Terex Corp. held a progressive dinner on the golf course at The Boulders during a four-day meeting. Courtesy of Debbie Pompa

As the chill of winter settles over most of the U.S., one state can be counted on to be enjoying milder months and outdoor environments at their peak. An enviable blend of city, desert and mountain settings, Mexican and Native American cultures, and iconic sights ranging from the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley, Arizona offers a surprisingly exotic backdrop for memorable meetings.

“There’s the uniqueness of the landscape,” suggested Scott Winegar, president and co-owner of Boise-based corporate event planner, TMN Events. “For two thirds of the year, the weather in Arizona is fantastic. Then there’s the natural beauty of the scenery and different types of cacti.  If you’re not from the southwest and you haven’t been, it’s pretty cool to see for the first time.”

Winegar was recommending locations for Lamb Weston, Idaho’s leading supplier of frozen potato and other products to restaurants and retailers.  The world’s second largest potato producer was seeking a destination for its annual leadership meeting and Winegar felt it was time for them to take a look at Arizona, with Tucson in mind.

“My client has family in Phoenix, and when she got to Tucson she said, ‘I had no idea, I was just expecting a smaller Phoenix,’” said Winegar, who noted that he is personally drawn to how different Tucson is from Phoenix.

This would be the fifth meeting Winegar has handled for Lamb Weston, and a majority of the attendees come from the Pacific Northwest. But about a third of the attendees arrive from other U.S. cities and about 25 come in from overseas, so air service was a factor.

“There’s not a lot of direct flights, much less from around the world, but overall, the city is good for a mid-sized meeting. The fact that not many of the attendees had ever been also had something to do with the selection.”

Final deciding point: Loews. “Lamb Weston likes the brand, and cost was definitely a factor — the Loews Ventana Canyon is quite affordable,” explained Winegar. The 398-room resort is built to host events, with 37,000 sf of indoor meeting space plus almost 40,000 sf outdoors.  The resort also offers a full-service spa, two Tom Fazio-designed PGA golf courses, and lighted tennis and pickleball courts.  Winegar said the group has a large executive leadership team, so at least 15 suites were required, which Loews could provide.

“The client likes to keep people on-property but to provide different experiences and the Loews allows for the feeling that you’re at a remote resort. This group also requires a pretty big footprint for their meeting space,” added Winegar.  “They like to do a huge stage, with seating in crescent rounds, and the 10,800-sf Kiva ballroom gave them the perfect amount of space.  A lot of hotels are sensitive to the amount of meeting space they give you based on the room block, but Loews Ventana Canyon was very flexible on this.”

Winegar also noted the F&B team received high marks on a post-convention survey.  “This client wants to showcase their product, so they had potato products from Lamb Weston served at every meal, prepared in specific and creative ways.”

The group, totaling 240 attendees, stuck mostly to the property for activities and meals, but he leaned on Visit Tucson to vet DMCs, which in turn helped source local tchotchkes, such as light-up cacti used as centerpieces for one evening.  Some attendees broke off in smaller groups for dining and TopGolf nearby.

“Tucson is a gem,” said Winegar. “It’s unique, and most people haven’t spent time there, so it has a surprise factor — it shows really well.”

As the pandemic eased, Tucson saw a fleet of improvements and additions of interest to meeting planners, including a $65 million expansion and renovation project at the Tucson Convention Center, completed in late 2022.  The project included a face lift for the center’s 89,760-sf exhibit halls, renovation of the 20,164-sf ballroom, updating the Leo Rich Theater and the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, and adding 32,000 sf of meetings rooms, restrooms and lobbies.

Tucson’s tallest downtown skyscraper and most iconic building was transformed into The Leo Kent Hotel, Tucson, a 150-room boutique hotel that opened last May.  Located an easy walk from the convention center, the Marriott Tribute Portfolio property spans nine of the tower’s 23 floors and draws upon the unique location in Tucson in its design, culinary and group offerings, and offers 1,400 sf of meeting space.

The 575-room JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort is the city’s largest hotel, located in the foothills overlooking Tucson, yet just six miles from downtown, 12 miles from the airport.  The property has 80,768 sf of event space, including a 19,836-sf ballroom, while other features include 27 holes of championship golf at the Starr Pass Golf Club and a 20,000-sf full-service spa.  Hiking trails lead right from the porte cochere into the spectacular, saguaro cactus-dotted scenery of Tucson Mountain Park.

With 54,870 sf of indoor event space, El Conquistador, Tucson, a Hilton Resort offers two 12,000-sf ballrooms, plus breakout rooms and ample outdoor lawn areas for casual gatherings. The resort recently unveiled a multi-million-dollar amenity, SpaWell.  The facility features a salt therapy room, pool deck accentuating the resort’s mountainous backdrop.

The Phoenix-Scottsdale metropolitan area is home to more than two-thirds of Arizona’s population, and holds the bulk of the state’s meeting space.  Julie Wong, CMP, president and owner of Phoenix-based The Event Concierge, which handles corporate meetings, said Phoenix-Scottsdale has carved its niche by catering to a wide range of meeting budgets.

“It’s not just high-end expensive hotels,” suggested Wong of the side-by-side cities.  “Value-wise, we’re close to Vegas, but you get a little more bang for your buck here.”

High season is mid-January through March. But she’s been able to find affordability even at high-end hotels the second week in January, the third week in April, or in October.

A question Wong sometimes receives is to define the difference between Phoenix and Scottsdale. “Only if you’re a local do you know that they’re separate cities,” said Wong.  “Scottsdale offers some of the larger resorts — places with a golf course and a spread-out conference center. In Phoenix, the business hotels have a smaller, more compact footprint.  Otherwise, there’s not much difference, and there’s not a big gap in pricing.”

