Economy, Monotony Driving Return Of Corp. Golf Gatherings

More than two years of meeting spending cutbacks and compressed event schedules have left many corporate buyers unable to schedule a golf component in their corporate meetings, but that trend appears to be in the process of reversing. Buyers and sellers report increasing demand and consequently tougher negotiations with golf resorts, especially in season.

Though economic factors drive the growth of golf meetings, another component appears to be a desire to shake the corporate meetings industry's collective malaise, as attendees and executives tire of all-work, no-play events.

"There was a period when corporations were reluctant to add any pleasure element to their meetings, but the economy has led them to combine some incentive elements with their business some more," said Jerry Janove, president of Orlando-based Resort Meetings Consortium, a buying group that negotiates meetings with resorts. "You're going to see even more golf. Now, I have clients for whom golf and spa activities are pertinent to the buying decision."

Large corporations seeking golf meetings at luxury resorts are driving the increase in golf activity, Janove said, and though it has led to less of a negotiating advantage for buyers, it's still eminently possible to find good value.

"The resorts still want that business," Janove said. "You can feel it surging back in their favor and negotiations are more difficult, but if you have a solid piece of business with food and beverage spending and some flexibility with dates, you can work some good results. But, in season, at high-end resorts, you will pay high-end rates, especially in Florida and Las Vegas."

Janove attributed the golf meeting return not only to perceived economic growth but also to a collective feeling among corporations that they have cut back meeting spending enough since 2001. "It's a hot button," he said. "They may have canceled these meetings two years in a row, and now they want some flair. Now, they're popping in a free afternoon for attendees to play golf. You can't just be all business all the time, or you'll lose focus. You can only train so much. There must be a motivating factor."

Meeting bookings also have increased throughout southwestern Wyndham resorts, said Ted Davis, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based area director of sales and marketing for six Wyndham resorts throughout the West. "Our 2004 group booking pace is up about 20 percent over last year," Davis said. "Transient is flat, but group is growing, and we like to see that mix go to the group side because of the golf and spa opportunities."

Wyndham has initiated a handful of golfing initiatives at its resorts in an attempt to lure buyers to its properties and its courses. The chain has launched a golf academy with a specific focus on corporate groups, Davis said, and a co-branded effort with the Ladies' Professional Golf Association to attract more women to the sport. "It's very high-end clientele, but that segment is growing faster than some of the others," he said. Corporate clients are also the specific focus of the golf academy, he noted. "There are lots of sales and incentive meetings in which the attendees want golf and specialized attention," Davis said. "They will book a half-day meeting and go to the academy for the rest of the day."

Davis' resorts have offered special discounted pricing to local golfers to fill its courses, a recourse, he said, that corporate meeting growth will allow Wyndham to avoid. "I don't know that we'll change our pricing strategies because our courses are high profile and in demand," he said. "We won't have to discount local rates because there's tremendous demand in season."

Corporate budgets have not swelled to the point where buyers will do anything to incorporate golf into their meetings, leaving some to consider resorts with golf on property.

"Buyers want to have the golf course on the property, because they don't have time for a 30-minute drive due to the compression of the meeting schedules," said Mary Huddleston, director of sales and marketing at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort in Tucson, Ariz. "They also want to work directly with the hotel for golf course use. They do not want to have to make a separate deal with a third party or course management company. They want a one-stop shop."

Declining golf meeting budgets, as well as shorter meetings, Huddleston said, also have prompted many buyers to limit—but not completely excise—their golf options, frequently opting for a nine-hole outing instead of a full 18-hole event.

Huddleston, though, recently has seen enough interest from corporate clients for future meetings that she forecasted an improved 2004, then an increase of about 10 percent to 15 percent in corporate meeting business in 2005. Any increase, however, will come after what has been a dire two years for this particular market segment.

"In 2002 and 2003, everyone was desperate and gave everything away," Huddleston said. "Now, we can clamp down a bit, but we've been much more creative on the golf amenities to find out what a client really wants and needs. As a result, golf is coming back into strength. We're using soft dollars as an incentive to book. We're pushing the sales opportunities and teambuilding options that golf offers."