History Channel
While it may not be the oldest hotel in the country, the Waldorf Astoria New York is hard to beat for adding rich history to meetings.
It was the Waldorf Astoria where Edward VIII absconded with Wallis Simpson after abdicating the British throne in 1936 and being ostracized by English society. The Conrad Room on the fourth floor is where Princess Grace had her engagement party. It was even instrumental in transforming the concept of a city hotel from a place for transients to a place of prestige.
Visitors can host meetings in the suite where Cole Porter lived for 29 years before passing the space on to Frank Sinatra.
History at the Waldorf is not just limited to decades past. Still a property of choice for world leaders and celebrities, it is as much a site of current events as of old stories. For example, it was at the Waldorf Astoria that President Barack Obama brought together Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks during the UN General Assembly in 2009.
“I’m able to take people into the Basildon Room and say, ‘this is where that happened,’” says Matt Zolbe, director of sales and marketing for the Waldorf Astoria, adding that he expects that within a year or two he’ll have yet another story.
The Ballroom is the site of the annual Al Smith Dinner held every October, the white-tie fundraiser for the Catholic Archdiocese. Attendees can stand on the stage where every U.S. president (and, during election years, his chief rival) have sat for the event since the first dinner in 1945.
“If you want to change the tempo of one of your meetings, just tell folks, ‘we’re going to the Waldorf Astoria, and you’re telling them, ‘this is a big deal,’” says Zolbe.
The executive meetings of the Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania (BCAPA) were not originally meant to be grand affairs. The board members of the organization, which includes cable operators, equipment suppliers, and programmers from the Pennsylvania region, meet several times a year to discuss strategic and operational issues affecting their industry and how to best manage them.
“We talk about what threats and opportunities we see on the horizon — the nitty gritty of the industry,” says Dan Tunnell, president of the association.
But since BCAPA began holding its executive meetings at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa, in Bedford, PA, Tunnell has sensed a change in the events’ tone and attendees’ experience. The 217-year-old property has hosted 12 U.S. presidents and served as President James Buchanan’s summer White House during his tenure. The rooms radiate Presidential history in their architectural design and furnishings, as well as the original photographs and documents framed on walls or on display under glass.
But this is not just a nice addition to the property; the ambience actually enhances the BCAPA meeting’s strategic goals.
“It creates this sense of heritage,” says Tunnell. “There’s an ‘executive office’ allure to the property that actually gets our board members thinking at a higher level, and in a long-term manner.”
Tunnell is not alone. Many organizations looking to host high-level brainstorming sessions or board meetings seek out boutique and distinctive hotels that not only offer top-notch accommodations, but put a spotlight on a particular theme or value that can fuel the meeting’s mission.
Using a historical property can give a broader significance to a meeting where important decisions must be made, while an art-oriented property can help get the creative juices flowing for a brainstorming event. A property that showcases its outdoor space can be an ideal backdrop for an organization focused on wellness or aiming for out-of-the-boardroom thinking.
“The venue can really support the theme of the event,” says Joey Reader, event designer and owner of A-mazing Events LLC, based in Appleton, WI. “We’ve seen a lot of clients looking for a unique, maybe nontraditional, venue to hold their event or meeting where they can tie that in.”
Whether to boost creative thinking or put an event into a larger context for attendees, host organizations are finding that a property’s historical and cultural offerings elevate and add to a meeting in distinct, and valuable ways. Here’s a look at how the role the décor theme of a boutique property can play in the achievement of the goals of a meeting.
Historical Heritage
As the BCAPA’s experience at the Omni Bedford Springs reflects, a venue that tells a tale can add texture and greater value to an event.
“Conducting a meeting at a historic hotel gives more to the host organization than just a place to meet, it provides a different and unique environment,” says Heather Taylor, manager of marketing communications for Historic Hotels of America, which counts 128 of the country’s most historically rich properties among its members. “The setting will hopefully inspire attendees and provide the client with a space to motivate and create.”
