5 million facelift. The project included a new sound system, a massive projector screen and theatrical lighting at the Al Hurricane Pavilion performance stage, as well as more shade and solar pagodas. Crews also replaced the tiered fountain with an interactive LED-lighted water feature, built a new playground and made the entire area Americans with Disabilities Act accessible.

ASM Global manages the convention center and the plaza, which is a public space that’s also available for private events. Before the pandemic, ASM offered a variety of free programming on the plaza, like farmers markets and movie nights, summer concert series and winter ice rinks, that planners often incorporated into their events.

Groups have used the plaza “really successfully” for opening or closing receptions, and it’s ideal for

Courtesy Marble Street Studio

Clockwise from left: An open-air concert in front of Albuquerque Convention Center; Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza; the rooftop at Monona Terrace in Madison.

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Courtesy Marble Street Studio

Courtesy Monona Terrace

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food truck events, McGrath said.

Organizers have also used the 2,000-square-foot Buena Vista Balcony, which is attached to a ballroom on the second floor, as a VIP reception area that overlooked the larger special event happening on the plaza below. albuquerquecc.com

MONONA TERRACE

MADISON, WISCONSIN From Monona Terrace’s massive rooftop garden, visitors are treated to a 360-degree scenic view. They can gaze out across the waters of Lake Monona, survey Madison’s downtown skyline or look beyond the rooftop fountain to the white dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright originally designed the community and convention center in 1938. But construction on Monona Terrace wasn’t completed and the doors didn’t open until nearly 60 years after Wright first proposed the plan — and almost 40 years after his death.

The rooftop serves as a public gathering space,

but groups can reserve it for private events. The Center Circle is just shy of 35,000 square feet, and it connects to the 5,400-square-foot West Circle, and they can be reserved separately or together. Planners can arrange formal sit-down dinners or large receptions and bring in bands for live concerts.

The East Circle is home to Lake Vista Café, a seasonal restaurant that planners often incorporate as a cash outlet for food and cocktails, said director of sales Laura MacIsaac.

Throughout the rooftop space, guests will find umbrella-topped cafe tables, public-art sculptures and planters with prairie-style gardens.

The downtown side of the rooftop transitions into Olin Terrace, which “is more of the walkway between our front door and street level,” MacIsaac said. Because Olin Terrace is a more public space with people walking to and from Monona Terrace, marketing companies have done product launches and giveaways there, and Ironman has used it for athlete villages. mononaterrace.com

Boise’s Best. At its Centre.

Centrally located in the heart of vibrant downtown Boise, the newly expanded Boise Centre has a variety of customizable meeting spaces, modern amenities, exceptional culinary services and a friendly and dedicated staff ready to make your next event an unforgettable experience. Explore Idaho’s premier convention center for yourself.

June 2020

• Centralized, downtown location • Only seven minutes from Boise airport • Over 20 direct flights to and from Boise • Closely surrounded by more than 100 restaurants • Over 1,200 hotel rooms within walking distance • Close to outdoor recreation, including the The Boise Greenbelt

LEARN MORE: boisecentre.com

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IDEAS

EMERALD COAST CONVENTION CENTER

FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA With its sparkling emerald water and white-sugar sand beaches, it’s not difficult to see why Florida’s Emerald Coast is a popular destination for both business and pleasure.

The coastal stretch, which includes Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island, also offers fishing charters, dolphin tours on Sea Doos, and sightseeing tours on glass-bottom or pirate-themed boats.

So, it’s not surprising that the Emerald Coast Convention Center also features water views.

About a decade after opening, the convention center expanded with the addition of the 30,000-square-foot Bayview Plaza, which opened MADISON’S MONONA TERRACE ON LAKE MONONA Courtesy Monona Terrace

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in June 2014. The expansive concrete slab works well for outdoor events and activities like open-air concerts, farmers markets, and recreational vehicle and boat shows, or it can be tented for sit-down meals and receptions.

The plaza offers water views of Choctawhatchee Bay, as well as views of Ross Marler Park, a public park with boating, swimming and fishing access.

There, groups can reserve one of several pavilions, explore the walking trail or take a stroll on the dock.

Next to the park, the Gulf restaurant sits on the water’s edge and is available for private events.

Groups can use the restaurant’s hip indoor spaces, but its bayfront outdoor area features a shaded turf patio with lounge furniture, waving palm trees and comfy couches on the sandy beach. emeraldcoastconventioncenter.com

EMERALD COAST CONVENTION CENTER

Courtesy Emerald Coast Convention Center

BUSINESS Meets Adventure Where

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s l l i h t o o F A

FAVORITE

Built for the 1982 World’s Fair, the Sunsphere and surrounding World’s Fair Park are Knoxville landmarks.

All photos courtesy Visit Knoxville

CITY

Growing Knoxville thrives in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains

K

BY JILL GLEESON

noxville is “scruffy” no more.

