Design Thinking: Resort Experiences for the Group Traveler
6 Best Practices for the Design of conference event amenities influenced by the preferences of meeting planners, and the attendees they represent.
Designing Experiences for the Group Traveler, By HBG Design, with insights from Conference & Meeting Planner, Grace L. Jan, CMP, CAE, Director, Sales Operations and Corporate Events, Supernus Pharmaceuticals. Jan is a Maryland-based conferences and meetings planner with 35 years in corporate events.
At HBG, we are designing experiences that extend the group traveler's resort journey beyond the conference/event center.
Multi-purpose convention, conference and performance event amenities have become important economic drivers for resort Owners looking to round out their revenue generating opportunities. After years of remote work and employee separation, businesses are starting to find ways to bring their employees together, and regional resorts can offer fun and convenient locations to host business gatherings and meetings. At HBG, our event amenity designs for the group traveler have garnered national recognition as being well-designed, exciting, and flexible spaces that are also operationally and financially successful.
After we successfully completed the stunning designs of the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL, and the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, TX, HBG Design adopted our guest-focused design philosophy. We create event amenities that cater to the needs of both meeting attendees and planners, focusing on seamless accessibility and easy navigation to a diverse range of revenue-generating experiences.
When it comes to hosting successful events of all sizes, the design of multi-purpose resort spaces that can "multi-task" between business and leisure resort guests is paramount. Group travelers typically visit resorts during mid-week for conferences, trade shows, and meetings. They want services and spaces that support networking, relationship-building, learning, entertainment, and relaxation, requiring a variety of amenity options and wayfinding clarity to allow the group traveler's experience to extend beyond the conference and event center.
When it comes to choosing a conference event resort for their attendees, meeting planners have specific preferences and “must-haves” on their checklists. These insights can help resort Owners and designers target experiences that resonate with event guests:
1. High-quality service and convenience.
Regardless of the age of the hotel, delivering exceptional service is crucial. The first impressions made by bellmen and front desk staff significantly impact attendees' experiences.
To aid service and guest convenience, many newer properties are facilitating faster check-ins through technology such as their hotel apps, allowing guests to use their smartphones as room keys. This streamlined process enhances efficiency and improves guests' overall experience. In-room iPads to help enhance on-demand service from the resort is also an important feature, as seen at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming Resort, Hot Springs, Arkansas (images at left and right).
2. Ease of wayfinding access between the hotel and the event amenities is a priority.
HBG designers often plan our clients' resorts so that the hotel elevator lobby is located at the central point between each amenity element, making use of horizontal and vertical circulation. For example, at Four Winds Casino Hotel and Spa in South Bend, Indiana, HBG designers situated the main elevator lobby between the hotel registration desk and the main escalator access to the Ribbon Town Conference and Event Center. The elevator also takes group travelers directly to the second level event pre-function lounge, and continues upward to the third floor hospitality suites and the hotel's Edgewater Café bar and restaurant. This third level was planned and designed as break-out reception and gathering space in support of the resort's event activities.
3. Approachable comfort and luxury.
To ensure the comfort of group travelers, guestroom designs should prioritize approachable luxury, offering a variety of room layouts, selections and premium amenities, including quality bedding, toiletries, and luxuriously appointed bathrooms. Features like choices of pillow types, and complimentary robes and bottles of water in guestrooms go a long way in enhancing comfort.
4. Functional meeting spaces and audio-visual technology
To attract and retain repeat meeting planner business, your event amenities must offer well-designed, flexible meeting spaces of diverse sizes and configurations to cater to a range of meeting needs. Outdoor landscaped event patios, terraces or lawns also offer distinct areas for gathering, weather permitting.
The Ribbon Town Conference and Event Center at Four Winds South Bend has strategically utilized the entire second floor to cater to both informal and formal gatherings. This includes areas for networking before events, with seating groups, two bars and an outdoor terrace, as well as designated spaces for formal meetings. To allow for flexibility and accommodate multiple groups, the smaller meeting rooms are located at the opposite end of the conference and event center from the main 10,000 SF ballroom. Additionally, the ballroom can be divided to create smaller meeting room spaces when needed. The planning and design of all areas have been well thought out with integrated A/V technology to enhance the space's suitability for high-end conferences and events.
Establishing a strong partnership with a resort's in-house AV is essential for meeting planners. Offering reasonable prices for audio-visual services and packages will make a resort stand out to obtain more group business. Additionally, addressing the basic need for complimentary Wi-Fi for all guests and groups will differentiate a resort and boost its appeal for group bookings. By organizing focus groups with experienced meeting planners, resorts can gather valuable insights on necessary improvements in service and for upcoming renovations or new build projects.
5. Enhanced food options.
Resorts are focusing on offering better food options in their outlets, catering to attendees' varying dietary preferences and needs for grab and go snacks, bars and lounges for informal F&B centered meetings, and higher end F&B for both intimate and group dining. Additionally, coffee break and break-out areas are crucial in providing attendees with private spaces for networking and respite between sessions. This helps create a more inclusive environment and enhances the overall satisfaction of meeting attendees.
