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Hot News
| Park City, Utah: Year-Round Destination for Small-to-Mid-Size Meetings |
| Convention Center/CVB News |
Park City, a Southwestern city that features a renowned “Old West,” Historic District, has earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading Winter Resorts—a reputation greatly enhanced by hosting the 2004 Winter Olympics. About a half hour drive from Salt Lake City International Airport, the destination features more than 125,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and more than 4,000 committable rooms in a wide range of venues, including full-service hotels, boutique hotels and B&Bs. Once a year, the global film industry focuses its lens on Park City for the annual Sundance Film Festival, which attracts upwards of 60,000 attendees. According to McCarthy, the Sundance Festival is an anomaly for this destination. “Most of our meetings are 500 or less,” he said.
Besides a number of new developments, this destination has two additional advantages that have broadened its meetings appeal. Outdoor activities, especially in the Winter, with three world-class ski resorts and the Utah Olympic Park, but also the Summer—the destination boasts 12 golf courses—accentuate the appeal of the destination. In the Spring and Fall, prices plummet and affordability becomes a major selling point for Park City. “In the Winter, because of our ski and outdoors facility, we get a lot of Doctors and other groups were affordability is not as much of an issue,” added McCarthy. “In the Spring and Fall, we get a lot of associations and other groups because of our price points, which are highly competitive.”
In December 2010, the Montage Deer Valley, located on slopes of Deer Valley Resort, will open. The venue features 17,000 square feet of indoor function space and 31,000 square feet of outdoor event space. The Canyons, a hotel & meeting complex, includes the newly-opened Escala Lodge at The Canyons –which features the 3,600-square-foot Escala Ballroom—Waldorf Astoria, Dakota Mountain Lodge and Golden Spa, the Silverado Lodge, which features 2,300 square feet of flexible and the 2,800-square foot Pavilion.
The Canyons caters to groups and intimate meetings and while the winter sports and other outdoor activities the resort offers consistently garner Meeting Planner attention, Bowling notes, “it’s really our onsite staff who works with the planners that makes the difference. We get a wide variety of personal requests, and we can accommodate them. We customize their meetings.”
What sort of requests. “It runs the gamut, from special meals to accommodating 100 skiers first thing in the morning.”
“The economy has improved,” added McCarthy. “We had a dip like everybody but people are ready to meet again. We have a lot of projects coming on line and Meeting Planners are excited about our accessibility and our affordability.”
While both of these communication mavens agreed that the overwhelmingly positive exposure the Olympics gave Utah continues to benefit the Meetings & Hospitality industry in that state, some of misconceptions linger among Meeting Planners. “People still think you can’t get a drink here,” said Bowling. “It is simply not true.”
Up until recent years, Utah had restrictive liquor laws in place after the repeal of Prohibition. The state’s legislators have rectified the situation, and now the state’s liquor laws resemble laws throughout the rest of the U.S. In November 2009, the High West Distillery & Saloon opened. This establishment features an “Old West” ambiance, nouveau cuisine, an extensive wine and spirit selection and their exclusive small-batch, hand-crafted, award winning whiskeys and vodkas. In addition, the High West Distillery & Saloon is believed to be one of the only ski-in/ski-out distilleries in the world.
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