Famously dismissed as such by a Wall Street Journal reporter incensed by the decision to locate the 1982 World’s Fair in the city, Knoxville has evolved into one of the South’s most charming burgs. In the midst of a legitimate boom that has swept in a wave of jazzy new visitor-friendly businesses, it also boasts a celebrated outdoor recreational area running along downtown and the Tennessee River.

With meeting venues ranging from the sleek, modern convention center and the dazzling Sunsphere, Knoxville boasts everything planners need to create conferences that engage, educate and energize during on and off hours.

KNOXVILLE AT A GLANCE

LOCATION: East Tennessee ACCESS: McGhee Tyson Airport, interstates 40, 75 and 81 HOTEL ROOMS: 9,000 countywide, 2,100 downtown CONTACT INFO: Visit Knoxville 865-342-9156 visitknoxville.com KNOXVILLE CONVENTION CENTER

BUILT: 2002, with ongoing upgrades like digital signage and wayfinding, and new carpet installed last year EXHIBIT SPACE: 120,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, plus an additional 67,000 square feet in the World’s Fair Exhibition Hall, adjacent to the convention center and managed by them OTHER MEETING SPACES: 28,000-square-foot ballroom, 14 breakout rooms, 460-seat lecture hall and elegant rotunda room MEETING HOTELS

Hilton Knoxville GUEST ROOMS: 320 MEETING SPACE: 13,814 square feet Crown Plaza Knoxville Downtown GUEST ROOMS: 197 MEETING SPACE: 15,670 square feet WHO’S MEETING IN KNOXVILLE

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance ATTENDEES: 800 Tennessee Health Occupations Students of America ATTENDEES: 2,400 American Society of Biomechanics ATTENDEES: 1,200

June 2020

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Destination Highlights

DISTINCTIVE VENUES

Knoxville Convention Center

T

ucked away in eastern Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains foothills, Knoxville offers an unbeatable combination of outdoor adventure, creative energy and fine food and drink purveyors. There are now about a dozen craft breweries in Knoxville and a lauded cache of restaurateurs that worked at nearby Blackberry Farm, one of the country’s finest resorts. Add a heaping dose of Southern hospitality and college-town verve courtesy of the University of Tennessee, and you’ve got a city that will have meeting-goers counting down the days until they can return.

“There are so many things that make Knoxville a memorable destination,” said Sarah Rowan, Visit Knoxville’s senior director of convention sales and marketing. “Outside of the friendliness and the fact that our city is very safe, we talk a lot about downtown. We’ve got three distinct districts — Market Square, Gay Street and the Old City — within four or five blocks of each other, and there’s so much to do in such that compact footprint.

It’s pretty amazing to see all the growth, but we’ve kept our authenticity, and visitors notice that almost immediately.”

That growth includes a rise in the number of artisans, thanks to copious support from the city. Shopping ’til you drop is a cherished pastime in Knoxville, but for those who like to get their thrills in the great outdoors, the 1,000-acre Urban Wilderness awaits. Some 50 miles of trails cut through lush forests that are dotted with lakes and quarries. It’s all easy to reach thanks to River Sports Outfitters and other outdoor gear suppliers.

Knoxville’s convention district

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DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Distinctive Venues

A

s relaxed and outdoorsy as it is, Knoxville also knows how to get down to business, and there are a number of unique venues in the city for mingling work with a bit of play. That includes Ijams Nature Center, a 315-acre environmental education center with opportunities for hiking, biking, climbing, swimming and paddling. Ijams can accommodate meetings of 20 to 1,000 in its indoor and outdoor spaces.

Knoxville is also home to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, a 35,000-square-foot facility that celebrates women’s basketball around the world. Individual rooms are available for rental, including the Urban Playground. Designed to look like a city ball court with graffiti-covered walls and a chain link fence, it can seat about 120 and features audiovisual capability.

“We also offer exclusive facility rental for conventions, which can accommodate around 600 people,” said Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame president Dana Hart. “We can do guided or self-guided tours, team scavenger hunts or organized games on the ball courts, and we have a variety of teambuilding activities. We are very different from a hotel convention space — we make it fun.”

Another singular Knoxville venue is the iconic Sunsphere, built for the World’s Fair. The 266-foot-high structure looks like a golden disco ball from the outside and provides breathtaking 360-degree views of the city and the Smoky Mountains from the inside. It can accommodate up to 300 guests, and audiovisual capabilities and catering are available.

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Major Meeting Spaces

Downtown Knoxville at night

AFTER HOURS

S

hould meeting planners decide to hold their next event at the Knoxville Convention Center, they should be aware they might well find themselves returning sooner than planned.

“We’re Southern hospitality all day, every day,” said Mary Bogert, the center’s general manager. “Once groups come here, they don’t want to leave. It’s not unheard of for us to get a group that’s on a three- or fouryear rotation, and the next thing you know, another facility can’t handle them, or there was a conflict, and we get them. We take a lot of pride in that.”

