(Sunriver Event Spaces | Photos courtesy of Sunriver Resort)
Central Oregon is a beautiful destination, nearly every day of the year. Four distinct seasons add a certain charm to the region; a charm that is only compounded by the vast amount of outdoor recreation and high-quality amenities. Every month out of the year, Bend and the surrounding communities have teams from companies and nonprofits across a host of different industries fly and bus their way in to meet with one another, motivate each other, bond as teammates and plan for success all while enjoying everything Central Oregon has to offer.
In terms of what actual meetings and events bring companies to the region, JoAnna Eisler, the business development manager at Visit Central Oregon says that a wide variety of factors like budget, group size and the overall mission or goal of the event.
“Large conferences and conventions take place in resorts equipped to accommodate guest rooms and conference needs, such as Tetherow Resort, Sunriver Resort and the Riverhouse on the Deschutes,” Eisler said. “Executive-level meetings that have the appropriate attendee size and budgets gravitate towards resort options like Black Butte Ranch, Brasada and Juniper Preserve for their unique experiences and views. Government and corporate meetings and training sessions typically select urban hotels, like SCP Redmond, Campfire Hotel and branded hotels by Marriott and Hilton due to their walkability to dining and retail, value offerings and budget accommodations.”
According to a variety of venues, there have been some recent trends that have been affecting the meeting and event industry. One of the main trends is connected to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting shutdowns: the accommodation of remote and hybrid workers.
Eisler said that in the near future, “venues that have technology that allows for organizers to engage their virtual attendees will have an advantage.”
Jennifer Geer, the sales and events manager at Tetherow Resort, shed some light on this remote trend, “Hybrid is still a staple in most of our meetings, in some capacity. It has made it easier for our groups to connect to guest speakers and other offices that are not attending their events, creating a better connection within their teams.
Over at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes, home of Bend’s largest single convention center at around 41,000 square feet, sales coordinator Amanda Miller said that they are feeling the effects of this trend.
“We have recently seen a drop in the larger groups attending in person and a hybrid meeting format taking place instead,” said Miller. “When before we would have large events with over 1,000 vendors and guests, we have now seen events at about 75 percent of that capacity. We are feeling the effects of the bigger groups the most because they usually come book with us annually.”
Even for something like a company holiday party, Miller said “most years we would have Friday, Saturday and some Sundays booked for parties. We now find most of our companies have remote workers who don’t really want to or can’t participate, which leads to less bookings with us.”
Another notable trend among Central Oregon’s meeting and event industry can be seen in how companies and employees are spending their time. Among many meetings and events held across Central Oregon, attendees are having a vast array of unique experiences, from enjoying Bend’s amenities and outdoor recreation to eco-based tourism and volunteer work.
The director of sales and marketing at Sunriver Resort, Lindsay Borkowski, said that, “Recent groups have focused on collaboration and comradery inside and outside the meeting room. We see it all, from extreme sports outings, pickleball and improv classes to a relaxing sound bath experience, groups find something that will inspire everyone. Many group planners have also been making sure to include personal time in the agenda each day for DIY networking and impromptu adventures.”
At Sunriver Resort and similar venues, Borkowski says trends like utilizing outdoor space for casual meetings, ending corporate dinners with more personal fireside chats and team-building events that ground attendees in something uniquely local, like exploring the Lava River Cave, have all been seen in recent years.
This is echoed at Tetherow Resort, where Geers has noticed an increase in attendees shifting their focus towards elevated experiences that have an emphasis on celebrating local, “Our groups want to ski and golf in the same trip, during their annual offsites. One fun activity that we have added recently is cocktail classes, where our attendees are led through three hand-crafted cocktails, getting to learn about the spirits and how to make them at home. Another request is custom menus; focusing on high quality, local ingredients.”
Additionally, Borkowski said that groups have gravitated more towards a concept called “Voluntourism,” which is a style of tourism that is heavily based around spending free time doing environmental and community-enriching volunteer activities.
The trend of elevated local experiences outside of the meeting rooms has been noticed across the board. According to Eisler and VCO, “Meeting organizers are making sure to have organized time outside of the meeting space, too, often opting for excursions that take attendees to cultural and historical sites,” she said. “Organizers are also looking for moments that make great reels and videos for their attendees so that their events are distinctive, such as Dark Sky outings and lava cave tours.”
As a whole, trends like hybrid meetings and elevated experiences have an effect on the overall Central Oregon economy, due to how significant the local meeting and event industry is. At Tetherow, Geer said, “Destination groups are integral to the tourism industry in Central Oregon. Without group business, the regional economy would suffer. Central Oregon absolutely depends on business tourism.”
This is echoed by Eisler at VCO, who said, “One way the convention and meetings industry contributes to our local economy is by providing base business to our hotels and resorts. Having contracted business on the books allows lodges to accurately forecast, maximize revenue and create year-round employment for staff. Additionally, tourism dollars generated by meetings and events spill beyond the host venue.”
An example of this would be the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. As the largest meeting space in Central Oregon, this venue brings in significant amounts of business to the local Redmond area hotels, restaurants, bars, art galleries, local shops and more. All across Central Oregon and especially in Bend, meetings and events help fuel the local economy and are an integral part of the local tourism industry, helping create a host of seasonal and year-round jobs.
Looking to what trends might be big in the next five or ten years, Eisler said that man organizers will be looking for venues that fit their organization’s values and mission, considering factors like sustainability, Diversity Equity Inclusion and social responsibility efforts taken by the venue, “Meeting planners want to know they are sending their attendees to an event where all will feel a sense of belonging,” she said.
Aside from matching a venue’s values, Eisler and Borkowski both made note of new types of ethical tourism that are seeing more popularity, “The desire for regenerative travel, meaning visiting a place in a way that allows the destinations to heal, while counterbalancing the social, economic and environmental impacts of tourism, will continue to be a focus in the next five to ten years,” Eisler said. “Destinations will continue to develop farm-to-table menu offerings, net-zero venues, adequate electric vehicle charging stations and voluntourism opportunities.”
In terms of both reacting to the remote and hybrid worker trend and keeping up with new and emerging technologies, Eisler said, “Expect to see early adopters of the metaverse and gamification have success in offering truly immersive virtual opportunities that are attractive to meeting and convention organizers.”
While times are changing and the way groups meet are changing, the meeting and event industry in Central Oregon isn’t going anywhere soon. In the coming years, new technology will likely continue to shape the way attendees interact with one another, and the question going forward is how venues in the region will react to and utilize new technology and ever-changing trends.
