Are hotels catering more to business events at the expense of the paying guest?

Did you recently go for a relaxing weekend to a hotel and had your head ringing with the deafening beats of an all night party? Dreaming of relaxing at the hotel spa were you disappointed at being turned away, since it was busy with a corporate team building activity. Then you remain one of the many loosing out the charms of leisure travel due to the upsurge in Business travel.
That guests have often shared kind of annoyance at being shut out denied the use of a hotel facility because of a private event. As business travel continues to pick up, resorts, spas and even bed-and-breakfasts, the traditional domains of leisure travelers are increasingly booking corporate retreats and private parties that may tie up prime spaces.
Group business, including meetings and conventions, accounted for 33 percent of rooms occupied at resorts in the United States last year, up from 22 percent in 2003, according to PKF Consulting. Part of the reason is that groups, which fill numerous rooms and consume cookie-cutter catered meals, are generally more profitable than regular vacationers are.
Resort managers say they try to diminish clashes between groups and other guests by steering events to the off-season, when there are few other guests, or to times outside the peak operating hours for spas, restaurants and pools. However, often, guests must settle for substitutes that are after all not the same thing. If the spa is closed to guests, for example, Hotel Gansevoort offers treatments in rooms or in the rooftop cabana. The Viceroy Santa Monica sets up a hospitality suite for guests if a large event prevents them from using certain portions of the hotel.
There is little guests can do to avoid group business events. One saving grace could be to get as much information as possible ahead of booking there trip so that you can avoid the group. Even then if you land at a hotel where you are shut out from the pool or a hot hotel bar because of an event, make your displeasure known to the general manager may harvest some compensation for the inconvenience. Or just choose the last exclusive bed and breakfast retreats.
Source: The New York Times