With a location overlooking World’s Fair Park, the 500,000-squarefoot Knoxville Convention Center offers a 28,000-square-foot ballroom, three boardrooms, a 461-seat lecture hall and state-of-the-art catering facilities. But it’s not the only major meeting venue in the city. Planners might also want to consider the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, which includes seating for 2,500 in the auditorium, a 6,500-capacity coliseum with 22,000 square feet of exhibit space, and a 10,000-squarefoot exhibit hall.

Connected to the Convention Center via a covered pedestrian skybridge, the Hilton Knoxville provides 320 guest rooms; 13,814 square feet of event space, including 19 meeting rooms; and staff to help organize catering and audiovisual equipment. Meanwhile, the Crowne Plaza Knoxville, according to Rowan, “is good for self-contained events. They have 197 guest rooms and over 15,000 square feet of meeting space. It’s a great option if you want to be in the heart of downtown.”

By Bruce McCamish

After the Meeting

T

MAJOR MEETING SPACES

June 2020

Hilton Knoxville

here’s no doubt Knox rocks, thanks to an entertainment scene that rivals Tennessee's bigger cities, as well as green space galore and a bustling craft brewery scene. Meeting planners might want to book a teambuilding adventure with a private Knox Brew Tour, which features tastings at the city’s best bastions of beer. Groups will also get a kick out of a visit to Pretentious Glass, where both brews and the glasses they fill are made.

“They do demos and hands-on activities,” Rowan said, “so if you want to take your board of directors or to do a VIP event, folks can go to the brewers side and get a flight of beer, and then go over to the studio and watch a demo or do the glass themselves.”

Speaking of frosty mugs, Rowan and her team can help organize a teambuilding afternoon that includes paddling the lovely Tennessee River with a stop for a bite and a brew along the way. Should attendees want to amp up the adventure, Knoxville has also become known as one of the best places in the South to mountain bike, thanks to the recent addition of the double-black-diamond Devil's Racetrack Mountain Bike Trail.

When it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a show, Knoxville serves up the spectacular Spanish-Moorish-style Tennessee Theatre, built in 1928 and home to the city’s opera and symphony, and the more intimate Bijou Theatre, more than a century old. Both can be booked for backstage tours and off-site functions.

31

HOTEL

An Enclave on Oregon’s Coast

F

BY KRISTY ALPERT

lames dance gracefully as they rise from the wood of a roaring bonfire dug deep into the sands along the Cape Kiwanda beach in Pacific City, Oregon. Built to keep guests warm while they sit in the cool summer air, the firepit is positioned perfectly for unobstructed views of the Tillamook Coast’s famous Haystack Rock in the distance. The rock is one of the most photographed locations in Oregon.

Pacific City is home to the tallest of the three different Haystack Rocks along Oregon’s coastline — the other two are found in Cannon Beach and Bandon — where the rock overlooks the charmingly luxurious accommodations of the Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa, a locally owned and owner-operated boutique-style lodge on the beach. The lodge features 33 guest rooms, each boasting a fireplace and a private balcony with an ocean view, and 18 adjacent cottages that feature two- and three-bedroom condo-style accommodations with private balconies overlooking the beach, fully equipped kitchens and large, jetted soaking tubs.

More than two decades of planning went into creating this picture-perfect lodge, which opened in 2018, and the result is a space where every detail has been intentionally thought through to create the ultimate experience for guests. Local art and artisan work displayed throughout the property give a nod to the Oregon Coast’s rugged and natural beauty, while the ocean-to-table restaurant and bar, Meridian, highlights ingredients from the Pacific Northwest’s finest purveyors in a casually elegant space overlooking the beach.

A full menu of spa treatments awaits guests looking to “stay in” for some relaxation, and full-time Adventure Coaches are on staff to assist guests looking to “head out” to explore the tide pools and natural elements just outside.

The lodge also offers private meeting and conference spaces for small meetings and events.

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EXPLORING TIDAL POOLS NEAR THE LODGE.

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M E E T I N G S PAC E S

HEADLANDS COASTAL LODGE OVERLOOKS OREGON’S ICONIC HAYSTACK ROCK.

The Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa offers two dedicated meeting rooms and an adjoining patio, along with a few other options for more intimate gatherings. The Headlands Latitude room, for up to 15 guests, connects to the Headlands Longitude room, which accommodates 20, via a flexible-use patio. Private meals are best enjoyed in the ocean-facing and open-air Fireside Room, for up to 30 guests, which doubles as a meeting space. The oceanfront luxury cottages are also available for gatherings of up to eight people, and the lodge has a special partnership with the Pelican Pub and Brewery down the street, which can host up to 90 guests.

C AT E R I N G The on-site restaurant at the Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa — the Meridian Restaurant and Bar — serves daily breakfast, lunch and dinner with a focus on Northwest coastal cuisine. Whether groups choose to dine in the Meridian Restaurant, in the Fireside Room or even on the beach, the menu will be crafted by the lodge’s on-site culinary team. Catering menus can be customized to meet every need or dietary restriction and will always highlight fresh and local ingredients, like fresh fish caught from the Pacific that morning or freshly foraged herbs selected from the lodge’s on-site herb garden. Alcohol is available, with a brewery across the street and regular wine partnerships.