Taylor gives the example of the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa in Ojai, CA, which offers a restored historic barn that can be used as meeting space and help drive home a back-to-basics theme for a meetings group. The history of The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, AZ, built during the Great Depression, makes it an appropriate setting for a company looking to discuss how to find opportunities amidst difficult times.
“We like to say, ‘if U.S. presidents have come through here through the decades, why can’t presidents and vice presidents of companies and other organizations host their getaway programs here?’” says Jeffrey Rudder, director of sales and marketing for Omni Bedford Springs.
The Enchantment Resort, situated in Boynton Canyon, in the heart of Arizona’s Sedona region, draws on even earlier traditions. The resort recently completed a $4-million expansion of its Meeting Village, which has 13,000 square feet of indoor space and 20,000 square feet of outdoor banquet space where guests can connect directly with local Native American tribes through musical performances, dance, storytelling, and more.
“We consider ourselves almost the stewards of Boynton Canyon,” says Lindsay Curry, director of sales for Enchantment. “It’s such a great way to infuse not just the authentic elements of the area, but it often translates into what the programs are trying to accomplish with their events in the first place.”
Groups can be immersed in the culture of the Native tribes, including Hopi and Navajo, through activities such as a welcome blessing — a nondenominational ritual that emphasizes gratitude and harmony. Team-building events, medicine walks, or drum and flute performances can be interwoven into activities, touching on relevant themes for any organization, such as overcoming adversity, setting goals, and respect for the natural world.
The property’s Mii amo Spa even draws on these traditions, with treatments such as the Flower Essence Bath of the Inner Quest treatment, based on Native American ideas of the four stages of life.
Jeorg Rickers, managing director and co-owner of JR Travel Concepts, has held several events at Enchantment, most recently for a group from the Swiss Toyota Group. It included a gala dinner for 150, and Native American dancing, drumming, and story-telling. As part of the Hoop Dance, attendees were encouraged to join in.
“Often Europeans might be rather withdrawn from this kind of event, but 85 percent participated,” says Rickerts. “Enchantment was perfect in incorporating the Native American theme.”
The night at Enchantment was part of an incentive program. Set between luxurious nights in Scottsdale, AZ, and Las Vegas, it brought a spiritual depth to the proceedings that attendees took away with them. Rickerts emphasized that this cultural experience deepened the attendee experience, especially for Europeans who had no previous knowledge of the Native American experience.
“When you are traveling on the West Coast, it is to some extent imperative to appreciate the people who lived in these terrains and weave that into the trip,” says Rickerts. “As an incentive operator, it’s about more than making sure people have a great experience, it’s also about relaying a message of where this all originated from, and that includes how Native Americans are living today.”
Artistic Offerings
For groups looking to unlock some innovative thinking at their meetings, properties that put an emphasis on art and creative expression can help add excitement to a meeting and take it to unexpected places. Whether showcasing modern art in the lobby or unconventional designs in the rooms, art hotels can make a big impact on a meeting experience.
That has been the case for Hotel ZaZa, a “luxury art hotel” brand that includes two Texas properties, in Dallas and Houston. The boutique properties feature dozens of original art pieces throughout the corridors, meeting, and dining areas, with unique photographs and paintings showcased in every room — 315 rooms in Houston and 153 in Dallas.
For planners, the properties’ meeting spaces tap into all types of creative temperaments. At the Dallas property there is the ZaZa Art House and Social Gallery; the Uptown Ballroom, with great views and elaborate chandeliers; the more intimate Muse Room, with a private balcony; and the Red Room, boasting antique wood and a vintage wine rack. At Hotel ZaZa Houston, planners can try the speakeasy-style Conspiracy Room; The Hemingway, with rich wood and animal prints; and The Phantom Ballroom.
“[The Prop Room] is an event room, but it’s full of random props from a big three-dimensional Baby Huey lifting weights, to a ping pong table, to a neon ‘We Love You’ sign,” says Benji Homsey, president of Hotel ZaZa. “We say, ‘pick what you want to infuse some excitement into your meetings.’”He adds that organizations in creative fields have been especially drawn to the ZaZa properties, with heavy business from fashion, entertainment, and cosmetics companies.
