Courtesy Arizona Office of Tourism
Sedona, Ariz.
In the past five years, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce has encouraged meeting planners to make a side trip and see Sedona when they are in Phoenix.
“Since 2008, we have been targeting meeting planners who are coming to Phoenix for conventions or meetings,” said Susan Boehnstedt, director of sales. “We invite those who are coming to Phoenix to come to Sedona as a pre- or post-site visit so they can consider Sedona for future meetings.”
The offer includes a complimentary one- to three-night stay and a $50 gas card to fuel the 2.5-hour drive from Phoenix. Planners who aren’t coming to Phoenix and who would like to make a site visit to Sedona handle their own transportation.
To give planners some ideas of what they might want to see during the visit, the chamber has created themed itineraries that focus on Sedona’s spiritual aspects, arts community, outdoor activities and other attributes. Using those itineraries as inspiration, the CVB customizes itineraries to meet each meeting planner’s needs.
“The visits are completely based on what meeting planners are interested in,” said Boehnstedt.
Although it is not far from Phoenix, Sedona is a completely different place, from its landscape to its weather patterns.
“It is not like Phoenix,” Boehnstedt said. Even in the summer, when Phoenix is hitting triple digits temperature-wise, Sedona’s mornings are a pleasant 70 degrees. “Sedona takes on a different personality depending on the time of day; it has four seasons where Phoenix has two,” she said.
480-831-9076
www.VisitSedona.com
Cape Cod, Mass.
Individual site visits are becoming the preferred way to see Cape Cod, which also offers meeting familiarization trips for groups of meeting planners.
“If they can’t come on a big FAM, we say can you come on a date of your choice?” said Patti Lloyd, director of sales for the Cape Cod Chamber and CVB.
Because Cape Cod is a popular resort destination, the CVB is careful to qualify planners. Resorts and hotels avoid planning site visits during the busy summer season.
On the Cape, site visits are a team effort, often coordinated by Lloyd with assistance from the island’s many hotels, resorts and other partners.
Lloyd is the CVB’s only sales manager for meetings, but even at that, when she can, she accompanies planners when they make their site visit. “We like to accompany them because we want to be there to answer their questions,” Lloyd said.
The CVB does do larger familiarization trips for meeting planners, bringing 25 or so planners to Cape Cod for several days to meet with hotels and other partners. It can also be a good way, Lloyd said, to sell the island and its many facets.
“We like to showcase our destination, our hotels, ourselves.”
888-332-2732
www.CapeCodChamber.org