EXTRAS

Photos courtesy Headlands Coastal Lodge

HOTEL FACTS LOCATION

Pacific City, Oregon

SIZE 33 guest rooms and 18 luxury cottages

MEETING SPACE

More than 3,000 square feet

ACCESS

Located two hours from Portland International Airport

CONTACT INFO

503-483-3000 headlandslodge.com

June 2020

The meeting’s team offers assistance to meeting planners every step of the way at the Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa. Meeting guests have access to complimentary Wi-Fi throughout their time at the lodge, where accordion-style windows in the meeting spaces can bring inspiration from the natural setting to guests seated around the boardroom table or event tables. The meeting spaces are equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment for any meeting format, and the meetings team at the lodge happily assists in creative development during the meeting planning to ensure that events and meetings are memorable for all guests.

BEFORE AND AFTER The Headlands Coastal Lodge and Spa’s location within Pacific City along the Oregon coast brings a sea of adventure offerings to the guests of this small luxury lodge. Meeting guests are invited to take part in on-site fitness classes, indoors and outdoors; head to the Tidepools Spa for a relaxing treatment; and take a soak in the outdoor hot tub. Meeting add-ons can include bonfires under the stars, surfing lessons, tide pool excursions, group hikes and even group bike tours around town.

The meeting’s team can arrange a variety of teambuilding activities, like cooking classes or mixology lessons, and many groups rave about the fireside chats with local experts before meetings.

33

TOWN

s ’ g r u b s Vick NEW SOUTH

BY KATHERINE TANDY BROWN

H

igh atop 300-foot-high Mississippi River bluffs, Vicksburg brings to mind a romantic concept of the South: beautiful belles in hoop skirts on lawns of antebellum mansions, Civil War reenactors in linsey-woolsey retracing their ancestors’ battlefield action at Vicksburg National Military Park, springtime azaleas and blossoming fruit trees, paddle-wheelers steaming down the Mississippi River and hospitality that can make a visitor stick around longer than planned.

All true. But this sleepy Southern town is now wide awake, welcoming guests to its newly smart and surprisingly savvy side. For example, the world’s largest hydraulic research lab is in Vicksburg.

“The downtown landscape has changed so much in the last 10 years,” said Laura Beth Strickland, executive director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. “You can walk around with a daiquiri or a Coke float, grab a local beer in a craft brewery, eat, antique shop and visit an art gallery or museum. You might catch a concert in the park.”

A cradle of the blues, Vicksburg saw many of its early blues players pack up the songs of the fields and juke joints and journey north on Highway 61 — America’s Blues Highway — to Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis; and Chicago. The Mississippi Blues Trail has six stops in Vicksburg. One honors Vicksburg’s greatest native blues-making son, Grammy winner Willie Dixon, “poet laurate of the blues.”

Blues reverberates at venues such as LD’s Kitchen, the 10 South Rooftop Bar and Grill, and the Bottleneck Blues Bar at Ameristar Casino, one of four casinos in this river town.

Vicksburg’s history appears in 32 arty riverfront murals and continues at the Lower Mississippi River Museum, the Coca-Cola Museum and the 1858 Old Court House Museum. Haunted Vicksburg and Historic Walking Tours fill in fascinating stories.

Downtown meetings properties abound. In addition to the Vicksburg Convention Center (VCC), the Vicksburg City Auditorium offers 35,520 square feet of space for up 2,400 people, and the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation accommodates 250. The gracious 33-room Cedar Grove Mansion adds five acres of garden ambiance to its seating for 350.

In 2019, a $22 million sports complex that features zip lines and mini-golf opened, and a new 83-room Home2Suites property is scheduled for late this year.

“Our culture and history give Vicksburg a rich feel, but we also pride ourselves in modern amenities,” Strickland said. “That combination keeps people coming back.”

34

LIVE BLUES IN VICKSBURG

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CEDAR GROVE MANSION, ONE OF VICKSBURG’S 13 HISTORIC HOMES, CAN ACCOMMODATE GROUPS OF UP TO 125 FOR PRIVATE EVENTS.

Convention Center

In the heart of historic downtown, the VCC has over 50,000 square feet of meeting space, with a 17,000-square-foot exhibit hall and nine meeting rooms. Home to the annual Miss Mississippi pageant, the facility is beside the 117-room Margaritaville Hotel Resort and within easy walking distance to numerous eateries, such as the 10 South Rooftop Bar and Grille, with its breathtaking city and Mighty Mississippi views.

The VCC’s food and beverage partner, Palmerwood Catering, is a popular group option, with “from scratch” specialties.

“We personally hand make everything, all the way down to the salad dressings,” said executive chef Barry Palmertree.

