New Developments and the Benefits of Off-Season Meetings in Greater Palm Springs
In this Meetings Today podcast, destinations content manager Taylor Smith sits down with Carolina Viazcan, vice president of sales at Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Colleen Pace, chief sales and marketing officer at Visit Greater Palm Springs, to talk about what's new in Greater Palm Springs, from air service updates, new and renovated properties and more, and to learn little bit about the benefits of booking during Greater Palm Springs' off-calendar season.
[Related: The Latest Meeting and Event News to Know in Greater Palm Springs]
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This podcast was created in collaboration with Visit Greater Palm Springs.
Transcript:
Editors note: The following transcription was facilitated by AI program Otter.ai and proofed by our editors. Although it is very accurate, there inevitably will be some mistakes, so please consider that when reading. Thank you.
Taylor Smith
Hello and welcome to this Meetings Today podcast. I'm Taylor Smith, destinations content manager at Meetings Today, and I'm here today with Carolina Viazcan, vice president of sales at Visit Greater Palm Springs, and Colleen Pace, chief sales and marketing officer at Visit Greater Palm Springs, who are going to fill us in on what's new in Greater Palm Springs, from air service updates, new and renovated properties and more. And tell us a little bit about the benefits of booking during Greater Palm Springs' off-calendar season. I know I'm excited to learn more today. Thank you both for joining me for this podcast, Carolina and Colleen.
Colleen Pace
Thank you, Taylor. Great to be here.
Carolina Viazcan
Yes, Taylor, thank you so much for having us on today.
Taylor Smith
Of course. So, let's start with what's new. I'm sure our listeners will be super excited to hear about the new air service updates in Greater Palm Springs. Colleen, can you tell us more about those updates and the new routes you've added?
Colleen Pace
Absolutely. We are absolutely thrilled about the continued expansion of our air service to Palm Springs International Airport. This month we have some exciting new nonstop flights that will be starting from Newark and Charlotte. We also recently welcomed new routes from Austin, Chicago and Santa Rosa in October and November.
And for the second year, we have a flight from Washington, D.C., which starts again December 18, which opens up even greater access for our East Coast meeting planners and travelers.
Combining this with our existing nonstops, we have over 30 nonstop routes into Greater Palm Springs, including Canadian cities. And so, we're super excited to continue to grow air service and visitation to our destination.
Taylor Smith
And people will also have the opportunity to stay in even more new places, too, once they fly there. So, kind of continuing on this “what's new path,” Colleen, what updates and renovations are underway at hotels and resorts in Greater Palm Springs? Which properties should planners really be keeping their eyes on right now?
Colleen Pace
There's so much happening. We're always evolving here in Greater Palm Springs, and we've done some really exciting renovations over the past couple of years. But a few things that I'll highlight that are recent, some of our most iconic properties offering some upgraded amenities, meeting spaces, dining accommodations.
So, one I'd love to highlight is the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. It just completed a renovation with a redesigned lobby, meeting space that's inspired by our desert landscape. It also features a new gastropub restaurant, new Topgolf Swing Suites and state-of-the-art pickleball courses, so lots of new things happening at the Renaissance.
We also have the Parker Palm Springs—which is part of the Leading Hotels of the World, which is an elite group of hotels—expanding their leisure sports offering. They have added padel courts, which is a new trend, bringing this new trend, which is kind of a relaxed take on tennis, to Palm Springs, and these are the first courts in our destination, so very exciting.
As well as, they have just built a new outdoor amphitheater for intimate gatherings, performances and demonstrations, so that's another really exciting enhancement to one of our iconic resorts.
The La Quinta Resort and Club is entering, in 2026, its celebration of 100 years of being opened. It's one of the destination's most storied and iconic Hollywood hideaways.
So with that, they have refreshed guest rooms; they have a new revitalized lobby, enhanced landscaping, pools, public spaces that really enhance the mountain views and expanded dining offerings. So that is something that we're really excited to celebrate during their 100-year anniversary in 2026.
