Summer Mountain Resorts

Though most mountain resorts rely heavily on the business drawn by winter offerings, mainly skiing, the same destinations enjoy success during summer months, with some even enjoying healthier business during the hot season.

July and August have become peak times along with popular winter periods. In fact, ski areas are attracting more summer business in recent years and resorts are stretching out their seasons, with meetings playing a crucial role.

"The mountains are being embraced," says Matt Bailey, executive vice president of Park City, Utah-based Fandango Resorts. "There's the whole concept of wellness and being close to nature. Attendees can interact in a social setting and keep focused; you can accomplish so much more."

New ski villages are emerging, properties are renovating, luxury facilities are opening, and Four Seasons has followed the Ritz-Carlton brand to the western ranges.

Driving this surge in mountain popularity and upscale development is the trend of fractional ownership—the purchase of one-quarter or 1/11th stakes in homes that are often part of luxury hotel projects.

"In the last three years, we've seen an explosion in fractional ownership, which enhances returns for resort developers and means they can pour more money into amenities," Bailey says.

Wyoming

Luxury giant Four Seasons' first mountain resort, the 124-room Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, situated a mile from Grand Teton National Park in Teton Village, has ski-in, ski-out access; a 17,000-square-foot spa; 8,000 square feet of meeting space; plus homes and residence club condos.

"I believe there's pent-up demand," says Kim Hoffman, director of marketing at the property. "People are getting away from staying close to their own backyard." Meetings booked, she says, are mainly incentive-focused groups coming from the Northeast, Texas and California.

Activities during the summer—peak season in the area, with winter following close behind—include golf, hiking, mountain biking, fly-fishing on the Snake River, and day trips to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.

Idaho

Sun Valley last summer completed remodeling and expansion of its convention center. The 12,000-square-foot facility boasts wireless Internet access and a new 8,470-square-foot ballroom.

The adjacent 66-year-old, 106-room Sun Valley Inn underwent room renovations and a lobby and lounge remodeling.

"We've been able to sign up new meetings because of the new technology, especially for the off-season," says Jack Sibbach, the 4,000-acre resort's sales and marketing director.

The resort, he says, has been successful in selling off-season dates, particularly in April and May, and from late October to Thanksgiving, and has had sold-out blocks during those periods.

"Our advantage is that we control the mountain, and whether it's sleigh rides, a Western barbecue or a golf tournament, the meeting planner has one place to go for all their needs," he says.

Montana

The 320 Guest Ranch in the Gallatin National Forest, 36 miles from Yellowstone and 20 miles from the Big Sky Resort ski area, has also seen an increase in off-season group business.

"It's not just July and August anymore," says General Manager Pat Sage, of high-peak season, explaining that June is shaping up to be the best ever. "Meeting planners are looking for something different. There's the need to get away, and we're seeing an emphasis on team building."

Off Highway 191, the resort has 59 rooms and a conference center that can handle groups of up to 200. Its client list includes 3M, Ford and Toshiba.

Groups, which run the gamut from incentives and corporate retreats to family reunions and bus tours, can opt such summer recreation as horseback trail riding and fly-fishing (combined in a full-day trail ride with fishing at a mountain lake), whitewater rafting, and hiking.

Washington

Two Seattle-based resort companies allied last October: Harbor Resorts retained Columbia Hospitality to sell corporate meetings and events at its two ski destinations, Stevens Pass Ski Area and Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

Stevens Pass, a winter-only day-ski operation near Skykomish, 66 miles from Seattle, can handle up to 300 for events; Schweitzer, located in the Selkirk Mountains near Standpoint in Idaho's panhandle, has two lodges with 90 units and meeting facilities that can seat up to 200 theater style.

"We've had a great deal of interest," says Lenny Zilz, Columbia Hospitality's vice president. Schweitzer, he notes, has a winter peak season with potential for year-round growth. Summer activities include golf, mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, kayak tours, horseback riding, and lake cruises.

Oregon

Two miles from Bend, and the closest resort to the Mount Bachelor ski area (14 miles away), is Fandango Resorts-managed Inn of the Seventh Mountain.

The first phase of a $36 million renovation was completed early this year; an average of $35,000 per unit was spent to upgrade 100 of the 230 rooms and suites.

Renovation of the resort's 12,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurant and lobby is expected to be completed this fall, with skating rink expansion and pool remodeling scheduled for 2005.

Activities at the property, which has a summer peak season, include golf and whitewater rafting on the nearby Deschutes River.

California/Nevada

At Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's north shore, Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino in November opened a 138-room, three-story wing and a 20,000-square-foot spa, the final phase of a $60 million project that included upgrading the 424-room resort's 23,000 square feet of function space.

The village's Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed championship golf course, undergoing an $11 million renovation, reopens June 1. A new clubhouse opening this fall will feature 13,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

Close to nightlife, gaming and the 5,000 hotel rooms along Tahoe's South Shore, the Village at Heavenly Mountain Resort opened two anchor projects, Marriott Grand Residence Club and Marriott's Timber Lodge, in late 2002.