Off-Site Venues

VICKSBURG MISSISSIPPI

A relaxed, rustic corporate retreat site known for deer and wild turkey hunting, Tara Wildlife covers 20,000-plus acres of oxbow lakes and bottomland hardwood forests along eight miles of Mississippi River frontage 30 minutes from Vicksburg. Complete with shaded decks and outdoor seating, its 5,700-square-foot conference center can host 65 attendees. Lodges and cabins provide overnight accommodations.

This nature lovers’ nirvana offers superb birdwatching, hunting, fishing, skeet shooting, canoeing, boat tours, mountain biking and a field course.

In town, the 33-guest-room Cedar Grove Mansion, one of the city’s 13 grand historic homes, is elegant antebellum surrounded by Vicksburg’s Garden District. Up to 125 can dine here.

LOCATION

Southeastern Mississippi

ACCESS

Interstate 20 and U.S. Hwy. 61, 30 minutes from Interstate 55; Vicksburg Municipal Airport, Jackson International Airport

VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

MAJOR MEETING SPACES

Vicksburg Convention Center, Southern Cultural Heritage Center, Vicksburg Auditorium, Holiday Inn Vicksburg, Hampton Inn Vicksburg

HOTEL ROOMS 2,200

OFF-SITE VENUES

Tara Wildlife, Herbert Bryant Conference Center, Duff Green Mansion and Inn, Anchuca Historic Mansion and Inn, Cedar Grove Mansion

CONTACT INFO

Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau 800-221-3536 visitvicksburg.com

June 2020

All photos courtesy Vicksburg CVB

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your key to

successful

meetings

TOWN

g r u b s k Vic Hallowed Ground The second-largest national military cemetery in the country, the 1,800acre Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the decisive battle of the Civil War through 1,300 poignant monuments and reams of headstones scattered throughout. President Lincoln’s remark that due to its strategic location, this Mississippi River town was “the key to victory” proved correct.

Civilians paid a price during its 47-day siege, many living in caves to escape fierce artillery in town.

“The best way to tour its impressive grounds is with a National Parks Service guide,” said Strickland. “They tell stories of the conflict and really make it come to life.”

Creative Cuisine Southern cooking is an art, and several hospitable kitchens in Vicksburg morph into bustling, cooking-class galleries for teambuilding or spouse tours.

Jefferson Davis and Ulysses S. Grant both danced in the ballroom of the 1856 Duff Green Mansion and Inn, which served as a Civil War hospital for both sides. Suitable for a corporate retreat, a buyout includes its four guest rooms and 1829 cottage. Also rife with history, the Anchuca Historic Mansion and Inn is known for its exceptional dining and boasts a charming courtyard, fountain and outdoor pool.

Cooking experiences at both properties can be tailored for a group’s needs.

ROOFTOP DINING AT 10 SOUTH

T h e Key to t h e S o u t h

For planning assistance CONTACT:

Ashley Gatian, Sales Manager ashley@visitvicksburg.com 800.221.3536 | 601.883.9939

@VisitVicksburg

V 36 I S I T V I C K S B U R G.C O M

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

MEETING ATTENDEES HAVE PLENTY OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITY OPTIONS IN SOUTH LAKE TAHOE.

M

Golden State Charm

Meetdieng Gui

BY PAULA AVEN GLADYCH

eeting planners don’t have to visit San Francisco or Los Angeles to take advantage of first-class lodging and meeting spaces in California. Many small towns in the state offer big-city amenities alongside small-town charm, a taste of history and culture, epic backdrops and fun outdoor recreation.

Consider some of these smaller destinations for your next California event.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

South Lake Tahoe sits right on the border of California and Nevada, blending seamlessly into the town of Stateline on the Nevada side.

Meeting planners that want to take advantage of the large casinos and meeting spaces on the Nevada side can do so quite easily, even if their

June 2020

Courtesy Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

groups stay on the California side. Both sides have access to beautiful Lake Tahoe, known for its crystal-clear chilly water and its preponderance of outdoor activities.

“We’re not only a mountain destination,” said Stuart Maas, sales and marketing manager for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “Because we straddle the border with California and Nevada, we have day and night activities, casinos and a newly revamped downtown area, Heavenly Village. Because we are known as America’s playground, a recreation mecca, we have really fun off-site activities and unique venues attendees can book.”

The largest meeting spaces on the California side reside in the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, with its 10,000 square feet of meeting space, and in Edgewood Tahoe, a lakefront resort with 154 rooms and 8,000 square feet of meeting space. South Lake Tahoe has a total of 10,000 beds. The area offers many unusual off-site activities. Meeting planners can book an event on the MS Dixie II, which takes guests on daytime scenic and sunset cruises around Lake Tahoe, or plan teambuilding activities like paddleboard

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Meetieng Guid yoga, rides on the 2.4-mile-long Heavenly Mountain Gondola, skiing the mountain or doing a ropes course. Watersports are also popular with groups. ltva.org UKIAH’S CONFLUENCE VINEYARD

Courtesy Mendocino Co. TC

UKIAH

Ukiah is the largest town in Mendocino County and a great jumping-off point to see northern California’s towering redwoods and sample locally grown wines. The area sits in one of California’s best wine-growing regions. Meeting planners can choose from more traditional meeting hotels in the area, or they can host a retreat at more rustic properties, like the Bell Valley Retreat at the Toll House in Boonville or Campovida Hopland, a farm and winery that offers retreat space. Ukiah itself has a small conference center that can host groups of up to 300 people right in the heart of downtown.

