CONVENTION SALES & DESTINATION EXPERIENCES

Year-to-Date Highlights & Off-Peak Booking Progress

Following a softer start to the year in terms of conversion and a more cautious outlook from planners, the sales team delivered strong results through end of May with June just over 90% of goal as of mid-month. 

MAY 2026 PRODUCTIVITY (MONTH-END)

Room Nights Booked: 96,427 — 93% of goal, 3% up from last year (vs. 93,727 in 2025)

• Lead Distribution: 730 total leads — 111% of goal, 6% up from last year (vs. 690 in 2025)
• New Bookings: 119 — 102% of goal, 5% up from last year (vs. 113 in 2025)
• New Leads: 378 — 109% of goal, flat to last year (vs. 378 in 2025)

JUNE 2026 PRODUCTIVITY (AS OF JUNE 17) 

Room Nights Booked: 117,951— 94% of YTD goal (vs. 132,480 in 2025)

• Lead Distribution: 846 total leads – 107% of YTD goal (vs. 849 in 2025)
• New Leads: 430 - 103% of YTD goal (vs. 468 in 2025)
• New Bookings: 138 - 99% of YTD goal (vs. 141 in 2025)

Top Regions by End-User: The strongest geographic markets for definite room nights are Southern California, Southeast, and Northern California, which includes a strong mix of intermediary and corporate business. Where as our association markets from the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic have had a softer conversation this year, although they have a strong funnel.

Off-Peak Booking Progress (2026-2029)

As of May month-end, the team has secured off-peak room nights across key need periods:

• May & September: 9,981 room nights 2026: 3,917 | 2027: 3,902 | 2028: 2,162
• Summer: 8,350 room nights 2026: 2,247 | 2027: 5,663 | 2028: 320 | 2029: 120
• October–December: 28,611 room nights 2026: 9,724 | 2027: 9,394 | 2028: 7,424 | 2029: 2,069

Tradeshow & Travel Representation

March - May 2026 Sales Representation Highlights

The team actively promoted Greater Palm Springs at 28 key industry events across the country, including:

East Coast:

• April 22-23: Mid Atlantic Sales Mission
• April 28-30: Sales Mission – New York and New Jersey
• May 6-7: PCMA Business Events Summit Week & Fashion Show and Awards – DC
• May 12 – CVB Reps – Client Event, Richmond
• May 13: Visit CA – Philadelphia
• May 14: Visit CA – Washington DC

Midwest:

• April 14-16: Destination Celebration – Kansas City & Minneapolis
• April 23-24 – Grand Rapids – Summit & Presentation
• May 27-29 – Fraternity Executives Association – Louisville

South:

• April 9-10: MPI North Carolina – Spring Meeting
• May 6: GMID City Spotlight – Charlotte
• May 17-21: ConferenceDirect Annual Partner Meeting – Houston

West:

• March 1-3: Associations West Board Meeting – San Diego
• March 17-19: Associations West Ladies Who Lead – Sacramento
• April 1-3: Prestige Partner Conference – San Diego
• April 1-3: Sports ETA Women’s – Scottsdale
• April 11-15: Associatons West Elevate – Newport Beach
• April 13-17: Ted Conference – Vancouver
• April 14-15: CA Cup – Irvine
• April 20-23: Sports ETA Symposium – Las Vegas
• April 27-29: HelmsBriscoe Annual Partner Meeting – Los Angeles
• May 6-8: MPI WeCon – Pasadena
• May 11-14: Maritz Elevate – Scottsdale
• May 12- 13: Site SoCal – San Diego
• May 12-14: Associations West – Sacramento
• May 17- 19: Smart Meetings – Palm Springs
• May 19-21: Sales Mission – Denver
• May 26-29: IRF Invitational – Scottsdale

Site Inspections & Conversions

Year-to-date through end of May, the Destination Experiences and Sales teams continued to drive qualified in-market engagement and conversion activity, generating measurable group business outcomes:

• 50 in-market site inspections conducted — representing 51,867 room nights
• 27 site inspections converted — totaling 22,757 room nights
• Estimated EIC Business Sales: $20,191,405 — Included in these numbers are three summer programs with a value of 1,763 room nights

Event Highlights

The sales and destination experiences team has had a busy first half of the year hosting various FAMs and client events.

In March we hosted 12 meeting planners for a spring FAM in partnership with Hotel Paseo. The group sited 6 hotels from across the valley and three local experiences, but the highlight of the event was attending the Fashion Show at the Gardens on El Paseo, which was a total runway hit!

In April we partnered with Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Villas and Renaissance Esmeralda Indian Wells to host a post-FAM for HelmsBriscoe associates after their annual program in Los Angeles. We had the opportunity to host 10 meeting planners, which for most was their first time visiting Greater Palm Springs, who were able to experience downtown Palm Springs and various resorts. So far, we have received 4 leads with a value of 2,180 room nights and booked a program for January 2027 with a value of 1,085 room nights.

Additionally, National Sales Sports Manager Emily Heggernes represented us at Sports ETA Symposium in Las Vegas. It was an action packed couple of days with 22 appointments generating 8 leads, including four off-peak season leads for summer 2027 and 2028 with a value of 10,600 room nights. The sports world is all about relationships and great collaboration with Event Rights holders and local venues to align dates, needs, and most importantly, budget. Emily has done a great job pitching our destination for future consideration and growing our sports market, which for the first half of the year is in the top-three producing segments for the team.

We ended April by celebrating Director of Group Sales Anne Marie Mourhess, who received the Industry Partner of the Year Award from Associations West. She is on their board of directors and has served in various committees. She is recognized as one of the top contributing partners.

May was a colorful month, we participated in the PCMA Foundation Fashion Show, Living in Color! Our models were Carlos Pelham, CMP, Managing Director, Meetings & Conferences at American Gas Association and Mary-Kathleen Todd, VP Global Accounts for ConferenceDirect. We partnered with Trina Turk and Mr. Turk for their outfits. Will Trokey, CMP, National Accounts Director on our sales team, joined the clients and cheered our models as they took the spotlight and shined in vibrant colors.

Additionally, during the same week, Will hosted client events in Washington D.C., such as lunch and learns and added a touch of fun (and our Wellness pillar) with an aura reading. We appreciate the support of local hotels that joined us: Sabrina Yakovich from the Palm Springs Convention Center and Whitney Gafford from JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa.

Looking Forward

Looking ahead to the summer, the sales team will represent Greater Palm Springs at 25 industry events in addition to hosting an LGBT Meeting Professionals Association FAM in partnership with Parker Palm Springs in July. We will also be partnering with Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Villas for the LamontCo –Tim Cup Golf tournament.

Convention Sales Dashboards

Below are dashboards showing our year-to-date team production and open tentative leads.