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 Smith Travel Research, hotel occupancy in the Valley wasdown 10.6 percen in March from the same month last 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 speciaol example, because there are a lot of new rooms. A lot of new hotela have opened, and that also has hurt says Jan Freitag, seniodr vice president of the global consulting andresearch firm.
The openinh of the 1,000-room , the 290-roojm & Spa in Paradise Valley and other Valley hotelw in the past year have diluted occupancy industryofficials say. In addition, business and corporatd travelers are sensitiveto perception, Frei-tat says. “People are hesitant to go to really niceresortsw — and in Phoenix, all of your resortsa are really nice,” he says. “Inn this economy, when companies need to cut costs, the firsrt things that go are traveland training.” But Valley hotelierx are using the time to reach out to meeting planners and develop new business leads. “We are reall y trying to partnerwith them.
Whilse it’s tough times, we are making adjustments,” says Chrix Kerr, director of sales and marketinfg atthe . Kerr’s team is working with planneras to create trips that are adjusting food and beverage prices with the goal of makingv the event more attractive to potential he says. At the in Phoenix, Salesz Director David Richard says his team is tryinb to providemore all-inclusive packages to customizew meetings, including on-site dining packages and more cost-effective audio-visual offerings. Moreover, his stafdf is looking more at the technical and biomedicall industries forpotential bookings.
“We have redeployexd our sales force into theswgroup markets,” Richard says. “Companies still need to have meetings, but they may be cuttin g out some of the Even Sedona’s Enchantment Resort is seeingv some fallout as groups cut back. “W e usually stay in high season a bit longerf than metro Phoenix because ofthe weather. But it’zs definitely been slower, and we have seen some says Tina Newman, the resort’s director of salezs and marketing. She stresses the importancd of establishing connections duringthe downtime. “Ou relationships with meeting planners has increased quitea bit.
There’s a lot of time for for discussion,” she says. Investing that kind of time isworthh it, for her property and “Group business is extremely important to us becausse it provides a base of business,” she Kerr adds that hoteliersd also are targeting a more local marke t and identifying those that alreadg may be familiar with the