It’s not that common for a destination marketing organization to oversee several of the largest meeting and event venues in community. Visit Reno Tahoe is the exception and recently announced it has officially taken over the management of Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno Events Center, National Bowlin
There are two new properties for groups to get excited about in Montana and Utah. The Wren in Missoula, slated to open late this summer, is located in a 1960s-era building being transformed into a locally inspired boutique hotel. The larger Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City is a new-build that will bring 700 additional guest rooms to the city starting this fall.
The Wren
Recently, I wrote about Santa Fe, New Mexico’s new Sky Railway, which made me think about all the train tie-ins for groups in the U.S. Mountain West and western Canada. Several tourist trains offer special events that groups can tag onto and allow private rental of train cars, and there are venues and museums that celebrate the railroad’s front-and-center place in the development of the West.
Lately, I’ve run across two companies offering Bear Camps, and they both definitely piqued my interest. Living in the mountains of Colorado, I’ve had bears cross my back patio early in the morning and at dusk and enter my garage to snack on treats in the freezer late at night when the door didn’t get shut (think homemade ice cream and chocolate truffles).
In the soon-to-be released Spring/Summer 2022 issue of Mountain Meetings, I write about Mountain Activities 101. That’s not the official title of the article—it’s actually Mild to Wild—but it is a primer about the many amazing activities groups can enjoy in the mountains, from cave tours in Bend, Oregon, to a kayaking, hiking and hot springs excursion near Boulder City, Nevada.
Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana, has named Molly Smith and Kristen Snavely co-general managers of the all-inclusive luxury property situated in the Bitterroot Valley. Smith is returning to Triple Creek Ranch after a brief hiatus. Previously serving as GM for four years after working her way up from pastry chef, she has since perfected her skills at The Inn at Hastings Park in Massachusetts, another Relais & Châteaux property.
With meetings returning to normal as the COVID-19 pandemic levels out, outdoor mountain pursuits are finding more time on meeting agendas. Taking events outdoors not only boosts attendees’ comfort level as they ease back into in-person meetings, time spent in nature is proven to improve brain health and stimulate creative thinking as well.
We’ll be looking at this topic in-depth in the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of Mountain Meetings. Consider this as an introduction to some of the possibilities.
The latest addition is the availability of Spanish-speaking guides.
Based in Boulder City, Nevada, Evolution Expeditions has been running kayak tours since 2006. Today, the outfitter offers fully customizable tours that can include hiking for groups of up to 60 guests, whether it’s a half-day break from meetings or a full day expedition.
What happens when several prominent Santa Fe residents come together to revive a historic railroad? In this case, it’s something special in the form of Sky Railway that launched in December and was born from the ashes of Santa Fe Southern that stopped running in 2012.
Groups and individual travelers can spend Friday evenings in Whistler with the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) Spo7ez Performance Team throughout the winter.
