Retreat Insider

Several years ago, someone had the temerity to ask. Ego  and investment were too LARGE at the time. But, the question was worthy and we cogitated on it every once in a while in subsequent years. Usually over a glass of wine and a cigar.

Time has re-defined the nature of All About Retreats as a mother of reinvention and child of Web 2.0. In April, All About Retreats rolled out it’s 8th website iteration giving it a fresh, more Zen appearance.

• The Membership portion is designed to promote spontaneous interaction by those who have either retreat/conference centers or programs to list in the main directories.
• Listing Members can access their listing with a user-friendly self-managed format, updating info, images and posting incentives for groups or individuals.
• Our users have the benefit of a more streamlined pathway to the info they are seeking in a scannable format, just right for web reading.

Such a Deal!

Throughout the summer months, we are promoting new basic listings at low rates to enhance the volume of possibilities for our meeting planners and individuals who are frequent visitors to AAR  and because All About Retreats is about growth, opportunity and supporting our Members in the alternative hospitality business.

People can still call us and ask us to post a listing for them, the rate is a bit higher for our hands-on service and marketing ideas. The good news is that AAR no longer employs a gatekeeper who replies to each and every email request for listing information. Our staff will do a routine review of new listings to be sure they are aligned with the good taste and accurate information that AAR users expect to find.

Comments on the Current State of Meeting Hospitality

AAR is keeping a watch on trends that are emerging in alternative hospitality through chats with our Members. One thing is certain:  our web traffic is much lower than a year ago MOST of the time, with occasional upticks. Go figure! We find no pattern that doesn’t require adding on speculative comment to make it feel better! Things have slowed down and that is what most Members are telling us. HOWEVER…We scan blogs and relevant articles from the mainstream in an effort to harness the ripple effect from big corporations on out to the fringes, where most of our Members live.

If you own or manage a retreat center or conference center … Are you willing to be flexible to fill the rooms and do you still love the business enough to take the ride?

Pause. Relax … Open to new possibilities! Trust the emerging info. Tell the truth and Listen deeply …

The downwardly spiraling economy may actually cause a couple of results that could be positive for the meetings business: airfares likely will decrease and lodging rates will hold relatively steady. Mainstream hospitality prognosticators suggest that all expenses, including meetings are being scruntinized closely.

It’s a great time for you to offer “deals” for last minute group bookings and you can login and use your listing on All About Retreats to tell meeting planners when (and if) that is available upon request.

Retreat and Conference Center Forecasts

There are indications that many venues, particularly small or independently owned centers are receptive to negotiations and concessions for meetings, particularly in cities where demand is lower than it has been in the past. Slowdowns in rate increases across the board but ‘off the beaten path’ locales may become even better bargains as the economy slows and air capacity is reduced. Some cities where lodging rates are falling but air routes have not yet been cut, such as California, may become more popular as meetings destinations.

Some suggest that 2009 will be the lowest occupancy rate for hotels since 1988. The current low was hit in 2002, at 59% occupancy rate, when the SARS epidemic and the Iraq war impacted the travel market already in severe doldrums after 9/11.

A hospitality research President, Mark Woodworth said, “It’s not the depth of the lodging industry recession that concerns us. It is how fast market conditions have weakened, and the rapidly changing outlook for the nation’s economy. Uncertainty is the greatest bugaboo, with resulting volatility. However, with new projects now on hold due to financing issues, projections are that demand will rise again as the economy picks up in 2010.

What About Airfares?

The good news is that an AMEX study found airfares likely to decrease in 2009 but that sadly doesn’t necessarily portend a decrease in prices  as airlines continue their pursuit of expanding the fees charged for services such as in-flight meals and baggage. The study emphasized that ‘corporate-meetings-spend scrutiny, and travel and entertainment spend management in general, will take into account not just the airfare, but all those ancillary air-related fees that can add up to 15 percent of the total air cost — not to mention parking, meals, and other expenses that can add up to $400 per trip on average and can double expenses for some trips.

Drive to … Meetings, Retreats, Weekend Workshops … Preferred??

Whether you are planning a corporate meeting or group retreat, or planning to register for a workshop, you can save money and support the growing model we call: Go Local. It’s not sexy, depending on your location, but to book a venue near home or travel to the less populous venues for retreats, and conferences may draw a larger crowd of partipants, especially when each person is footing their own bill. Unless you are a large conference or convention planner when long-range planning and a healthy following make it lucrative, you can most likely book a great nearby venue within a 45 day (or less) advance of your gathering.

Please add your comments so we can further the flow of current reality to our readers, Members and those who blithely stumble upon the ramblings of Retreat Insider!

