With the Economy Smarting, Companies Need Smarter Meetings

KSL Resorts Provides Creative and Cost-Efficient Ideas for Meetings

. December 16, 2008

LA QUINTA, CA, November 17, 2008. Given our current economic woes, there is no denying that organizations are evaluating all of their costs, among them the cost of meetings. At the same time, the need to convene executives and their employees to craft solutions for their businesses has never been greater. One hotel company, KSL Resorts, is helping meeting planners conceive smarter meetings that are cost-efficient without sacrificing the use of key amenities at each of their destinations. KSL's portfolio includes the Hotel del Coronado (San Diego, CA), La Costa Resort and Spa (Carlsbad, CA), Rancho Las Palmas (Rancho Mirage, CA), Barton Creek Resort and Spa (Austin, TX), The Homestead (Hot Springs, VA), and Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa (Vail, CO).

Meeting Smarter

KSL Resorts helps its client companies meet smarter by offering easy alternatives that trim costs, invite team building and both educate and entertain. Examples include:

o Offering on-property expert resources as speakers at meetings. Executive chefs, golf pros, spa therapists, and beauty experts can be tapped for appearances at meetings to provide insights and tips that meeting-goers can take home. Since any number of well-known professionals are part of the KSL family, among them Billy Yamaguchi, an expert on feng shui beauty whose salons and books have a long and loyal following, KSL Resorts can offer an unusual array of compelling presenters.

o Designing meeting breaks that let groups take advantage of the beautiful campuses so closely identified with KSL Resorts. KSL resorts will, for example, make their golf driving ranges available for a mini-competition to determine a "closest to the flag (a company's logoed flag, of course)" winner. The use of the driving range is cost-free and yet groups can enjoy a fresh air meeting break, the camaraderie of fellow attendees, and win prizes.

o Replacing bottled water in meeting rooms with water coolers from which company-logoed plastic water bottles can be filled and re-filled. The logoed plastic water bottles, of course, also become a reusable giveaway. And the environment is spared.

o Simplifying meals, especially breakfast, by letting meeting attendees "grab and go" with cups of coffee and light breakfast fare at a resort's coffee concession. Planning buffets versus sit-down dinners can also realize savings.

o Conceiving affordable team building activities that are fun and can have a charitable outcome. KSL will, as a case in point, provide boxed bicycles, each of which has to be assembled by a small group. Once assembled, thanks to the group's teamwork, the bikes can be donated to a local organization that benefits children.

Playing Smarter

During off-meeting hours, groups that meet at KSL resorts can enjoy recreational amenities more cost-efficiently by using them off-hours. They can, for instance, play the championship golf courses of The Homestead, Barton Creek Resort & Spa, or La Costa Resort and Spa in early morning shotgun tournaments that start on a course's back nine. Doing so may save groups up to 75% off the price of an 18-hole mid-day tournament. Groups are also encouraged to try night golf.

Groups drawn to tennis can take advantage of new programs offered at some KSL resorts that combine an hour of tennis with a 30-minute massage. At 30 minutes, the cost of the massage is reduced.

Groups will also expend more energy than money partaking in morning yoga sessions on a golf course or beach, local bike tours, group hikes, indoor rock climbing (at Vail Mountain Lodge) and even bowling (a staple at the famous Homestead.)

The cost of spa-going can be mitigated when groups buy out a resort's spa for an evening reception, followed by massages and other simple treatments for individuals.

Sightseeing Smarter

Needless to say, when groups travel to distant destinations, they want to experience the local sights. With a little ingenuity, meeting planners can pick sights that are close at hand and even complimentary. They can, for instance, take a history tour of such storied properties as the Hotel del Coronado and The Homestead, they can visit local historical attractions such as the Jefferson Pools in Hot Springs, VA., they can visit a bird sanctuary, Batiquitos Lagoon, near La Costa, or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center near Barton Creek.

KSL Resorts is committed to working closely with companies that need their meetings to make economical sense. They will even help membership organizations hosting meetings drive attendance by offering personal incentives. That might translate into making available personal training sessions at a KSL resort to the first 10 individuals who book their reservations for a given meeting. After all, the current economy is not only stressing the company pocketbook, it's also impacting the mental and physical health of a great many employees.

About KSL Resorts

Founded in 1992, KSL Resorts manages seven time-honored resorts with outstanding recreational amenities, including spa, golf, tennis and ski. Each is refined yet unpretentious, rich in legacy, and genuine in service. The KSL Resorts are:

o Hotel del Coronado (San Diego, CA)

o Beach Village at The Del (San Diego, CA)

o La Costa Resort and Spa (Carlsbad, CA)

o Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa (Rancho Mirage, CA)

o Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa (Vail, CO)

o Barton Creek Resort & Spa (Austin, TX)

o The Homestead (Hot Springs, VA)

For more information, call (866) KSL-7727 or visit www.kslresorts.com.

Contact:

Burns Patterson / Kina Paegert/Megan Bishop

Middleton & Gendron Inc.

212) 284-9193 / (951) 588-8700/ (212) 980-9231