St. George, Utah, and the spectacular outdoors around it captivated and energized attendees of the 2024 Small Market Meetings Conference held September 25–27 in the Greater Zion region. In addition to nearby Zion, one of the country’s most popular national parks, other natural preserves like Sand Hollow State Park and Snow Canyon State Park became new outdoor favorites for many of the conference’s 230 delegates.
“I’m hearing so many comments from attendees about how much they love this area,” said Joy Schroeder, meeting, convention and event manager for the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office. “It’s true that you do feel something different here. You can turn a meeting here into anything you want. I tell potential clients all the time that this area is inspirational. It inspires you personally and professionally. Greater Zion works to a meeting planner’s advantage.”
“The Zion region was new and different for many of our delegates, and they were enthusiastic as a result,” said Small Market Meetings Conference general manager Jennifer Ferguson. “I want to give a shout out to Joy Schroeder for all the work she did for our group. Her attention to detail was amazing. Our meeting planners brought RFPs with them for our destinations and were ready for business. And our sponsors like Visit Berkeley, for instance, delivered a ‘wow’ factor time and time again.”
Delegates stayed at the Best Western Plus Abbey Inn and the Hampton Inn and Suites. Both hotels were a five-minute shuttle ride from the Dixie Convention Center, where seminars, sponsor presentations, marketplace sessions and most meals were held. The Best Western Plus Abbey Inn hosted after-hours drinks in a private ballroom on two evenings.
Five different sightseeing trips were well attended, including a hike up to local landmark Dixie Rock in Pioneer Park and another hike in nearby Snow Canyon State Park. Downtown landmark trips included stops at local art museums, Town Square Park and a walk-by of the winter home of Mormon church leader Brigham Young.
Meal sponsors in St. George included Greater Zion, which hosted delegates for drinks and Southwestern dishes at Big Shots Golf & Craft Kitchen on the first evening and for dinner and dancing the second evening at the Dixie Convention Center. Visit Henderson, Nevada, and Visit Berkeley, California, hosted breakfasts, and ASM Global and Visit Buffalo Niagara hosted luncheons. Local civic leaders Lance Brown of Utah Tech University and county commissioner Gil Almquist welcomed the group to St. George.
Visit Buffalo Niagara will welcome the group to Buffalo, New York, next September 16–18 for the 2025 Small Market Meetings Conference.
What Meeting Planners are Saying
“We book hotels and venues for our clients. We plan for 520 faith-based groups like Young Life or Campus Crusade (CRU). We go along on site visits and help our clients make final site decisions. We also do smaller meetings like a recent Four Square board meeting in Cancun for 40 people over three days. We do about 35 CRU staff meetings a year and contract their hotels and assist with their menu planning.”
Tommy Keown
Arrowhead Conferences and Events
Cumming, Georgia
“We’re heavily involved with association management companies, primarily in the fields of education, agriculture and medical industries. I currently do six face-to-face conferences and four virtual conferences each year. We’ve met in places like Calgary, Alberta; the Netherlands; and Malaysia. A large meeting for us would be 700 delegates, and our average is around 350. My clients are well educated, and they want authentic local experiences in these places. They don’t want to be sheltered from local cultures.”
Julie Hewett
Jul/Net Solutions
Huntington, West Virginia
“Our meetings average 100, 150, sometimes 200 delegates. This year, we had 120 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 220 in Wyoming. We do four seasonal conferences a year for state legislators who are asked to attend Energy Council conferences. Our meetings are nonpartisan for legislators who are interested in energy issues. A few of the sites we’ve held meetings in recently include Grand Forks, North Dakota; Billings, Montana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Anchorage, Alaska.”
Evya Richards
The Energy Council
Dallas, Texas
“We do a lot of volume and a lot of government work. We book very closely in, 60 days out or less, so we’re filling room blocks at hotels that need that business. We offer the per-diem rate, and they say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ A large meeting for us is 4,000 room nights, and we’ll use up to four hotels. These are government agencies or organizations like the USDA, the Food Safety Inspection Service or the Department of Defense. Recently, we’ve been to Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Long Beach, California; Cincinnati; and Corpus Christi, Texas.”
