First published in Business People-Vermont, July 2006. In that issue: American Rail Dispatching Center, Dealer.com, Sweet Meets, Meetings and Conventions, VEMAS, Workforce Development, Champlain College
MEETING PLANNING CHART click here
SweetMeets
The meeting and convention business brings welcome cash to the state
by Virginia Lindauer Simmon
It’s easy sometimes for those of us who live here to forget just how attractive the state of Vermont is to those not as lucky as we are. Sure, we grouse about taxes and complain when it’s too hot, too cold, too wet and too dry. But to the rest of the world, and even to us when we take a moment to think about it, Vermont is, indeed — to quote a former state tourism motto — a special place.
Champlain Valley Exposition
To a degree, the Vermont Convention Bureau can measure how special Vermont is by counting the number of room nights it books for meeting and convention attendees.
The Destination Marketing Association International, with which our convention bureau is affiliated through membership, estimates that convention attendees spend about $277 a day, and the average stay is 31/2 nights, says Tim Shea, vice president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, which houses the convention bureau.
“What I always find interesting about that number,” says Shea, “is that only 48 percent of that $277 is spent on lodging. The balance is spent on food and beverage, retail, entertainment, rental cars; and what that number does not include is any transportation to and from the destination.
Three Stallion Inn
It’s often perceived that hotels or inns are the only ones that benefit from meetings and conventions, Shea adds, and these numbers indicate that the entire region or state feels the impact.
Now, here’s the really interesting thing. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2005, the convention bureau booked just over 39,000 room nights, its strongest year ever as far as number of rooms booked. If we take that 39,000 times the per-day expenditure, we get $10.8 million.
It’s a conservative amount, says Shea, because those 39,000 rooms are just the ones booked by the convention bureau. “A lot of the hotels will be contacted directly,” he says, “and they’re not reflected in our numbers.”
The average size group the bureau books is probably 75 people, Shea says. “You know, a medical training group, 60 people at The Inn at Essex, 75 people down at the Equinox.”
ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
A big reason the hotels and resorts are so eager for this business is that it’s not weather-dependent. “When you get into weather season — winter, late fall, when leisure guests might not come — these events will take place regardless of the weather.”
Increasingly, leisure travelers book their vacations with very short lead times, and if the weather turns bad, they don’t come, says Shea. “I was speaking to somebody at one of the ski resorts who was saying just that: When you have an off season like we did this last winter, it’s the group business that really helped them.”
To promote this business, the Convention Bureau has an office at the chamber, a salesperson who works out of a Rutland office and a salesperson in Boston. They spend a good portion of their time on the phone contacting meeting planners and associations. They also go to a number of trade shows around the country.
The Convention Bureau works closely with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, which Shea says has been a tremendous resource. “Commissioner Bruce Hyde and the leadership he provides is incredible,” he says.
The Convention Bureau recently returned from a sales mission to Washington, D.C., where they worked with Sen. Pat Leahy to host an event for 400 invited guests — travel writers, journalists, meeting planners, some food distributors from the D.C. area, and some of Sen. Leahy’s colleagues in Washington. “We brought down Vermont food producers, and 10 or 12 hotels and resorts went down with us,” Shea says. “The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing was there, Lt. Gov. Dubie was there, it was a neat, neat event to raise awareness of Vermont.”
Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center
It’s true that there’s a kind of meeting place for just about any taste and pocketbook in our state, from large to small, elegant to rustic, with mountain vistas or lakeside views, in golf-course casual or urban chic.
The list of meeting spaces in this magazine might spur the creative juices, because if every Vermonter who belongs to an organization were to invite that group to hold its next regional or national meeting here, it’s possible the influx of those dollars could help keep taxes down, giving us one less thing to be grumpy about. •
Meeting-Planners’ Guide
This meeting planners’ guide was created with the help of the Vermont Convention Bureau. The VCB is in the process of updating its information, so be sure to contact any property for additional details.