And then also in 2026, the Riviera [Resort & Spa] Palm Springs, which is one of our iconic properties, is returning with a new vision and a restoration bringing it back to its Mid-Century Modern sort of Hollywood theme. As you may recall, it hosted performances by the Rat Pack and people like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. So, it's definitely one of our most storied and iconic locations, and that will be going through a renovation starting later in 2026, but that will include reimagined guest rooms, suites, dining spaces with a Mid-Century Modern design, so that is super exciting.
And then lastly, we have the Palm Springs Convention Center, which is entering an exciting new chapter with $125 million modernization. This project is led by the City of Palm Springs and will be completed by 2030. A lot of enhancements that will happen to technology, interiors, outdoor meeting space, creating shade, walkways, wayfinding, public art. So, by 2030 it's really going to be this new iconic destination for the convention center, which a lot of people don't realize that Greater Palm Springs has a convention center, so that's just something to remind people as well.
Taylor Smith
Very exciting. I mean, the business offerings are just booming in Greater Palm Springs right now. And it sounds like the leisure side is kind of taking up, you know, adding those pickleball and paddle courts, too.
And we know it's all about bleisure right now. That's the buzzword is bleisure, bleisure, bleisure. So, Colleen, what new attractions and activities are there for groups to enjoy in Greater Palm Springs once they do get outside the convention center?
Colleen Pace
Oh, there's so many things. I mean, we're known for health and wellness, outdoor adventure. We have some of the most beautiful, iconic hiking that you can do here. Mid-Century Modern architecture is something we're known for, so tours that you can take to see all of these iconic locations within the destination.
But something that's really kind of fun and interesting is, we've seen surfing in the desert be a trend that's been happening, replicating the perfect wave of the ocean, but without the sharks included. So, we had the Palm Springs Surf Club open this year, which is a very unique experience. It has the surfing but also great dining options, meeting and event space options for offsite events.
And then in 2026 we have another surf club opening. It's called Desert Surf. So, this complex will eventually include a hotel and some luxury villas, also a lagoon, cabanas, food and beverage offerings, event space. So, really exciting that the surf trend is taking off in Greater Palm Springs.
And then lastly, we just had opened the historic Plaza Theatre, which originally opened in 1936. It just completed a $30 million historic restoration. The grand opening just happened on December 1 with the debut featuring Cynthia Erivo, which was wonderful. So, this is where people can go enjoy live performances, classic films and unforgettable cultural experiences.
Taylor Smith
That all sounds so fun. I'm a huge Wicked fan, so Cynthia Erivo...
Colleen Pace
Yeah, it was. She was. She was incredible.
And one other thing I wanted to mention, you know, Greater Palm Springs is known as an iconic golf destination. We have over 100 golf courses in Greater Palm Springs, which we’re sometimes referred to as the Golf Capital of the World.
There is a newly renovated course at the Indian Wells Golf Resort—$13 million redesigned Players Course. The architect was John Fought, and this course is another way people can really enjoy either on the leisure side, pre- and post-group, or during golf tournaments that might be scheduled for their group events or conferences. It also has beautiful event space set between two of our iconic resorts, one we talked about, the Renaissance Esmeralda, and also the Grand Hyatt [Indian Wells] Resort & Villas. So, another great way to enjoy the destination.
Taylor Smith
And all that golf is going to work up an appetite! Undoubtedly so, right? So, Carolina, can you tell us a little bit about the group dining scene in Greater Palm Springs? Are there any new restaurants in the area that planners and attendees should try?
Carolina Viazcan
Absolutely, Taylor. Our dining scene continues to flourish. Bar Cecil, which is one of our most sought-after reservations, offers elevated comfort food with a Palm Springs flair. You have Tac/Quila in downtown Palm Springs, which brings out bold Mexican flavors with a modern twist, while we also have Eight4Nine [Restaurant & Lounge] and Workshop Kitchen & Bar, Melvyn’s [at the Ingleside Estate]. Each are very distinctive atmospheres with great group offerings for events with wonderful private spaces and delightful menus.