Meeting planners using Phoenix-Scottsdale can lean into culture and diversity, an increasingly important component for many companies. “There are a lot of ways to incorporate DEI into a meeting, such as at a dining event,” Wong explained. “The Heard Museum is focused on Native American culture.”

The museum’s Spanish Market — Mercado de las Artes — has strolling mariachis and features artwork by 65 Hispanic artists from Arizona and New Mexico. “There’s the Musical Instrument Museum, and venues like the Wrigley Mansion connected to the chewing gum magnate, or you can do an event at Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home.”

Meeting planners can tap into the destination’s Frank Lloyd Wright connection at the Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf-Astoria Resort, which reopened in 2021 following a 15-month renovation.  The 705-room hotel’s acclaimed, nearly 100-year-old architecture and design — by Wright and Albert Chase McArthur — was left intact, with guest rooms treated to a muted motif of earth tones, stucco walls and wood accents.

New F&B options were added, the Paradise Pool area was refreshed, and gold leaf has returned to the historic Gold Room, part of the hotel’s 200,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space, which includes the 24,576-square-foot Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom.

Sheraton Phoenix Downtown is Arizona’s largest hotel. The 1,000-room property, just steps from the Phoenix Convention Center, features over 110,000 sf of flexible meeting space and was at the forefront of the 446-flag Sheraton brand’s $1 billion investment to refresh its guest experience, particularly in public spaces. In the 19,000-sf lobby, a community table encourages guests to mix and mingle as they work and relax.  The hotel’s F&B offering was upgraded with grab-and-go options, rooms have been overhauled, the fitness center received an $850,000 remodel, and the Sheraton Club Lounge has been relocated to the lobby area, and updated.

Straddling both Phoenix and Scottsdale, The Phoenician, part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection, is another property seeing upgrades to its meeting facilities. The resort completed a renovation, allowing Joanie Seehof, a senior program manager with Elevate IME, to call The Phoenician a “very shiny penny,” in anticipation of her five-night incentive program.

“The quality of The Phoenician was a step up from other hotels I looked at,” Seehof explained.  “We looked at a lot of different hotels — The Phoenician is luxury, clean, spacious and located a mile or so from Old Town. The group likes getting off property so the location was important.”

Seehof was in Arizona scouting locations for a Minneapolis-based manufacturing company, with many of the 100 sales reps coming in from the Middle East, Northern Africa and Europe, meaning international airlift would be essential.

“I was looking for sunshine, and the company’s president thought they’d enjoy the U.S. or Caribbean. We felt Scottsdale was a better fit than other cities in Arizona — it’s less city-ish; it feels more southwestern.”

The program will include a welcome dinner, an awards dinner and a tasting tour in downtown Scottsdale.  “We’ll be doing two days of offsite activities, with options including a hot air balloon, a river float, horseback ride, a jeep tour and a dine-around one night, with another night at leisure.”

The Phoenician features more than 160,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space, which are also getting a renovation.  Last summer, the Camelback Ballroom, foyers and the first-floor breakout rooms and hallways were refreshed in a style paying tribute to the native Sonoran culture and history.

The two-phase project will be completed this summer when the interiors of The Phoenician Grand Ballroom and the Estrella Ballroom, as well as upper-level breakout rooms and hallways, receive their facelift.

When considering Phoenix-Scottsdale, planners can look beyond the city core for new and interesting locations. In the neighboring suburb of Tempe, just 10 minutes east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the $125 million Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU opened last year, bringing some of the largest conference and meeting space to Tempe’s revitalized downtown area.

The ADERO Scottsdale Resort, a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, is set high on a ridgeline with sweeping views of the Four Peaks and McDowell Mountain Range. The six-story, 177-room property is decidedly off the beaten path, but offers a retreat-like atmosphere, with 20,151 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space.  The resort can be used as a basecamp for adventurous types, with direct access to private trailheads accessing the desert.

A certified Arizona classic, The Boulders Resort & Spa is equally remote. Debbie Pompa, executive assistant with Genie, a company owned by Terex Corp, a Seattle-based manufacturer of lifting and material-handling equipment, said despite its seclusion the resort is easy to get to.

“It’s 31 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, but once there you really don’t need to leave.” Boasting a true desert setting amid a jumble of ancient giant boulders, the resort has two serene golf courses winding between cacti and adobe-style casitas, where the 220 accommodations are found. Last fall, the company invited 117 to attend a four-day meeting at The Boulders. “When I got onto the property, I was sold,” said Pompa. “It is an amazing, beautiful, almost magical, place.  The rooms are spacious and elegantly decorated in Southwest furnishing, with a fireplace.”

The resort is on 1,300 acres, all beautifully landscaped, added Pompa, who noted that golf was an important component for the gathering, either on-site or within walking distance. The Boulders features 50,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including the 5,600-sf Latilla Ballroom.

The Caesars Republic Scottsdale is set to debut soon, marking the first non-gaming hotel for Caesars Entertainment Corporation in the U.S. The 11-story glass structure will house 265 rooms, a bar and coffee shop, two signature restaurants from Chef Giada De Laurentiis, an elevated pool and restaurant, SEVEN on the seventh floor, and a fitness center. The hotel’s high-end conference center features a 7,000-sf ballroom with customizable LED lighting and cutting-edge sound, internet and AV systems. Sliding glass doors open out onto a 7,000-sf adjacent lawn, suitable for outdoor events for up to 600 people.

For event planners looking to provide their attendees with an elevated experience, Arizona is hot. From sights and sounds, archeological wonders, southern hospitality and cross-cultural amazing eats in unassuming places, it is the perfect backdrop with wide open spaces.  C&IT