The Summit at Big Sky

The Summit at big sky earns its reputation for wildly successful meetings in more ways than one. The surrounding Montana wilderness lends an air of adventure to all proceedings, whether a keynote speech, a banquet, team-building or leadership activities, rounds of golf, skiing down the mountain, or aromatherapy sessions at the spa.

Executive groups appreciate the luxury found at the ten-story Summit at Big Sky, with its Euro- Western style, lock-off features for flexible living arrangements, lounge, gourmet restaurant, banquet rooms, and state-of-the-art conference room and boardroom. Seventeen additional lodging facilities add up to more than 750 accommodations and a wide range of options, from condominiums in the village to luxury cabins in the woods.

Altogether, groups have access to more than 55,000 square feet of event space between the Summit, Mountain Mall, Shoshone Condominium Hotel, Huntley Lodge, Village Center, and Yellowstone Conference Center.

Big Sky welcomes visitors from Thanksgiving to mid-April, then again from June through early October. The two seasons offer distinct opportunities, such as winter skiing on 5,512 acres and 4,350 vertical feet of terrain—all accessible with a single lift ticket, the Biggest Skiing in America Ticket. Golf headlines the summer season thanks to Big Sky’s scenic 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed course. Year-round activities include wildlife encounters either with or without a guide, trout fishing the untamed rivers and streams in the area, and tours of Yellowstone National Park, less than an hour’s drive away. There are no packages available at this time.

Start	End	Rooms	Rate
7/01/10	9/24/10	10-100	$150

Posted Aug 18, 2009 by Elite News Team
Subscribe - RSS Feed BIG SKY, Mont. - August 17, 2009 - The Big Sky sales team received a phone call from the White House a few weeks ago to find out if it was available to host a special unnamed guest the evening of August 14. With the Summit Hotel in mind the team agreed and the work commenced to host the President of the United States and the First Family for a night's rest before exploring Yellowstone National Park.

Unlike many of Big Sky's other 200 meetings it hosts during the year, this opportunity required a level of security never before seen in the Gallatin Valley. For the safety of the Commander in Chief, the resort had to ensure strict compliance not to reveal its mid-summer guest to friends, family and media.

Big Sky Resort worked with the White House staff to plan meals for Barack Obama and his family, including a special evening of s'mores prepared over a fire pit near the Carabiner Lodge for the children in the group. While the First Family relaxed at the Summit, Big Sky Resort was busy simultaneously hosting a wedding reception in the Huntley Lodge and hosting a previously booked large medical conference.

After a good night's rest at base camp, the family moved on mid-morning to experience Yellowstone National Park for the amazing views, abundant wildlife and amazing geothermal features, including Old Faithful.

"We were so honored at the opportunity to host the President and show off Montana's friendly guest service, quality lodging and a variety of mountain activities," said Big Sky General Manager, Taylor Middleton. "I couldn't be more proud of our team in excelling at this historic experience, particularly under the unique secrecy involved."

"There were certainly a lot of moving parts when tasked with hosting the President, but truly, the family experienced Big Sky and all of its charms just as any guest could expect when visiting our area," said Middleton. "But perhaps with fewer Secret Service."

The President's family took part in many of the area's activities including white water rafting on the Gallatin, zip-lining and the scenic lift. As reported, the President used his vacation time in Montana to try out fly-fishing with his Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, who attended the University of Montana. Posted Jan 26, 2009 by Elite News Team
Subscribe - RSS Feed Big Sky Resort Stay and Ski Packages Available With Non-Stop Flights Flights From San Francisco and Los Angeles Make Getting on the Mountain Easy

BIG SKY, MT. " Big Sky Resort is excited to announce a new ski and stay packages for guests traveling on non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) on United Airlines. Now its even easier and more affordable to get away for a weeks ski and snowboard vacation and enjoy the fun, snow and relaxed atmosphere of Big Sky Resort.

Guest flying non-stop from LAX and SFO on Saturday to Saturday routes will receive seven nights of lodging and five days of lift tickets with breakfast, taxes & service fees included beginning at $396.00 based on double occupancy. For those guest looking to ski and stay in the lap of luxury prices begin at $1010.00 for slope-side accommodations and the same seven night package based on double occupancy. Guests must be on the non-stop flights to receive this deal.

Big Skys exciting terrain and abundant snowfall attract skiers and riders from all over the country, said Meg OLeary, Big Sky Resort director of sales and marketing. These amazing packages in conjunction with our non-stop cities make it even easier for those folks to get here and spend less time in the air and more time on the slopes.

To book this package and non-stop airline tickets into Bozeman from San Francisco or Los Angeles, guests may call Big Sky Central Reservations at 1-800-548-4486 and be connected to the air department. Guests may also shop and book lodging and other vacation packages on-line at www.bigskyresort.com.

Gallatin Field Airport will become the only airport in Montana with non-stop service to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Gallatin Field Airport (BZN), near Bozeman is the seventh busiest airport in the Pacific Northwest providing access to Big Sky Resort, 45 miles away. For the 2008-09 winter season Bozemans non-stop service expands to include San Francisco, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, Las Vegas, Detroit and Atlanta.