Restaurants and shops continue to open along the South Shore, as well as a parking and transportation center that opened last summer, a ski school/adventure center, a Cineplex theater, and an ice rink.

On the lake's California side, at the Village at Squaw Valley USA, the first condominium projects, totaling 286 units, opened last year. The village has meeting facilities, with the largest space holding 160 for banquets, and more than 30 stores and restaurants.

At Mammoth Mountain ski area, close to Yosemite National Park, the first two condominium properties opened at the Village at Mammoth early last year. Since then shops and restaurants have opened, and for the winter it completed a 17,000-square-foot skier services building that offers meeting and function space.

Intrawest has meeting space at four lodges in the ski area, including the 213-room Mammoth Mountain Inn, which underwent a $1.8 million room renovation last summer.

Colorado

Continually having to say no to groups of 800 or more people, Vail is working on  plans to build a 50,000-square-foot conference center by 2006 on a site at Lionshead Village, with 1,250 lodging units nearby.

"We're being seen as more than just a ski destination," says Lori Rippstein, director of sales for the Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau (VVCTB), adding that larger groups are mainly interested in Vail during the non-ski season. "A targeted marketing campaign to meeting planners for summer over the last four years has helped."

Last summer the town hosted the four-day Teva Mountain Games, together with sales meetings for 160 Teva executives. VVCTB is using the format to pursue other meetings, matching summer special events with groups. Athletes can serve as guest speakers, for instance, and chefs participating in culinary festivals can host cooking demonstrations, Rippstein explains.

Last August, Vail's $2.8 million, 5,200-square-foot Donovan Pavilion opened, accommodating groups of 150 to 200 inside. An outdoor heated terrace has another 3,040 square feet of space.

A $5 million renovation began last month at Vail's Lodge at Cordillera that includes its 56 rooms and meeting space. The AAA Four Diamond resort, part of a gated community with four golf courses, was acquired by Pharos Group, a Fandango Resorts affiliate, last December.

Vail Resorts opened a second golf course, designed by Greg Norman, last June at its Red Sky Ranch Golf Club at Avon. Guests at the 237-room Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, which opened in November 2002, get preferred tee times there.

In Aspen, the St. Regis Hotel is undergoing what Starwood Hotels calls a "complete reinvention." In late November it will open a 15,000-square-foot spa and a residence club of 25 two- and three-bedroom units, and unveil 220 remodeled guest rooms.

At Colorado Springs, Benchmark Hospitality's Cheyenne Mountain Resort completed improvements last June that included the renovation of meeting space and most of its 316 rooms.

Utah

Horseback trail rides and ATV tours were added to summer activities at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort last year.

The 500-room, IACC-certified resort recently renovated and expanded its Cottonwood Room by 2,100 square feet, to a total of 6,500 square feet, making the room its second-largest meeting space.

According to Jerry Mika, the resort's director of sales, meetings and conventions, summer and winter attract large numbers of meetings, although the best deals are found in May, early June, October, and November.

"We have 25 meeting rooms with more than 46,000 square feet of space within easy walking distance, which makes it possible to accommodate groups of all sizes," he says of the resort, which is situated 29 miles from Salt Lake City International Airport.

British Columbia

Whistler, 75 miles north of Vancouver, has more than 5,400 hotel rooms, including upscale brands such as Westin, Fairmont and Pan Pacific, and more than 150,000 square feet of meeting space. Summer activities include golf, hiking, rafting, and mountain biking.

After being closed for a year, the expanded and remodeled TELUS Whistler Conference Center reopened in September.

The conference center features a new 300-seat amphitheater, a new business center, and new roofing and skylights. Rentable square footage increased from 25,000 to 40,000 square feet; the ballroom, from 13,600 to 16,500 square feet; and the number of meeting rooms from 13 to 19.

"Meetings are a key component of our economy, and the renovation allows us to grow, particularly with resort-wide conferences of 500 or more," says Lynda Gilroy, Tourism Whistler's director of meetings and incentive experience. Meetings sales efforts, she says, are mainly concentrated on larger groups during value season, May through December.

In 2001 the conference center generated 32,000 room nights; for 2004, it is expected to produce 48,000.

"We've been successful in securing incremental business," she continues, pointing by way of example to an Automatic Data Processing group that booked 6,400 room nights for August. "They considered Whistler in the past, but the conference center didn't offer the capacity or facilities."

May is the target opening date for the 243-suite Four Seasons Resort Whistler at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, which will have 10,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space and a spa.

Pan Pacific Hotels and Intrawest, operator of the Whistler ski resort, in December will open the 83-suite Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, with a spa and meeting rooms, just steps from the 121-room Pan Pacific Lodge Whistler.

Alberta

Banff National Park will get additional meeting space when the 474-room Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise at Lake Louise opens a new wing in June.

The new Mount Temple wing will feature 81 guest rooms, 18,000 square feet of  meeting space, including a ballroom to accommodate up to 700 attendees, a business center, and a 200-seat restaurant.