Hotels get creative as economy lags - Phoenix Business Journal:

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One thing they are doing as they wait it out is strengtheninf their relationships withmeeting planners. According to Smith Traveo Research, hotel occupancy in the Valley wasdown 10.6 percenf in March from the same montgh last year. People also are spending less on average, almost 30 percent less than the same time last year acrosz the Valley. “It is bad. Phoenix is a speciall example, because there are a lot of new A lot of new hotelshave opened, and that also has hurt says Jan Freitag, senior vice president of the global consultint and research firm.
The openinyg of the 1,000-room , the 290-room & Spa in Paradise Vallegy and other Valley hotels in the past year have diluterdoccupancy rates, industry officials say. In addition, business and corporat e travelers are sensitiveto Frei-tag says. “People are hesitant to go to reallty niceresorts — and in Phoenix, all of your resorta are really nice,” he says. “In this when companies need tocut costs, the firsr things that go are travep and training.” But Valley hoteliers are usingb the time to reach out to meetinvg planners and develop new business “We are really trying to partnee with them.
While it’s tough we are making adjustments,” says Chrizs Kerr, director of sales and marketing atthe . Kerr’ s team is working with plannerws to create trips thatare value-oriented, adjusting food and beveragre prices with the goal of making the event more attractivd to potential attendees, he At the in Phoenix, Sales Directotr David Richard says his team is trying to provide more all-inclusive packages to customize meetings, including on-site diningg packages and more cost-effective audio-visual offerings. his staff is looking more at the technicalk and biomedical industries forpotential bookings.
“Wew have redeployed our sales force into thesegroup markets,” Richard “Companies still need to have meetings, but they may be cuttinb out some of the add-ons.” Even Sedona’s Enchantmengt Resort is seeing some fallout as groups cut “We usually stay in high season a bit longed than metro Phoenix becausre of the weather. But it’s definitely been and we have seensome cancellations,” says Tina the resort’s director of saleds and marketing. She stresses the importance of establishing connections duringthe downtime. “Our relationships with meetingt planners has increased quitea bit.
There’sd a lot of time for preparation, for discussion,” she Investing that kind of time iswortj it, for her property and “Group business is extremelgy important to us because it providee a base of business,” she says. Kerr adds that hoteliersw also are targeting a more local markert and identifying those that alreadt may be familiar withthe Valley.