| Property/City | Meeting Rooms | Largest Banquet | Largest Classroom | Phones | Web Address |
| Arlington | |||||
| West Mountain Inn | 3 | 30 | 80 | 375-6516 | www.westmountaininn.com |
| Barre | |||||
| Barre Civic Center | 8 | 1600 | 952 | 476-0257 | www.ci.barre.vt.us |
| Bolton Valley | |||||
| Bolton Valley Resort | 8 | 250 | 400 | 434-3444 • (877) 8BOLTON | www.boltonvalley.com |
| Brattleboro | |||||
| Hampton Inn & Suites | 5 | 180 | 225 | 254-5700 • (866) 218-STAY | www.hamptoninnbrattleboro.com |
| Quality Inn & Suites | 4 | 180 | 225 | 254-8701 • (866) 254-8701 | www.qualityinnbrattleboro.com |
| Burlington/South Burlington | |||||
| Anchorage Inn | 2 | 25 | n/a | 863-7000 • (800) 336-1869 | www.vtanchorageinn.com |
| Best Western, Windjammer Inn & Conference Center | 4 | 65 | 80 | 863-1125 • (800) 371-1125 | www.windjammerrestaurant.com/conf.html |
| Champlain College | n/a | n/a | 500 | 651-5957 • (866) 872-3603 | www.champlain.edu/eventcenter |
| DoubleTree Hotel | 8 | 225 | 300 | 660-7552 | www.burlington.doubletree.com |
| Comfort Inn Burlington | 1 | 15 | n/a | 865-3400 | www.vtcomfortinn.com |
| ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain | 4 | 75 | 200 | 864-1848 | www.echovermont.org |
| Flynn Center for the Performing Arts | 4 | 70 | 100 | 652-4500 | www.flynncenter.org |
| Hawthorn Suites Hotel | 1 | 12 | n/a | 860-1212 • (866) 337-1616 | www.hawthornsuitesburlington.com |
| Holiday Inn-Burlington | 5 | 150 | 200 | 863-6363 • (800) 799-6363 | www.hiburlington.com |
| Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites | 2 | 50 | 64 | 860-1112 • (866) 762-7870 | www.hiexpress.com |
| Howard Johnson Hotel & Suites | 1 | 40 | 50 | 860-6000 • (800) 874-1554 | www.innvermont.com |
| Lake Champlain Cruises | 1 | n/a | 150 | 864-9669 | www.lakechamplaincruises.com |
| Lang House on Main Street | 1 | 12 | 20 | 652-2500 • (877) 919-9799 | www.langhouse.com |
| Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center | 14 | 700 | 1000 | 865-6620 • (800) 866-6117 | www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/ |
| Smart Suites | 1 | 40 | 40 | 860-9900 • (877) 862-6800 | www.innvermont.com |
| Spirit of Ethan Allen III | 3 | 400 | 350 | 862-8300 | www.soea.com |
| University of Vermont | 12 | n/a | n/a | 656-5665 | www.uvm.edu/~conf |
| University Inn and Suites | 1 | 30 | 30 | 863-5541 • (800) 808-4656 | www.innvermont.com |
| Vermont National Country Club | 2 | 150 | n/a | 264-9406 | www.vnccgolf.com |
| Wyndham Burlington Hotel | 15 | 400 | 500 | 658-6500 • (800) 658-6504 | www.wyndhamburlington.com |
| Chester | |||||
| The Inn at Cranberry Farm | 2 | 40 | 40 | 463-1339 • (800) 854-2208 | www.cranberryfarminn.com |
| Colchester | |||||
| Fairfield Inn by Marriott-Burlington | 1 | 12 | 15 | 655-1400 | www.fairfieldinn.com |
| Hampton Inn & Conference Center | 6 | 240 | 300 | 655-6177 • (800) 426-7866 | www.hamptoninnburlington.com |
| St. Michael’s College | 8 | 2500 | n/a | 654-2615 | www.smcvt.edu/conferences |
| Danby | |||||
| Silas Griffith Inn | 5 | 35 | 35 | 293-5567 • (800) 545-1509 | www.silasgriffith.com |
| Essex/Essex Junction | |||||
| Champlain Valley Exposition | 9 | 400 | 2000 | 878-5545 | www.cvfair.com |
| The Inn at Essex | 10 | 200 | 225 | 878-1100 • (800) 727-4295 | www.vtculinaryresort.com |
| Fairlee | |||||
| Lake Morey Resort | 16 | 600 | 475 | 333-4311 • (800) 423-1211 | www.lakemoreyresort.com |
| Grand Isle | |||||
| Grand Isle Lake House | 3 | 80 | 80 | 865-2522 | www.grandislelakehouse.com |
| Jay | |||||
| Jay Peak Resort | 8 | 400 | 350 | 988-2611 • (800) 451-4449 | www.jaypeakresort.com |
| Killington | |||||
| Birch Ridge Inn | 2 | 50 | 35 | 422-4293 • (800) 435-8566 | www.birchridge.com |
