The pleasure of business: A win-win experience. (An Advertising Supplement).

The demand for children s programs as part of a conference schedule has increased tremendously in the past few years. With more spouses and children coming to The Broadmoor in conjunction with meetings, we knew we needed to make a change. We identified the needs and we adapted. Part of that can be seen in the redesign of The Broadmoor s new swimming pool, watersilde and playground area on the north end of Cheyenne Lake. Its in direct response to our new kind of dual-purpose guest.

John Washko

Director of Sales, The Broadmoor

The lines between conference and social guests are blurring.

It used to be, back in the dark ages of business travel, some five to ten years ago, that there was a distinct difference between guests coming to luxury resorts as part of a conference and those who were traveling simply for a vacation. Meeting attendees came just for meetings. No one in those long-ago days ever thought about bringing a spouse or children to enjoy the resort. Business was business and vacation was vacation. They were two different trips; two distinct mindsets.

No longer. Meetings held at resorts across the country, as well as those off-shore, now include at least one recreation component during their stay. Golf tournaments for groups are extremely popular. Spas are a big draw for both men and women, as are special activities planned during the day for attendees and their families, like golf and tennis clinics. You II find professionally run day camps on site with activities that range from fly fishing to art classes, hiking, biking and exploring area attractions. And many evening functions that traditionally were business gatherings are becoming more family friendly with theme parties that often times include children; or groups will choose the option of a separate party with movies, games and entertainment appropriate for young children or teens. Resorts like The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, Colorado that offer first-run movies, also gear presentations to younger audiences during vacation times. And most resorts now offer children s menus in their restaurants, and for room service, as well. Its a new business paradigm - meetings and conventions that truly combine business with pleasure creating a world-class win-win family vacation experience.

In recognizing this shift, many resorts that cater to the meetings and incentive trade have spent millions in additional amenities that cater to the dual-purpose meeting attendee. Numerous properties in South Florida and the Caribbean, like the Doral and the El Conquistador, have added large water slides. Other resorts like the newly opened Gaylord Palms in Orlando, were built with all the amenities in place. And resorts like Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas have created a themed property, complete with marine life habitats and acres of family-friendly facilities.

Even historic grand resorts like the Del Coronado in San Diego and The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs have jumped into the new market dynamic with extensive additions, renovations and restorations designed to capture the family/meeting attendee. For example, in 2002, The Broadmoor opened the final phase of a three year project that saw the addition of meeting rooms and family amenities to the 3,000 acre property as well as a total renovation of the original 85-year-old Broadmoor Main buildings. The guest rooms were dramatically changed to include five-fixture bathrooms with deep soaking tubs, separate showers, dual basins and private toilet facilities, computer data ports, On Command WebTV, and dual in-room phone lines, all designed to meet todays business needs with all the comforts expected at a Five-Star, Five-Diamond resort. Additionally, the resort s renovation included 21 luxury rooms in a new lakeside building, and a family-friendly state-of-the-art infinity pool with waterslides built into their own mo untain, a separate children s wading pool, an expansive pool caf0 and bar, along with 13 private rental cabanas, making it a complex that rivals the finest Caribbean resorts.

All of this change has really been in direct response to the needs of our meetings guest, says John Wash ko. Resorts from coast to coast are not only competing against one another to capture this market share, but they have designed these resorts to directly compete against the Disney experience which for years has marketed their properties as a place to hold meetings while offering the lure of their theme parks.

With the new dynamic firmly in place, the savvy corporate and incentive meeting planner can now pick and choose resorts that offer the best in family and meetings amenities. The resorts that consistently rise to the top are the ones that have learned how to cater to blended meeting guests, and like The Broadmoor, go above and beyond in meeting and exceeding their expectations, truly making the corporate meeting slash family vacation experience a pleasure, and a must for today s successful corporate meeting planner.

Allison Scott is Director of Communications at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has been involved in the Colorado resort industry for over 25 years.