The Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau held its 32nd annual meeting and dinner at the Saratoga Springs City Center in March where the organization highlighted the successes of 2016, reviewed initiatives for 2017 and welcomed new members to its board of directors and Executive Committee.
Successes were listed in the 2016 annual report. It showed that the convention/group business continued to grow throughout 2016. More corporate group, sports and wedding leads and associations signed multi-year contracts again in 2016.
The year saw 627 events hosted, compared to 422 in 2015. Those events resulted in 90,908 room nights, up 11.8 percent from 2015. The estimated economic impact of those figures was $57 million last year, compared to $45 million in 2015.
The report said the group market contributes one in five room nights in Saratoga Springs.
Recognized at the dinner were those elected to serve on the Executive Committee for 2017-18. They are Cindy Hollowood, chairperson, Holiday Inn Saratoga Springs; Thomas Newkirk, immediate past chairperson, Saratoga National Golf Club; AJ Bodden, incoming chairperson, Townsquare Media Group; Marianne Barker, treasurer, Impressions of Saratoga; and Robert Berrey, at-large officer, The Gideon Putnam.