Big Sky Resort is owned by Boyne Resorts, a Michigan-based corporation and the largest family run four-season resort company in North America. Boyne Resorts owns and/or operates award-winning mountain and golf resorts and attractions throughout the United States and Canada including Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, British Columbia, official freestyle skiing and snowboard venue of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Big Sky Resort in Montana, Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, The Inn at Bay Harbor - A Renaissance Golf Resort and Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark in Michigan, Brighton in Utah, Crystal Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington, Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, Sugarloaf and Sunday River Resort in Maine and Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Tennessee.
### Posted Jan 15, 2009 by Elite News Team
Subscribe - RSS Feed Hotels here straddle both sides of the Continental & Cultural Divide.

Hotel guests looking for a little liquid refreshment will find an outpouring of choices in Great Falls, Montanas third largest city. First of all, they arent kidding about the name. Great Falls lives up to its splashy appellation with three rivers and five scenic waterfalls, the longest 96 feet high, within the city environs.

With a population of 59,000 and an elevation of 3,300 feet, its also the home of Giant Springs, reportedly the largest freshwater spring in the U.S., spewing 388.8 million gallons of water every 24 hours.

However, if youre looking to wet your whistle, the Sip-N-Dip Tiki Lounge at the 72-room, family-owned and -operated OHaire Motor Inn in downtown Great Falls probably boasts the most unusual water feature hereabouts. Cocktail-swilling lounge patrons can ogle mermaids " actually, female swimmers wearing mermaid fins and showing plenty of cleavage " through a glass wall in the adjoining indoor pool. No mermen, though, so the lounge tends to attract a mostly male clientele, according to a woman who answered the phone there.

Ski resorts, hot springs and the spectacular Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, not to mention a wide variety of lodgings, continue to attract hotel chains as well as guests to Big Sky Country.

Last month saw the debut of the Great Falls Hilton Garden Inn, a 118-room property featuring Garden Sleep System beds, 32-inch flat screen TVs and wireless Internet access. Theres also 4,000 square feet of meeting space.

Another Hilton brand, Homewood Suites, will open its first Montana property, a 119-room, upscale extended-stay hotel in Bozeman in September. A 115-room Homewood Suites property is scheduled to open in Kalispell near Glacier National Park in March 2010.

Homewood Suites spokesman Brad Carmony said the brand usually locates near airports and office parks, but the Kalispell franchise was green-lighted because it will attract the tourism, transient segment. Carmony added, Our profitability model is based on people staying five-plus nights, and if there are places in Montana that support that then the brand is totally behind it.

Tourism officials are delighted about Hiltons focus on the state. Probably the newest thing in Montana would be that the Hiltons have come in, says Donnie Sexton of the Montana Office of Tourism.

Not surprisingly for a state that promotes cowboy poets among its cultural offerings, Montana lodgings straddle both sides of the divide. Its a little bit (maybe a lot) country, but theres also plenty of room for luxury and business travelers.

Sexton says that Montanas eastern half is comprised of small communities where the lodgings are primarily mom-and-pop concerns, while the western half tends to feature the larger chain hotels, including the new Hilton properties.

With fewer than a million residents, the state offers plenty of breathing room, general friendliness and a high level of hospitality. Montana offers a range of tried and true, branded hotels in most of the states larger towns and cities, Sexton noted. But what many visitors are most drawn to are the one-of-a-kind hotels, motels, lodges, inns, B&Bs or other downright quirky lodging options.

Sexton added, The reason you come to Montana is to experience the out-of-doors, the small community charm of things. You can be out hiking and exploring, virtually without anyone around you.

Billings - with about 100,000 residents, the largest city in Montana - has Fairfield Inns, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inn and La Quinta properties. A Hilton Garden Inn opened there last year with 128 rooms, an indoor pool, high-speed Internet, and meeting space for up to 240 people.

The 109-room Wingate by Wyndham Billings, which opened in 2007, boasts a 4,500-square-foot convention center and The Reef, a 35,000-square-foot indoor water park with four slides and a wave pool.

Among other major projects in the Montana pipeline, a Hampton Inn and Suites is scheduled for completion in Billings by the end of this month. The Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Grand, and Best Western Clocktower Inn, all located in Billings, have undergone major recent renovations.

Smaller communities feature lodgings under long-time local ownership. They are typically a little bit less expensive, and are close to recreational activity such as horseback riding, biking trails and trout fishing, Sexton said.

Despite its unique attractions and affordable lodgings, the recession hasnt bypassed Montana. In 2007, the most recent year for which figures were available, 10.7 million people visited Montana, spending over $3.1 billion during their stay. However, although more recent figures werent available for comparison, the state has felt the recessions impact.

Lodging in Montana is feeling the effects of a weaker economy similar to the rest of the nation, said Betsy Baumgart, Division Administrator for the Montana Promotion Division of the state Department of Commerce. We began to experience a decline in occupancy beginning in May (2008), which carried through our high summer season clear into October. Baumgart added that room rates are showing some growth, but at a much lower percentage than weve enjoyed in the past.

Smith Travel Research reported that, statewide, Montana lodging revenues (January through October 2008), saw a slight increase of 3.7 percent, which was above the national average of 2.3 percent. However, Smith Travel reported, growth in revenue was a direct result of increased room rates as the statewide increase in supply of 2.3 percent zeroed out the 2.3 percent increase in demand.

But Chad Jones of Big Sky Resort, a ski resort with four hotels, condos and cabins located 18 miles from Yellowstone and 45 miles from Bozeman, took a more optimistic view. Many of our customers find a way to come out here regardless of what is happening.

Continued Jones, As with every industry, the economy has had its impact. However, we are very comfortable with our market share, and judging from the numbers we have heard from other resorts, are doing quite well this season.