Golf lures meeting planners
Hotels are promoting nearby golf courses these days to lure planners booking meetings and conventions.
Gina LaBarre, a Crowne Plaza vice president, says upscale business travelers’ affinity for golf makes it a natural hook for promoting meeting facilities.
“As marketers, we are thinking of golf more than ever before when targeting meeting planners,” she told USAToday.
Mr LaBarre says 40% of Crowne Plaza’s revenue is from business meetings.
Construction began late last year on a new JW Marriott in San Antonio, which plans to attract meetings and conventions with two PGA Tour golf courses. Meetings and group business are expected to generate more than half of the revenue when the 1,002-room resort opens in 2010, says Mike Kass, director of sales and marketing.
Group golf business is “a lucrative profit generator” for the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, Texas, says Jim Moss, director of sales and marketing. Golf attracts about 65% of business meetings at the resort, located near Austin.
“We’re making golf more prominent in our marketing,” Mr Moss says.
He adds:”For the first time, we’re traveling to golf trade shows, and we’ve developed specific golf ads that will run in meetings publications and sports and leisure magazines.”
Report by David Wilkening