We're also seeing an uptick of hotels featuring destination-worthy restaurants, creating it very convenient for all of the guests to be able to experience something onsite, such as at The Thompson Palm Springs, Bar Issi just opened. It has quickly become one of our local favorite hot spots, and it's actually just right next door to Lip Lab, which just opened, so you can do a little shopping between that.
Beaton's is a new concept that's created by the team behind Bar Cecil, which is expanding one of our Michelin-recommended restaurants. It offers elevated comfort dishes, art-centric design and really warm hospitality. So, just another great place to be able to check out.
Taylor Smith
Switching gears a little bit, I'd like to chat a little bit about the benefits of booking meetings during the offseason in Greater Palm Springs. Carolina, what are some of those pros to booking in the offseason for groups?
Carolina Viazcan
Yeah, absolutely. That's my favorite time of year because during these off-peak months—typically summer and early fall—our planners can find some exceptional value and availability. There are a lot more attractive rates and concessions. It also allows them into some of the unique venue opportunities that maybe during high season are compressed.
[There’s] a lot more flexibility, as I mentioned, with meeting space, so for those groups that need those extra breakouts, it's a great time of year. It's a perfect 72 degrees inside the ballroom, so you can make it any temperature you like indoors. Plus, in the evenings, it's still a perfect time to be able to have outdoor receptions, poolside dinners, stargazing events. And during this time, obviously, we have a lot of great incentives from our hospitality partners to take advantage of as well that make it very perfect to come out during that time frame.
Taylor Smith
Yes. And I'd love to learn more about the “Meeting Oasis” incentive at Visit Greater Palm Springs. Can you elaborate on that and tell planners and our listeners today a little bit more about that incentive?
Carolina Viazcan
Of course! Our “Meeting Oasis” incentive is one of our most popular programs. We offer financial support for groups that are looking to come during that off-peak seasonality with rebates up to $6 per room night. Plus, it really just makes them more cost effective for groups, and as I previously mentioned, pairing that up with offers from the hotels makes it even better.
Beyond the financial benefit of booking a program during the offseason and taking advantage of our “Meeting Oasis” incentive, our destination experience team is here to support our planners from site selection to local known favorites, to be able to just make sure that they deliver a wonderful experience and seamless event.
Taylor Smith
Well, Colleen and Carolina, those are all my questions for you today. But is there anything else our listeners should know about Greater Palm Springs before we sign off?
Carolina Viazcan
Yeah. If I may add, I would say that we're just—we're much more than a meeting destination. It's really...Attendees, when they're here, they can feel inspired. The setting allows them to create meaningful connections and have productive meetings.
So, for any type of meeting, retreat, national conference, incentive, I think we're the perfect destination to bring people together and wonderful ideas.
Colleen Pace
I'll just add that, you know, our tagline is, “Find your meeting oasis here,” and that sort of echoes what Carolina just mentioned. But also, what we hear from planners time and time again is that their attendance is strong when they book meetings in Greater Palm Springs, and so not only are they getting all the benefits of the beautiful setting and weather and inspiration, but they also will have strong attendance for their events, which is great. It's a win-win.
Taylor Smith
Yep. It's a destination that people want to get to and want to experience for themselves. Thank you both so much for joining me today. This was a great conversation. I appreciate your insights, and I know our listeners will, too.
Colleen Pace
Absolutely.
Carolina Viazcan
Thanks, Taylor.
Colleen Pace
Thank you, Taylor.
Taylor Smith
That was Carolina Viazcan, vice president of sales, and Colleen Pace, chief sales and marketing officer, at Visit Greater Palm Springs.
Once again, I'm Taylor Smith, destinations content manager at Meetings Today. Thank you for tuning into this Meetings Today podcast. And if you'd like to listen to more, visit MeetingsToday.com/Podcasts. Until next time!
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This podcast was created in collaboration with Visit Greater Palm Springs.
