by Kris Strauss
Very good points and suggestions made by Bill Bowman. Certainly event/group planners are in for a real treat right now, in that now more then ever Las Vegas is a value again. The Las Vegas clubs we are involved in (Aliante, Angel Park, & Legacy) are certainly seeing the trend of value driven group/tournament packages and are recoginizing that trend (and embracing it). For example, transportation is sometimes an issue (ie how do I get the group from the meeting to the course). These courses went out an bought a motorcoach and shuttle and now offer complimentary transportation for groups/tournaments. Again, that is just one example of why Vegas is now more is a great value and why Vegas is a great destination to tie golf into your business.
Convention exhibitors take notice...another reason why it is important to include golf in your itinerary is that if you are exhibiting at a show, you can get your prospects off the tradeshow floor (ie away from your competitors)...and with you for four hours! All the while developing one to one relationships with them on the course. Unless you are "club thrower" this WILL drive more prospects/sales/biz to you!
Also consider scheduling morning meetings and afternoon golf. That way you can still have a productive day and get in a round, (plus you can probably take advantage of lower golf rates in the pm time periods).
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Vegas!