“It is really walkable and accessible to dining and retail shops,” said Travis Scott, executive director of Visit Mendocino County. There are 1,200 lodge rooms in the area, including chain properties like the Hampton Inn, Best Western, and Comfort Inn and Suites.

Mendocino County is also renowned for its wines, and the “farm-to-table food scene is outrageous,” he said.

Nearby Anderson Valley has about 40 wine-tasting rooms open to the public. A ride on the 150-year-old Skunk Train, an old logging railroad that takes visitors through the old-growth redwood trees, is a great group excursion. Meeting group attendees can also take time off from their conferences to ride two-person rail bikes down the tracks. These offer power assist just in case attendees don’t have the stamina for the ride.

“It is a spectacular experience and fun to do,” said Scott. Ukiah also is the gateway to two state parks that protect the area’s redwood forests. visitmendocino.com

SANTA BARBARA

Santa Barbara is a beach community that prides itself on not being overcommercialized. There are no chain restaurants in the area, and the city has a building height limit that helps maintain the area’s breathtaking ocean views.

“While we have the amenities of a bigger community, with arts and culture, activities and recreation, we don’t have that big-city feel,” said Beth Olson, director of sales for Visit Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara’s 80 hotels have 5,349 total rooms, and about 30 of the hotels have meeting space. The hotels range from more independent properties like the San Ysidro Ranch, where the Kennedys honeymooned, to large chain properties like the Hilton or the Ritz-Carlton. The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront and the Ritz-Carlton Bacara Santa Barbara both have 11,000-square-foot ballrooms that can host events for up to 1,200 people. Most of the resorts and hotels in the area can comfortably host midsize groups of 75 to 150 people. Beautiful outdoor venues with fabu-

RIDING A RAIL BIKE IN MENDOCINO COUNTY Courtesy Mendocino Co. TC

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lous views of the Pacific Ocean and the nearby mountains are also available throughout Santa Barbara.

Moxi, the Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation, which is two blocks from the waterfront, is a unique off-site venue with a charming rooftop space. The mural room at the historic courthouse, which is covered with floor-to-ceiling murals that tell the story of the founding of Santa Barbara, is a great spot for smaller groups. Group wine-tasting trips, whalewatching excursions, and teambuilding activities like sailing regattas and guided kayaking tours of Santa Barbara’s sheltered harbor are also available. santabarbaraca.com

A ROOFTOP EVENT AT MOXI IN SANTA BARBARA

SOLVANG

With its four wooden windmills and Danish architecture, Solvang is a perfect place to immerse oneself in Danish food and culture. The area is compact, and it’s easy to walk from any of the area’s hotels and resorts to the kitschy downtown shops, local eateries and wine-tasting rooms.

The area has 867 lodge rooms, many of them at more intimate properties. The Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort is a working dude ranch with indoor and outdoor event spaces that can accommodate up to 250 guests. Groups like to rent out the entire property, which includes two 18-hole championship golf courses, 100 quarter horses and 50 miles of riding trails, 73 premium guest suites and a fleet of boats and watercraft that can go out on the property’s private lake.

By Whitewater, courtesy Visit Santa Barbara

GO

& Plan on meeting here

MEET, EXPLORE, CONNECT GREATER ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA The Ontario Convention Center offers superior service and flexibility for all business meetings, trade shows, special events, or private and social functions. For meeting needs of all sizes – from a conference room to a citywide convention utilizing the Ontario Convention Center – or for a special exposition or sporting competitions, the Greater Ontario Convention & Visitors Bureau will provide the necessary destination support tools to execute a successful experience.

• 225,000 total square feet with a 70,000 square foot column free exhibition hall • Over 6,000 hotel rooms available in Greater Ontario • Full range of technology services

800.455.5755 June 2020

• Award winning Executive Chef and service excellence • Complimentary hotel parking and shuttle service • 2 miles from Ontario International Airport (ONT)

GOcvb.org 39

Meetieng Guid Teambuilding activities include ropes courses, fishing derbies and table tennis matches.

Hotel Corque and its sister property, the Chumash Casino Resort, both have meeting rooms for private events. Hotel Corque has 122 guest rooms and can host up to 300 people. K’Syrah Catering and Events is a 3,500-square-foot meeting venue with a rustic wood-lined dining room, a bar, an outdoor garden and an enclosed patio for smaller meetings and board retreats.