My email box has become quite a cache of things to keep me busy. SPAM is nearly extinct these days and that’s a relief! Now, it’s the contents of the snail mailbox that we’re working on. After reading the recent Audubon article Paper Chase by T. Edward Nickens, we’re on a mission: To reduce the amount of catalogs and other paper “junk” solicitations that come by mail. Why?

To paraphrase from Nickens’ inspiring article: Retailers are betting that a direct-mail deluge will badger us into buying more stuff annually and clog our mailboxes with some 20 billion catalogs. Where does all that paper come from? Much of it is pulped from Canada’s boreal forest, the greatest wilderness on the North American continent, a 1.3 billion-acre forest stretching from New Foundland to the Yukon …

Reading the article spurred us to take action:

1. We signed up in support of Forest Ethics Initiative Do Not Mail
2. When a retail catalog arrives, we call the company on their nickel and demand to be removed from their mailing list.

Get hip about the precious boreal forest at Audubon.org

JUST one more thing …

This week, I decided NOT to do business with a company that is named after the ancient Greek word for earth, “Gaia”. My husband purchased one of their yoga products and a gift certificate online in January. In less than two weeks, I received a paper gift certificate by snail mail and the equivalent of two and a half of their catalogs printed on paper, much of which to tell me how earth friendly their company is. Sheesh! I finally called the company to request a credit for the cost of the gift certificate and told the poor CS person, mindful of his hourly employee status, that I would not ever purchase from their would be earth friendly company.

NOW for the BIG surprise, I promised

Today, it arrived by email: An invitation to attend the Sustainability Event of the Year produced by the Green Meeting Industry Council. Skeptical, but intrigued, I looked into it, wondering where in Pittsburgh a “green meeting” organization could host this huge event! Let’s look at this with a clear mind: In the end, the fact that most anything we do in the world, including travel to meetings may or may not net out as a low carbon footprint.

Tossing my haughty cynicism aside, I am here to report that I am impressed at the thoughtful planning the GMIC folk have done to keep nearly every facet of the two day meeting in line with their green values!

The Venue

David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the largest Gold LEED certified green convention center in the USA and the first of its kind in the world. The designation is awarded by the United States Green Building Council through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The Council found that green is as intrinsic to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as is its world-class aesthetics and engineering.

The center is committed to recycling and conservation and just by booking or attending an event there you are participating in the latest green practices.

GREENING Participants: SpaceShare

GMIC set up the SpaceShare program to cover three areas that will reduce the environmental impact of participants at their convention:

• Search for a carpool. If you have a half-full car or cab, our search simultaneously looks for passengers to fill it OR offers you options to get in on a ride so that you don’t have to rent a car or pay for cab fare alone.
• Coming into town by plane, train or bus? See who else is leaving from your city. Perhaps you can fly together, or meet someone at the airport on arrival to share a taxi.
• Find a hotel roommate.

Are you inspired yet?

Every All About Retreats member has a smaller property to manage than the mega convention center in the heart of Pittsburgh. Each member is serving a significantly smaller number of people per group meeting, too. But, that’s just a beginning. With a passion to make a green difference and a little innovation, each of us, regardless of our business type, can reduce costs, positively impacting our bottom line and doing our bit for Gaia …

I rest my case… for now.

Love you and love our Mother …

dawna

One of All About Retreats’ long time loyal (and happy!) Members, United Camps, Conferences and Retreats, based in northern California, is blessed with a wise marketing director, Tina Sue Heck. UCCR now manages 13 properties, two of which are new acquisitions made during this roller coaster ride of an economy!

Tina and I visit on the telephone periodically and this year, we spoke about the nature of their business and the effects of the flagging US economy. Tina shared that she recently attended a big meeting of their site directors, many of whom have been in this business for over 25 years. Curious how they were riding the recession, I inquired and this is what I learned: Continue Reading »

As BLOG moderator and manager of All About Retreats’ website, I have been in more frequent intimate and fact finding conversations with our Members and a record number of potential Members this month. What I have been hearing is info that all of our Members and potential members can benefit from as new marketing budgets are being developed.

Without a doubt, there are more church affiliate retreat and conference centers on All About Retreats than ever. A close second are the camp-style venues. The managers and staff at these places are telling us that their bookings are good and that more groups are contacting (and booking!) them because of their low cost relative to the larger meeting hospitality market. Some of these venues are modest in their amenities and accommodations, others are slightly more refined and upscale.

GOOD NEWS

If you are marketing or managing a church affiliated non-profit retreat … All About Retreats is a GREAT place for you to list your facilities. Here’s why: Continue Reading »