The group traveler to Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs, Arkansas, can partake from a number of restaurant offerings within reach of the event space--from the food court concourse, to the high end Bugler restaurant and First Turn bar, and The OAK Room and Bar. Oaklawn, with its unique dining offerings, makes for a unique conference and meeting location due to its 100+ year history of thoroughbred racing, an upscale design with convenience on a walkable scale, and views to the racetrack and Hot Springs' beautiful landscape beyond.
6. Mindfulness and well-being amenities.
As more guests incorporate mindfulness into their lives, a resort’s event amenities must adapt by providing different spa offerings and promoting spaces for relaxation. On-site spas can provide much-needed relaxation experiences after long days of sessions and networking events. Features like healthy menus, spas and fitness classes, and even in-room yoga mats or Peloton bikes offer a touch of home while traveling. Oaklawn's Astral Spa and Four Winds South Bend's Cedar Spa are both luxuriously designed spas near to the conference/event center and hotel amenities of each resort, offering full spa services and relaxing aqua thermal and lounge spaces.
Understanding the top amenities desired by meeting planners and attendees is essential for both new resorts and established properties looking to attract and retain business. Resorts can secure a competitive edge in the convention/conferences/meetings market by prioritizing excellent service, well-designed meeting spaces, competitive AV services, and catering to emerging trends. By doing so, they can create a memorable experience for meeting attendees, encourage repeat visits, and foster a desire to recommend the resort to others, including other meeting planners.
Represented projects include:
The Event Center at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming Resort, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Photography © Dero Sanford/Think Dero Photography
Ribbon Town Conference and Event Center at Four Winds Casino Hotel and Spa, South Bend, Indiana, Photography © Dero Sanford/Think Dero Photography
The Guest House at Graceland Resort Conference and Event Center, Memphis, Tennessee, Photography © Jeffrey Jacobs Photography
The Conference and Event Center at Sycuan Casino Resort, El Cajon, California, Photography © Chad Mellon Photography
Elevating Events at Four Winds South Bend
See full article in Casino Style Magazine: Winds of Change
Winds of Change
Ribbon Town Conference and Events Center - Four Winds South Bend Casino Resort
There’s a new landmark on the South Bend, Indiana skyline, and it’s awe-inspiring—a towering 23-story glass hotel that glows at sunset with a beautiful copper hue. But this impressive structure is more than a marvel of contemporary architecture; it’s a testament to the Pokagon Tribe’s rich heritage and commitment to providing guests with an unforgettable destination experience.
Four Winds South Bend Casino Resort recently cut the ribbon on an incredible 317-key, 82-suite high-end hotel, spa, F&B, rooftop pool and conference/ events amenity expansion adjoining its popular casino. Conference and meetings industry professionals will be especially thrilled by the new 24,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities designed to drive the conference market and soar above the competition.
Ribbon Town is the original Pokagon name for South Bend. This heritage is celebrated in the casino’s new Ribbon Town Conference and Events Center. Guests ascend from the main hotel promenade to the second-floor multi-purpose conference and events space via a dramatic vertical collection of escalators and stairs. Here, guests are treated to a stunning entry experience, complete with a vaulted ceiling and cove lighting wrapped in large copper ring ceiling accents. The theatrical chandelier of suspended metallic shapes is a nod to the region’s Kankakee River and the lily pads that float on its surface.
Designers skillfully blended culturally significant motifs and design elements, such as copper, red cedar wood, birchwood and natural stacked stone to bring guests and visitors closer to the Pokagon Tribe’s heritage and native lands. The event center aesthetic mimics a sunset’s reflection on rippling water, with warm amber, gold, and deep violet hues in lighting fixtures, furnishings, and in the abstracted river pattern of the custom carpet. Stylish wood detailing, neutral accents, and copper accent trim on walls and columns add just the right finishing touches to enhance the venue’s exclusive aesthetic.
The 24,000-square-foot multi-purpose events center features a 10,000-square-foot ballroom with seating for 800, a banquet kitchen and 16 flexible meeting rooms. Expansive windows along the event promenade filter abundant natural light to pre-function spaces with two bars, a lounge seating group, a business center, and an outdoor terrace.
The entire third-floor level is dedicated to elegant VIP and hospitality suites with more intimate venues to host catered parties and VIP receptions. Each suite exudes comfort and approachable luxury, with access to outdoor terraces, some with dedicated whirlpools.
The suites are distinguished in either lighter feminine or darker masculine contemporary design aesthetics and equipped with serving bars, dining room nooks and a Quartzite-wrapped fireplace. Lavish living rooms and bedrooms are accented by furnishings upholstered in velvet and genuine leather, 100 percent wool inset carpeting, coffered and coved ceilings, classic wood paneling and natural stone and wood detailing.
The expansion represents Four Winds’ second phase of growth in South Bend. The design team worked closely with the tribe to help ensure the design flowed cohesively with the Phase 1 casino. A beautiful blend of contemporary architecture and cultural heritage, upscale design and broad mix of entertainment options will offer guests and visitors an exceptional event experience, raising the bar in the region’s conference and meetings industry.
OWNER: Pokagon Tribe
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN: HBG Design