The area is surrounded by vineyards that offer off-site private events, and the Santa Ynez Guest Ranch cottages at Flying Flags RV Resort and Campground are great for small group retreats.

Each cottage can hold six guests, and amenities include a pool and bocce ball courts. solvangusa.com

DANISH HERITAGE ON DISPLAY IN SOLVANG

NEVADA CITY

Courtesy Solvang USA

NEVADA CITY’S EMPIRE MINE STATE HISTORIC PARK

Founded as a gold-mining town during the height of the California gold rush in 1849, Nevada City retains its Old West charm, with narrow streets and wooden storefronts. Situated on the Western Slope of the Sierra Nevada, the town is surrounded by forest. The small town is excellent for small meetings or events, with several boutique hotels and bed-and-breakfasts from which to choose.

Two of the area’s most historic and largest hotel properties, the National Exchange Hotel and the Holbrooke, are both being renovated. The National is scheduled to reopen by the end of the year.

The Northern Queen Inn has 55 rooms, eight cabins, eight two-story chalets, a ballroom and meeting space in old trolley cars. In nearby Grass Valley, a couple of larger hotel options with meeting space are available, including the Grass Valley Courtyard Suites, which has 42 guest rooms and 1,400 square feet of meeting space in a historic brewery building, and the Gold Miners Inn, which has six distinct meeting spaces, including a 2,215-squarefoot grand ballroom and a 3,500-square-foot event patio. The Gold Miners Inn is near the Empire Mine State Historic Park, one of the oldest and richest gold mines in California. The mine operated for more than 100 years. Now visitors can tour many of the mine’s buildings, the owner’s home and the restored gardens.

For something completely different, groups hosting meetings in the area should consider glamping at Nevada City’s Inn Town Campground, which has 18 posh glamping tents to choose from.

The site offers guided history hikes, outdoor movies, crafting and nightly campfires. nevadacitychamber.com

Courtesy Nevada City COC

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MERITAGE RESORT AND SPA FEATURES 467 GUEST ROOMS AND 80,000 SQUARE FEET OF MEETING SPACE SURROUNDED BY CALIFORNIA’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS WINE COUNTRY.

C

Meetdieng Gui

Napa The Meritage Resort and Spa and its sister property, Vista Collina Resort, are just outside downtown Napa in California’s most famous wine region. With 80,000 square feet of meeting space and 467 guest rooms between the two resorts, meeting planners have their pick of

June 2020

Courtesy Meritage Resort

BY PAULA AVEN GLADYCH

alifornia is home to redwood forests, colorful desert landscapes, premier wine-growing regions and pristine beaches. Throughout the state, resorts incorporate the great outdoors into their many meeting venues and offer classes, tours and teambuilding activities to help meeting attendees sample what makes their locations so special.

Here are five California resorts to consider for your next overnight event in the Golden State.

MERITAGE RESORT AND SPA

California Resorts

venues, hosting groups of up to 1,500 people.

The most popular meeting venue at the Meritage is the outdoor event deck in the resort’s nine-acre vineyard, which is perfect for dinners, receptions and outdoor yoga classes. Its rooftop terrace offers stunning views of the surrounding hillside. Beneath the vineyard sits the Estate Cave, which houses the resort’s full-service spa, Spa Terra, and an atmospheric location for wine dinners 40 feet underground. The spa has 12 treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge, steam rooms and soaking pools and offers everything from massages to facials. Special experiences are available for groups and private events.

The Village at Vista Collina has nine tasting rooms onsite, eight wineries and one brewery. Groups can organize tastings in the tasting rooms and fun themed events, like concerts and movies, out on the event lawn. Groups can take a break from their meetings to take part in cooking classes or Iron Chef-style cookoffs at the on-site professional cooking school, or get off-site and visit a neighboring golf course or Napa Valley winery. Downtown Napa is only three miles away and an easy walk or shuttle ride from the resort.

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Meetieng Guid “It is a wonderful place to go if you want to extend your trip to Napa,” said the resort’s marketing manager, Lindsay Toft. “Do your corporate meetings and then spend a couple of days on the Vista Collina side in a suite with a full kitchen to get the full Napa experience.” meritagecollection.com/meritage-resort

OMNI RANCHO LAS PALMAS IN PALM SPRINGS

OMNI RANCHO LAS PALMAS RESORT AND SPA

Courtesy Rancho Omni Las Palmas

SANTA BARBARA’S RITZ-CARLTON BACARA

Palm Springs Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa is an oasis in the heart of Palm Springs Valley. With 365 days of sunshine a year, most guests of the resort want to spend as much time as they can outdoors playing 27 holes of golf on the resort’s championship golf course, swimming in the two pools, playing tennis at the resort’s 25 courts or taking their families to Splashtopia, an on-site water park with two 100-foot waterslides, a 450-foot lazy river, a splash pad and a beach.

With 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor flexible meeting space, the resort can host up to 700 guests at a time, although it prefers groups of about 350 people. The resort has 444 guest rooms as well.