Brett Sterenson
Hotel Lobbyists
Washington, D.C.
“We do incentives and regional meetings in the insurance industry. Incentive trips are usually to exotic destinations like Barcelona, Prague, London or Bangkok, for example. A typical incentive trip would be around 200, including spouses. These are high-end insurance products like employee benefits, property and casualty, or retirement planning. We’ve done some large annual meetings as well, like 2,000 delegates or so in Las Vegas.”
Rob Cohen
Alliance Benefits
Amelia Island, Florida
“I was a high school band director. I went to work with a student tour company and that changed everything. I spent about four years with Kaleidoscope Adventures as a senior tour consultant and then was asked to take the job my dad had with ABA for years. So, I am now with the American Baptist Association as their director of meeting arrangements. I plan for all types of meetings — board meetings, retreats, church conferences, etc.”
Neal Sutton
American Baptist Association
Texarkana, Texas
What Destinations Are Saying
“Our Water Street District has become a real draw for meeting delegates. It’s three walkable blocks of restaurants, bars and retail. We have a new M Resort coming online that will add 800 rooms and 90,000 square feet of meeting space. People don’t realize what a sports town we are — we’re the headquarters for the Las Vegas Raiders. Their practice facility is here. We’re home to the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team and the Silver Knights hockey team. We’re popular with corporate, association and medical groups.”
Ed Kirby
Visit Henderson
Henderson, Nevada
“Walkability is a huge plus for us in Buffalo. We have 50+ bars, restaurants and theaters, and our metro rail is free to the waterfront. Our historic Admiral Room is a spectacular venue for events, and delegates can enjoy historic Buffalo Bisons stadium. We have a top five airport, and we are a foodie city. It’s all local foods here, like Buffalo wings, beef on weck, local breweries and distilleries. Buffalo is proud of its diversity — many ethnic groups and neighborhoods are here to enjoy after a meeting.”
Meaghan Zimmer
Visit Buffalo Niagara
Buffalo, New York
“Williamsburg is an iconic place to have a meeting that cannot be duplicated in a major city. We make sure you are the star when your meeting is here. We have Colonial Williamsburg, our African American heritage trail, a new boutique hotel, and wonderful sports and events facilities. Because we have 11 Fortune 500 companies headquartered nearby, we host many corporate meetings, and we’re also big with SMERF groups, military reunions and regional associations, not to mention our outstanding golf courses.”
Julia Smyth-Young
Visit Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
“In addition to Zion National Park, we have 14 golf courses, four state parks and a historic downtown to enjoy. May through October is peak season at Zion, so we love to host meetings and retreats in the off season when we can, but we’re here to work with meeting planners anytime, anywhere. Delegates can do a day in Las Vegas before or after a meeting here. Our airport in St. George is expanding and direct service from Los Angeles is returning soon. Our area has become a bucket list destination.”
Joy Schroeder
Greater Zion
St. George, Utah
“Berkeley has an iconic 1960s counter-culture image for many people, but on the East Coast a lot of people don’t know that anymore. So, I’ve encouraged us to embrace our roots and use lava lamps and other fun things to market our city, and it’s working. It’s fun. We still have a lot of those values today. Did you know that fruit cocktail and the waterbed were both invented in Berkeley? This is my favorite conference. We cannot miss Small Market Meetings.”
Shelbi Walker
Visit Berkeley
Berkeley, California
“Sports is our biggest market. We’re home to Texas Tech University and we host a lot of NCAA sports events. We also host regional tournaments for cornhole, bowling, basketball and other team sports. We have a lot of corporate, association and government meeting business. We have a civic center and three full-service meeting hotels within two blocks. We recently hosted the Texas Association of College Admission Counselors.”
