Palm Springs Reinvents Itself for Meeting Planners

With $180 million in recent hotel renovations, as well as a $32.34 million refurbishment of its convention center, Palm Springs is now at the forefront of meeting events.

It doesn’t take much to entice people to Palm Springs. This desert oasis of just 50,000 people is such an intimate, private, and fun-filled experience that Hollywood stars have been calling the town their second home since the 1930s. With one of the world’s largest caches of restored Mid-Century architectural masterpieces, stunning 10,000-foot mountain peaks (dusted with snow in winter) looming above hundreds of swimming pools, and natural wonders like Joshua Tree National Park just a short drive away, Palm Springs has kept its reputation as one of the most famous desert hideaways on Earth.

Though you feel planets away from the rest of the world, Palm Springs is only two hours’ drive from Los Angeles, and easily drivable from San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. The town’s gorgeous open-air airport is served by 100-plus daily flights from the U.S. and Canada, so it’s no wonder this Southern Californian gem consistently attracts travelers and business people the world over to its 360 days of sunshine a year.

Why meeting planners have overlooked Palm Springs in the past is a mystery, and one that the city has been determined to change. In the fall of 2005, the stunning Palm Springs Convention Center reopened after a massive $32.34 million expansion. The facility now offers a whopping 261,000 square feet of meeting space, including 112,000 square feet of exhibit space and 19 breakout rooms of various sizes. “It’s really like having a completely new building to work with,” explains Jim Dunn, General Manager of the Palm Springs Convention Center.

The brainchild of visionary architect Michael Winters, the revised convention center is nothing less than a work of art. Winters spent time hiking and taking photographs in Palm Springs’ Indian canyons and desert landscapes, and organically integrated the colors, textures, and shapes he found into the building. “The irregular ridgeline of our mountains is reflected in the sloping roofs of the center, and even the carpet colors and design were based on a photograph Michael took of windblown sand in the desert,” reveals Dunn. “The building’s waterfall is made up of actual giant boulders from the surrounding area. But the references are artistic and subtle, not some kind of a desert Disneyland look.”

The scale of the building also reflects the spaciousness of the Californian desert: The building’s impressive 20,000 square-foot ballroom is big enough to park a jet inside. When the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association gathered 12,800 of their members in Palm Springs in 2006, they instead parked over 100 historic airplanes on the streets surrounding the convention center. The crafts, mostly from World War II, were taxied in from the Palm Springs Airport down city streets in a “parade of planes.” The group hosted a full-fledge ‘40s-themed party at the Palm Springs Air Museum, adjacent to the Palm Springs International Airport’s tarmac. (The airport is less than two miles from the convention center and downtown Palm Springs.) “The whole city was like a festival ground,” recounts Dunn.

Other high-profile events at the convention center have included the world-famous Modernism Week, now a major 10-day event in celebration of the city’s cache of restored Mid-Century gems. And who can forget the 2010 star-studded Palm Springs Film Festival and Mariah Carey’s now famous speech broadcast around the world and given from the podium of the convention center’s ballroom? Also in attendance at the festival were Hollywood bigwigs like Quentin Tarantino, Morgan Freeman, Jeff Bridges, Helen Mirren, and Clint Eastwood.

Most events at the convention center easily spill over into the surrounding hotels in and around Palm Springs’ historic downtown, which is lined with art galleries, unique boutiques, and trendy open-air restaurants. Over 2,000 rooms are within walking distance of the convention center, making it ideal for large meetings. The city’s tourism board recently launched its “Better, Bolder, Beautiful” campaign to court meeting planners by showcasing Palm Springs’ hotel and convention center renovations – they even launched a new meeting planner web site, www.VisitPalmSpringsCC.com.

A whopping $180 million-dollar investment has happened nearly simultaneously to many of the city’s 100+ lodgings, a rarity in the resort world. These transformed properties include the 410-room Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel (formerly Wyndham), which actually adjoins the convention center itself. If you haven’t seen this property in awhile, it’s time to revisit with its brand-new $20 million dollar renovation featuring 30,000 square feet of remodeled meeting space, new guestrooms, new pool area, and an enormous new lobby with a new restaurant and lounge. Business-minded touches like communal tables, TV screens, and laptop plug-ins in the lobby space, and fire pits and outdoor dining by the pool, has made the Renaissance a true hub of conference activity.

“The complete redo of the property and the rebranding to the Renaissance really was the last piece of the puzzle to get Palm Springs on the meetings map,” explains Linda Cahue, Director of Sales & Marketing for the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel. “The new convention center looked terrific, but because of the condition of the old Wyndham, it became a no-go for meetings planners. That affected all the hotels in the area, who all lost business. Now we are selling a totally new and renovated conference product.”

Nearby, the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs also recently finished a $15 million renovation to its 197 all-suite, terraced property in 2009. It now offers 13,000 square feet of new meeting space, a new lobby area, new pool deck with luxury cabanas, and a new restaurant and lounge. Also in pedestrian-friendly downtown, the cool and minimalist Hotel Zoso renovated its lobby, restaurant, and exterior, not to mention its entire lower level that serves as a private meeting space, all in early 2010. And one of the flagship Palm Springs’ properties, the famous Riviera Resort & Spa (once the hangout of Sinatra and the Rat Pack), reopened in late 2008 with a stellar $70 million renovation. The modern Riviera features over 30,000 square feet of indoor space and nearly 10,000 square feet of outdoor event space.

Of the new breed of Palm Springs hipster hangouts, the innovative Ace Hotel & Swim Club is housed in a former Howard Johnson Inn that experienced a $25 million complete overhaul in 2009. It’s now the main attraction for trendy artists and Hollywood types from L.A. who come to lounge by the pool listening to live bands. Not far from the Ace, the Holiday Inn Resort (with 10,000 square feet of meeting space) enjoyed a $20 million dollar renovation in 2007.

“It’s rare for so many properties to renovate all at the same time. But the pricing at the hotels and convention center is very competitive, making Palm Springs even more affordable. It doesn’t even feel the same as it did even a couple years ago,” sums up Dunn. “The face of the entire destination has changed.”


ESSENTIAL TOOL BOX

Convention Centers & Facilities

Palm Springs Convention Center (261,000 square feet including 112,000 square feet of exhibit space, 19 breakout rooms, a 20,000 square-foot grand ballroom, and 18,000 square-foot lobby/pre-function space with stunning mountain views )

FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.VisitPalmSpringsCC.com
800-333-7535