ARIZONA: The Perfect Atmosphere for Your Next Meeting
Right now, event planners are searching for creative solutions for in-person and hybrid events. One trend is to move outdoors to provide more space, safety, and scenery. What better place than Arizona? We talked with Becky Blaine from Arizona Office of Tourism about how Arizona is a great choice for meetings right now.
How is Arizona providing support and flexibility for event planners right now?
Each hotel brand is approaching current contracts and group bookings differently but we are seeing flexibility as the trend during these times. Properties across the board hoping to welcome back meeting planners and their perspective group business so we have seen everything from adjusted attrition rates, higher commission rates, deposits waived, properties waiving change fees should there be a need for a date change as well the sales team working hard to accommodate new date options.
How is Arizona promoting health and safety for meetings?
The State of Arizona provided comprehensive guidance for private events. As an important first step in bringing critical business meetings back to Arizona, the Arizona Office of Tourism worked with the Arizona Department of Health Services to lay the groundwork and develop guidelines for meetings and conventions enabling hotels, resorts, and venues to return to hosting meeting planners and their client events.
Arizona’s tourism industry prides itself on our hospitality and during this time we are taking extra measures to ensure guest and group safety by following the state and CDC’s guidelines. Many of our venues and hotels have secured designations from the Global Bio-risk Advisory Council and the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association’s Safe & Clean initiative, certifying that they have trained staff and are maintaining sanitation best practices.
Arizona is known for great weather and outdoor spaces. What are some of your most beautiful event venues that feature the outdoors?
Arizona’s wide-open spaces offer safer places for your next meeting. With beautiful weather year-round, more than 325 days of sunshine to be exact, being outdoors is the norm in Arizona. Our wide-open spaces framed by spectacular mountain ranges offer the perfect backdrop to host your group large or small. And the majority of Arizona’s resorts, venues, attractions, and museums offer unique outdoor and hybrid spaces that make it easy to keep your distance. You can find everything from American Indian heritage and culture at resorts such as Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass, Old West-themed venues like Rawhide Western Town, picturesque architectural wonders such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, and everything in between.
What do people LOVE about meeting in Arizona?
Arizona outdoor adventures make for amazing post-event activities. Endless adventure options in Arizona make the state an ideal place for your attendees to unwind in the great outdoors after a successful event. Hike or ride horseback along scenic desert trails. Tackle red-rocked backcountry on a Jeep. Raft the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Or embark through the state’s stunning scenery on a bucket-list road-trip filled with culture of the Old West, food worth traveling for, and iconic landscapes.
We’d love to hear from you right now.
Becky Blaine
Deputy Director
Arizona Office of Tourism
This Article is Sponsored Content from the Arizona Office of Tourism