Frequent visitors to Outdoor Retailer Winter and Summer Markets are fully aware how these large industry events have put a strain on the limited amount of Salt Lake City downtown-area hotel space. It’s not hard to understand why.
Since 2006, the year the Salt Palace Convention Center was expanded to accommodate the show, overall attendance at Summer OR has grown 36 percent, from 20,439 in 2006 to 27,830 last summer. And that’s up from about 15,000 people in 1996, when the event moved to Salt Lake City. Exhibitor numbers have gone up from 971 at SM06 to 1,197 at SM13, a 23.3% increase.
During this time, one hotel with 128 rooms has been built close to downtown Salt Lake City. That’s a 7,400:128 attendance-to-room growth ratio. In turn, showgoers are now occupying a significant number of rooms in areas as far away as the airport, West Valley, Sandy and Park City.
Some may argue that show organizers have put too much emphasis on growth, and therefore have created this monster that has outgrown its industry roots (mixed metaphor, notwithstanding). On the other hand, it’s hard to understand how a stagnation or decline in the industry’s marquee event somehow benefits industry contestants. And it would be hard to argue that the recent inclusion of yoga, SUP, fitness, specialty running, sports nutrition and active electronics, among others, have done more harm than good to the outdoor market.
With that in mind, Outdoor Retailer continues to tweak and update the housing policy in an effort to “fairly and equitably fulfill the housing needs of all industry members,” say show organizers. Most notably, and starting for the upcoming Winter Market, the 4,300 or so downtown SLC rooms within OR’s negotiated rate blocks have been organized by priority.
“Alumni” (namely retailers, reps, exhibitors and media that occupied rooms within the negotiated blocks in a downtown hotel at Winter Market 2014) are being provided the right of first refusal to renew their same rooms for Winter Market 2015. Within these alumni, specialty retailers will be given priority, due to their unmatched importance to the health of the event.
“Room count will also be asked as a request, but there are no guarantees on expansions for your company within the limited downtown hotels,” say show organizers.
Exhibitors that held rooms within the official OR Housing Block for Winter Market 2014 and have a contract submitted for Winter Market 2015 are being automatically rolled over for the same rooms they had last year and should have received information about their rooms. Retailers, independent reps and media that stayed downtown for Winter Market 2014 also were sent an email to request housing for Winter Market 2015.
Reps that stayed downtown in 2014, but were booked through an exhibiting company should confirm their housing with that company.
For all show participants that were not part of the 2014 Winter Market block, general housing will open as soon as October 27. Outdoor Retailer expects that approximately 20 percent of downtown hotel guests will not re-book for Winter Market 2015, so downtown rooms will be available, even though in short supply.
As another option, attendees can book through Travel Planners (OR’s official housing partner) at Outdoor Retailer negotiated rates within its official housing block. These hotels will be outside of the immediate downtown area but are served by complimentary daily transportation provided to and from the show throughout the day and evening. Others are situated on SLC’s expanded TRAX lines. A link will be available the week of October 27 and disseminated to those registered for the show. Attendees also can ask to be placed on the wait list for downtown housing through Travel Planners at 800-221-3531.
Hotels that are not part of Outdoor Retailer’s block and negotiated rates also can be accessed through Travel Planners online exchange: Quikbook.com. Outdoor Retailer also is quick to remind attendees about alternate housing opportunities outside of downtown and the outer-lying hotels, such as a
Host Housing program that opens local apartments to show attendees, as well as Airbnb and VRBO.
Ultimately, says Kate Lowery, PR director for Outdoor Retailer, there are enough options in the greater Salt Lake Area, with sufficient transportation option, to accommodate OR shows. “It might be challenging to get exactly what you want, and it might take a few more steps to book a room, but there is a place for you at OR,” she says.
And for those who shout that OR has outgrown SLC, take it from the staff at IO, which travels to several industry events in numerous large cities every year: over-crowded hotels, long cab lines and waits at restaurants are part of conventioneer travel to any city at any given time. In many cities with large conventions centers, hotels in walking distance are few or non-existent, and urban layouts can be unfriendly to pedestrians. What’s more, in large cities OR will not get the special treatment or carry as much weight as it does in SLC, effectively becoming just another small fish in a large pond.
In other words, in the words of the Grateful Dead, “the grass ain’t greener, the wine ain’t sweeter, on either side of hill.”
