Forrest Hills Resort Completes $500,000 Renovation Effort, Sees 11% Increase in Atlanta Area Bookings since Start of Year
Monday, July 28th, 2008Media Contact:
Anne Wainscott-Sargent
For Forrest Hills Resort
678.352.0009
awpr@bellsouth.net
For Immediate Release:
Resort Targets Teambuilding and Executive Retreats, Reports Increase in Metro Atlanta Group Bookings as Companies Stay Local
DAHLONEGA, Ga. – July 28, 2008 – Forrest Hills Resort, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, announced completion of a half-a-million-dollar renovation effort on the property that will help the resort target more corporate meeting groups and visitors to its recently opened Anidawehi Plantation Wellness Center.
To date, the Resort has renewed 10 of its luxury cottages and two-thirds of its lodges, including the Mt. Laurel Inn, preferred accommodations for the resort’s small corporate conferencing groups and wellness center guests. Forrest Hills also has tripled the capacity of its high-speed Internet access on the property, with installation of 30,000 feet of fiber optic cable to provide WiFi connections in all the lodges and key facilities.
Landscaping improvements include removing 10,000 fallen pine trees, replacing them with 600 flowering trees, and planting an additional 1,000 plants on the property. This spring, the Resort, which has a 60 percent guest return rate, began its Tree Planting Program to honor guests who have returned to the facility for a decade or more. In May 2008 it opened Anidawehi Plantation, a holistic wellness center and full-service spa focusing on sustainable healing programs. The resort also has strived to reflect the Native American and gold-mining history of the area throughout the property.
“These improvements will make Forrest Hills more attractive and functional as we look to accelerate our marketing to the corporate event market,” says Keith Roberson, Forrest Hills Resort managing director and head of the Results-Based Conferencing Division.
The improvements come at a time when metro Atlanta businesses are looking at more local venues to hold meetings, to save money in a downturned economy and to limit employee travel due to higher fuel costs.
According to Roberson, higher gasoline prices in the early 1980s had a significant positive impact on the growth of the Resort as guests chose to stay closer to home.
“In the first six months of the year, we have seen an 11 percent increase in the number of Atlanta area visitors to the resort compared with last year,” says Roberson, adding that the Resort has booked four meeting groups from metro Atlanta in the last three weeks.
Forrest Hills Resort launched its Results-Based Conferencing Division in 2008 to target corporate meeting groups. The Resort is marketing its ability to create a controlled meeting environment, while offering multi-faceted conference services including teambuilding, transcription, facilitation, menu planning, golf, and other activities, as well as integrating corporate wellness programs into the teambuilding approach.
According to Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading hospitality management company, in its annual listing of Top 10 Meeting Trends, the desire for more productive, all-inclusive meeting experiences with no hidden costs has intensified, as has interest in getting more value for the meeting dollar. Teambuilding activities as part of a meeting are more popular than ever. These initiatives are now often driven by the destination and the preference is for outdoor, physical activities.
About Forrest Hills Resort
Forrest Hills Resort, founded in 1978 in Dahlonega, Georgia, been rated as one of the top 100 privately-owned resorts for 10 of its 30 years in existence by Lodging and Hospitality Magazine, and boosts an impressive 60 percent average guest return rate. The resort hosts 150 weddings a year, and also serves as an executive retreat and team-building venue. The resort has 111 rooms, including 32 cabins, four group lodges and 12 bi-level luxury suites. Wireless Internet is available, as well as spa services through the newly opened Anidawehi Plantation Wellness Center. Other amenities include a fitness center, a three-mile jogging/biking trail, hiking, a sand volleyball court, and horseback riding. For more information, visit www.forresthillsresort.com or the Results-Based Conferencing Division site at: www.resultsbasedconferencing.com or call (770) 534.3244.
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Management consulting and training veteran Leigh Ann Johnston has joined Forrest Hills as Director of the Resort’s Results-based Conferencing Division. She leads the resort’s corporate group sales strategy efforts and represents Forrest Hills with key meeting planning groups and in the business community.
Also joining the conferencing division is Jeffrey Kraft as Group Sales Director, who will play a key role in helping Forrest Hills target and market effectively to corporate groups. Kraft has served in various operational roles at Forrest Hills Resort for the past five years. He will complete his B.B.S. in Business Management from North Georgia College and State University this summer. His studies have focused on organizational change, where Kraft has played a key role on a collaborative project with 24 non-profit organizations. His team’s data will enable the non-profits to better operate their respective organizations.