FOUR SEASONS RESORT AT TROON VILLAGE BOOKING CONVENTIONS

Source: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts/Phoenix Business Journal

July 27, 1999
The Four Seasons Resort, under construction at Troon Village in north Scottsdale, has booked 20 meetings there for next year, expected to bring in $3 million, according to Greg Hanss, director of marketing.

While the Four Seasons has a loyal following of leisure travelers, Hanss said the convention and meeting business will represent 60 percent of its overall sales the first year and about 50 percent thereafter.

The first phase of the property -- 40 of the 200 rooms -- will be complete in several weeks. The rest of the hotel is on schedule for a mid-December opening, Hanss said. Included in the resort's inventory will be luxury timeshare units of the same quality Four Seasons offers at its Aviara in Carlsbad, Calif.

He said the Four Seasons is bringing new convention business to the Valley as opposed to taking it away from existing resorts. Many of the conventions it's scheduling have met at Four Seasons properties in the past.

This is the Toronto-based company's entrance into the Arizona market.

And it's good timing. Convention bookings in the Valley are at an all-time high and continue to rise, according to the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Overall, there were 513 convention bookings in the Valley from 1998 through May of 1999, bureau statistics report. There were 297,697 attendees, representing 347,238 room nights. Last year's bookings will result in an economic impact of $300 million.

Among Four Seasons' 2000 bookings are:

New York-based Avon Products Inc. worldwide management conference, scheduled for March 12 through 17.

Attendees are booking a total of 556 room nights representing $300,000 in revenue.

Atlanta-based Invesco Inc.'s global partners will meet from May 18 through 21, representing a total of 586 room nights and bringing in $260,000 in revenue.

Convention & Incentive Services /Colonial from Australia has booked 1,230 room nights from May 29 through June 4, generating $715,000 in revenue.

The Phoenix office of Arthur Andersen has booked the resort from Sept. 6 through 10 for a total of 538 room nights representing $250,000.

Four Seasons website is located at http://www.fshr.com