| Cortina Inn and Resort | 4 | 150 | 220 | 773-3331 • (800) 451-6109 | www.cortinainn.com |
| The Inn of the Six Mountains | 4 | 100 | 120 | 422-4302 | www.sixmountains.com |
| Killington Grand Resort Hotel & Conference Center | 20 | 500 | 700 | 422-6973 • (888) 644-7263 | www.killington.com |
| Mountain Inn at Killington | 2 | 110 | 100 | 422-3595 • (888) 422-3595 | www.mtinn.com |
| Ludlow | |||||
| Okemo Mountain Resort’s Jackson Gore Inn | 8 | 500 | 380 | 228-1835 • (800) 78-OKEMO | www.okemo.com |
| Manchester | |||||
| The Equinox Resort | 10 | 219 | 300 | 362-4700 • (800) 362-4740 | www.equinoxresort.com |
| Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home | n/a | n/a | n/a | 362-1788 | www.hildene.org |
| Riley Rink at Hunter Park | 3 | 1800 | 110 | 362-0150 • (866) 866-2086 | www.rileyrink.com |
| Mendon | |||||
| Red Clover Inn | 5 | 60 | 55 | 775-2290 • (800) 752-0571 | www.redcloverinn.com |
| Montpelier | |||||
| Capitol Plaza | 8 | 120 | 300 | 223-5252 • (800) 274-5252 | www.capitolplaza.com |
| North Hero | |||||
| The North Hero House | 2 | 60 | 80 | 372-4732 • (888) 525-3644 | www.northherohouse.com |
| Plymouth | |||||
| Bear Creek Mountain Club | 3 | 100 | 100 | 672-4242 | www.bearcreekclub.com |
| Poultney | |||||
| Green Mountain College | 25 | 75 | 400 | 287-8260 | www.greenmtn.edu |
| Randolph | |||||
| Three Stallion Inn | n/a | n/a | 60 | 728-5575 • (800) 425-5575 | www.3stallioninn.com |
| Rutland | |||||
| Ramada Limited | 1 | 40 | 20 | 773-3361 • (888) 818-3297 | www.ramadarutland.com/home |
| St. Albans | |||||
| Comfort Inn & Suites-St. Albans | 3 | 100 | 85 | 524-3300 | www.vtcomfortinnstalbans.com |
| Shelburne | |||||
| Heart of the Village Inn | 1 | 30 | 12 | 985-2800 • (877) 808-1834 | www.heartofthevillage.com |
| The Inn at Shelburne Farms | 1 | n/a | 20 | 985-8498 | www.shelburnefarms.org |
| Shelburne Museum | 3 | 70 | 100 | 985-3348, x3389 | www.shelburnemuseum.org |
| Shelburne Travelodge | 1 | 75 | 50 | 985-8037 | www.travelodge.com |
| Smugglers Notch | |||||
| Smugglers’ Notch Resort | 12 | 250 | 325 | 644-8851 • (800) 521-0536 | www.smuggs.com |
| Stowe | |||||
| Green Mountain Inn | 3 | 40 | 100 | 253-7301 • (800) 253-7302 | www.greenmountaininn.com |
| Stoweflake Resort & Conference Center | 14 | 295 | 400 | 253-7355 • (800) 253-2232 | www.meetingsatstoweflake.com |
| Stowe Mountain Resort | 11 | 100 | 150 | 253-3558 • (800) 253-4754 | www.stowe.com |
| Topnotch at Stowe Resort & Spa | 6 | 125 | 300 | 253-6413 • (800) 451-8686 | www.topnotchresort.com |
| Trapp Family Lodge | 4 | 80 | 80 | 253-8511 • (800) 826-7000 | www.trappfamily.com |
| Stratton Mountain | |||||
| Stratton Mountain Resort | 12 | 250 | 300 | 297-2500 (877) 887-3767 | www.stratton.com |
| Vergennes | |||||
| Basin Harbor Club | 8 | 130 | 300 | 475-2311 • (888) 339-8074 | www.basinharbor.com |
| Warren | |||||
| Sugarbush Inn & Conference Center | 6 | 135 | 200 | 583-6132 • (800) 53-SUGAR | www.sugarbush.com |
| Waterbury/Waterbury Center | |||||
| Best Western, Waterbury-Stowe | 2 | 80 | 70 | 244-7822 • (800) 621-7822 | www.bestwesternwaterburystowe.com |
| West Dover | |||||
| Grand Summit Resort Hotel & Conference Center at Mount Snow | 9 | 525 | 600 | 464-1100 • (800) 261-9422 | www.mountsnow.com |
| White River Junction | |||||
| Howard Johnson Inn | 3 | 220 | 180 | 295-3000 • (800) 648-6754 | www.hojovermont.com |
| Williston | |||||
| Residence Inn by Marriott | 1 | 25 | 25 | 878-2001 | www.residenceinn.com/btvbu |
| Woodstock | |||||
| Woodstock Inn & Resort | 8 | 150 | 225 | 457-6632 • (800) 448-7900 | www.woodstockinn.com |
| Compiled with the help of the Vermont Convention Bureau. | |||||