“We’re always looking to personalize everyone’s event and meeting here,” says Homsey.
He points to a recent example in which Hotel ZaZa’s owner Charlie Givens had recently purchased a massive painting of Coco Chanel for his own collection and learned that the Chanel company would be holding a week-long meeting at the hotel. He arranged for the painting to be shipped to the property and mounted in the lobby so that when the group arrived, it was greeted with an original piece that reminded attendees of their company’s stylish heritage.
Groups looking for artistic inspiration overseas also have many options to from which to choose. The New Majestic Hotel in Singapore features a different mural in every one of its 30 rooms. The Hotel Fox in Copenhagen takes this unique-room concept to the next level, having tapped 21 artists to create 61 individual room concepts, from street art to Japanese manga (comics).
Great Outdoors
While a more creatively designed property can help stoke innovation, the natural world can also help planners to jumpstart group collaboration. Planners looking to reinvigorate attendees and help them think through a major project outside of a boardroom will want to consider hotels that make their natural surroundings central to their offerings.
“If you’re looking to do brainstorming or networking types of events where people are collaborating, an outdoor space is great for encouraging that kind of thinking,” says Renee Radabaugh, president of Paragon Events, based in Delray Beach, FL.
Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, MO, is surrounded by 3,000 acres of Ozark Mountain wilderness and overlooks the expansive Table Rock Lake. It takes full advantage of its immense landscape. Meeting participants find that the outdoors can infuse their event with a greater sense of openness. Physical activities help to encourage fresh thinking by taking
attendees outside and getting physical in ways they might not typically. Even when indoors, the sense of the outdoors impacts the meeting.
“When people think of a conference center, they might get a stark picture in their mind, but ours is warm and inviting, and every single room has a water view — it’s not your typical conference setting,”
says Jana Daugherty, director of sales and marketing, about the Lodge’s 20,000-square-foot Grandview Conference Center.
Originally developed in the early 1920s as a luxurious retreat for prominent Missourians, the property has since been purchased by Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, who only expanded its outdoor offerings (a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Academy is available for groups to develop their hiking, fishing, and sport shooting skills). Groups can take part in cattle drives, waterski in the lake, or get a massage at the Lakeside Spa. The property offers 246 guest rooms, lodges, and private cabins, ensuring an intimate connection with the surroundings.
TAMKO Building Products, based in Joplin, MO, has been bringing customers to Big Cedar Lodge since 1999 and consistently since 2007. Stephen McNally, vice president of sales and marketing at TAMKO, describes the outdoor setting of the property as an ideal backdrop for deeper connections with clients.
“The unique setting in the Ozarks, cabins, incredible conference center, the people of Big Cedar Lodge, and the ability to entertain in all aspects of outdoor activities makes this a perfect place for us to hold our client events,” says McNally.
Another active property with Cedar in its name is the Cedar House Sport Hotel, just outside the Reno–Lake Tahoe area in Truckee, CA. Outdoor activities include “Snowshoe Survivor” in the winter and lake kayaking and hiking in the summer and fall. The activities can be modified to accommodate any level of interest, from high adventure to a walk in the woods.
The hotel’s 40 rooms embody eco-minded simplicity with plenty of luxury. Buyouts of the hotel are available for groups, providing exclusive use of the private dining room, 1,100-square-foot event center, and lobby. The property also offers its own in-house touring company, allowing groups to closely integrate the event activities.
“We’re tethered to our technology most of the time, but just getting out, moving your body, and reconnecting to the natural world can unleash ideas that have been kind of locked in the back of your brain,” says Patty Baird, owner of the Cedar House.
She describes how a meeting at a sport- or adventure-themed property can help attendees reconnect with life outside their smartphones and tablets.
“I believe businesses are coming to understand and see that when they have meetings with an outdoor component, it helps generate those ideas and that dialog,” says Baird. “If you stay too much in your environment and are constantly checking your smartphone, it suppresses creativity — it can make a big difference just to change your surroundings now and then.”
Click here for some historic photos of the Omni Bedford Springs.