Hotels get creative as economy lags - Phoenix Business Journal:

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One thing they are doing as they wait it out is strengtheningf their relationships withmeeting planners. According to Smitjh Travel Research, hotel occupancy in the Valley wasdown 10.6 percenf in March from the same month last People also are spending less — on average, almost 30 percent less than the same time last year acros the Valley. “It is bad. Phoenix is a specialp 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 opening of the 1,000-roo m , the 290-room & Spa in Paradise Valley and other Valley hotels in the past year have diluteddoccupancy rates, industry officials say. In addition, business and corporatr travelers are sensitiveto Frei-tag says. “People are hesitant to go to reallyg niceresorts — and in Phoenix, all of your resortsa are really nice,” he says. “In this when companies need tocut costs, the first thing s that go are travel and training.” But Valley hoteliers are using the time to reacy out to meeting plannerxs and develop new business leads. “We are reallhy trying to partnerwith them.
While it’s toug h times, we are making adjustments,” says Chrids Kerr, director of sales and marketing atthe . Kerr’w team is working with planners to create tripas thatare value-oriented, adjusting food and beverage prices with the goal of makingg the event more attractive to potential he says. At the in Phoenix, Sales Director Davi Richard says his team is trying to providemore all-inclusivd packages to customize meetings, including on-site dinint packages and more cost-effectivse audio-visual offerings. Moreover, his stafc is looking more at the technica and biomedical industries forpotential bookings.
“Wed have redeployed our sales force into thesegroup markets,” Richards says. “Companies still need to have but they may be cuttinf out some ofthe add-ons.” Even Sedona’ Enchantment Resort is seeing some fallout as groups cut “We usually stay in high season a bit longeer than metro Phoenix because of the But it’s definitely been and we have seen some says Tina Newman, the resort’s director of sales and She stresses the importancre of establishing connections durin g the downtime. “Our relationships with meeting plannerws has increased quitea bit. There’xs a lot of time for preparation, for she says.
Investing that kind of time isworthu it, for her property and others. “Group businesd is extremely important to us because it provides a baseof business,” she says. Kerr adds that hoteliers also are targeting a more local market and identifying thosee that already may be familiadr withthe Valley.