One of the resort’s most popular meeting spots is the 5th Hole Fairway of its golf course, which can be completely transformed into a themed event, a corporate dinner or reception or a wedding venue.

“Our executive chef and food-and-beverage people do a great job and are easy to work with,” said Stephanie Torres, associate director of sales at the resort. “They can customize any menu based on theme or dietary restriction. They are very creative with their displays and style of food. We try to keep California farmto-table and utilize ingredients indigenous to the area.”

Meeting groups can organize desert jeep tours or visits to the Palm Springs Art Museum, the Aerial Tramway or the Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Across the street from the resort, guests can visit the Rancho Mirage entertainment district with shops, restaurants and a movie theater.

RITZ-CARLTON BACARA

Santa Barbara The Ritz-Carlton Bacara Resort overlooks both the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, one of the only mountain ranges in the country that runs east to west. It is a great location to take advantage of the Southern California weather, the ocean and beaches and nearby Paso Robles, one of the finest wine regions in the world.

The luxury resort has 358 guest rooms, suites and residences; a 42,000-square-foot spa and wellness center; and more than 70,000 square feet of event space. The resort has been around since 2000 and became a Ritz-Carlton property in 2017. Its largest ballroom is 11,200 square feet and can host groups of up to 500 people. Many groups host outdoor events and receptions on the property or organize group teambuilding activities, such as sailing challenges at the Santa Barbara Sail Center or golf at the Sandpiper Golf Club next door. Painting classes, horseback riding, hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding and surfing are also available at the resort or nearby.

On-site, the resort has three zero-edge saline pools, a twoBy Blake Bronstad, courtesy Visit Santa Barbara

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mile-long natural beach, six restaurants and a wine-tasting room that offers both tastings and culinary experiences.

The resort is 15 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara and its marina. Groups can organize a sunset sail or a whalewatching tour or rent a private boat to explore the Channel Islands.

HYATT REGENCY HUNTINGTON BEACH

HYATT REGENCY HUNTINGTON BEACH RESORT AND SPA

Huntington Beach Strategically placed off Huntington Beach’s famous boardwalk, the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa has more than 110,000 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor meeting space. Its 20,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate groups of more than 2,000 people, but the resort has 25 different meeting spaces, most in its adjacent conference center — some as small as 540 square feet — that are perfect for any size group.

The resort’s prime beach location gives groups many opportunities to plan outdoor activities, including beach parties, surf lessons, beach bonfires or meeting breakout activities like sandcastle building, paddleboarding, boat cruises and kayaking.

The Hyatt Regency has 517 guest rooms and five restaurant options, from poolside eats to fine dining. It also has a grocery store and the Pacific Waters Spa, which has two pools and a spa grotto with three saltwater whirlpools. The resort is a mile from Pacific City, a 191,000-square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and is well placed for visitors to extend their stay to visit any of Southern California’s major theme parks.

SOUTH COAST WINERY RESORT AND SPA

Temecula Set among the South Coast Winery’s beautiful 63 acres of rolling vineyards, the South Coast Winery Resort and Spa offers plenty of opportunities for guests to get outside during their event and not only enjoy the idyllic setting but also sample award-winning wines and farm-to-table California cuisine.

Temecula is about two hours from Los Angeles in Southern California’s wine country. With its rolling hills, mountain views and temperate climate, the area is fantastic for groups that love wine and golf or just any excuse to get out of the city.

The resort has 50 guest suites and 82 villas, ranging from 490 to 850 square feet. It has more than 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a 7,025-square-foot ballroom and an outdoor amphitheater. Meeting planners have access to the latest in audiovisual equipment and on-site help from the resort’s meeting planning services.

Groups that want to do something different during their event can organize teambuilding activities like cooking classes, hot-air-balloon rides, horseback riding, wine tasting or grape-stomping contests.

The 17,000-square-foot GrapeSeed Spa features a saltwater pool, two whirlpools, a spa dining menu and a full fitness center. Horse-drawn carriage rides through the vineyards or a round of golf at nearby Pechanga Golf Course or CrossCreek Golf Club. southcoastwinery.com

Courtesy Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

SOUTH COAST WINERY RESORT IN TEMECULA

Courtesy South Coast Winery Resort

June 2020

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Groups SEE MORE in the SUN CITY

OUR TEAM GOES THE EXTRA MILE TO MAKE SURE YOUR EVENT GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH, AND OUR 300+ DAYS OF SUNSHINE MEAN THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO AFTER YOUR EVENT. PLUS, WE’RE ON THE BORDER OF THREE STATES AND TWO NATIONS, SO YOU’RE NEVER FAR FROM AN EXCITING NEW MEXICO/MÉXICO EXPERIENCE. COME SEE HOW EL PASO HELPS YOU GET MORE OUT OF TEXAS.

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CONTACT BROOKE UNDERWOOD: 915.534.0692 BUNDERWOOD@DESTINATIONELPASO.COM