While casino resorts aren’t always known for celebrating local culture and the natural environment, Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino places a lot of emphasis on both. At the same time, the 1,100-room property in the forested mountains of Cherokee, N.C., is progressing on a major expansion designed to greatly expand its presence in the national meeting and event market.

“We currently have a new convention center and an additional 725 guest rooms under way, which will make Harrah’s Cherokee one of our larger properties outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City,” says Michelle Patterson, director of in-market sales for Caesars Entertainment. “This will give us cross-selling opportunities with groups who meet at other Caesars properties or at our other tribal-owned property, Harrah’s Resort Southern California. Right now we don’t have the opportunity for this because the resort lacked adequate space.”

Harrah’s Cherokee broke ground on a US$250 million expansion in June that will include a new guest room tower and 83,000-square-foot convention center featuring a grand ballroom and exhibit hall equipped to handle car, boat, RV and zip-line shows. The expansion will also include new dining outlets and a retail shopping area.

The new convention center will augment the resort’s existing 44,000 square feet of function space, which includes the 13,801-square-foot Council Fire Ballroom and the recently opened, 3,000-seat Event Center, which can be configured for different types of meeting sessions and offers VIP suites.

The new convention center, which is expected to be open for business by early 2021, will expand the property’s national appeal for meetings and open it up to entire new markets, including sports-related events in the Southeast region, according to Stacy Pegg (MPI Carolinas Chapter), property sales manager for Harrah’s Cherokee.

“The new exhibit space will really open us up for trade shows, an area we currently don’t do much with,” she says. “In particular, we’re looking at the sports market, including NCAA-level events, which are hugely important in the Southeast region. Now we’ll be able to bid on them.”

Among new business on the books for 2021 is a national group based in Chicago that requires 3,000 room nights.

“This a new opportunity for us that we couldn’t accommodate before,” Pegg says.

Given its bucolic location less than five miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Harrah’s Cherokee has already found a steady market from regional associations and corporate groups looking to combine sophisticated resort amenities with a retreat-like atmosphere, according to Patterson.

“It’s removed from the hustle and bustle of the city and offers an array of natural amenities,” she says. “And yet it’s very accessible.”

Located within two or three hours of business hubs such as Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Knoxville, Tenn.; the resort is largely a drive-to destination for meeting groups as well as leisure guests. However, Asheville (N.C.) Regional Airport, about an hour away, is a convenient option, according to Patterson.

“It’s an easy drive from the Asheville airport, with very little traffic, so we tell customers that it really takes no longer than it does when you’re going from many urban airports to a downtown hotel,” she says.

With casino gaming popular among leisure guests on weekends, most meeting business occurs midweek, a time when planners will find the best rates and availability, she adds.

Along with features such as a full-service Mandara Spa, a championship golf course and headline entertainment, the resort also offers an array of team-building activities that draw on its natural setting and Cherokee heritage, according to Pegg.

“You can actually go fly-fishing right outside the doors of the hotel, so we’ve done some great team building built around that,” she says. “We offer a ropes course and work with different outfitters on team-building packages tied in with the local area. Since we’re so close to the national park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, groups often want to visit those places. Some bring family along.”

The resort, which is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, can also infuse Cherokee heritage into events.

“We can bring in groups of tribal dancers or artisans and harvesters who do cultural demonstrations,” Pegg says. “We also partner with a local Cherokee language school where children are immersed in learning this nearly extinct language. The children will come and sing to the group in Cherokee.”

When promoting the property to the group market, the overall experience provided by Harrah’s Cherokee is emphasized, she adds.

“We sell the destination as well as the resort,” Pegg says.

Ferraro Foods Chooses Cherokee

Ferraro Foods, a food distributor with offices in New Jersey and North Carolina, usually chooses a hotel in Williamsburg, Va., or Myrtle Beach, S.C., as the location for its Southern Region Food Show. At these one-day events, restaurant owners and other customers are invited to enjoy tastings and chef demonstrations featuring pasta, cheeses, premium meats and other Italian food products from Ferraro’s partner vendors.

In May, Ferraro Foods departed from its usual pattern by hosting the Southern Region Food Show closer to home at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort.

“Even though our facility is there, we’d never held the show in North Carolina,” says John Altadonna, director of marketing and margin management. “I found it by Google searching for an environmentally friendly place that would give our customers entertainment and nice accommodations. It was great to find something in our own state.”

The May 7 event drew 800 customers and an additional 100 exhibitors who stayed anywhere from one to three nights. According to Altadonna, who has re-booked the resort for the fall 2019 food show, the experience exceeded his expectations.

“It was very intimate and personal in comparison to other places that we’ve been,” he says. “The staff was very friendly and it was great working with everyone there. We really felt like we were the focus of their attention.”

He also liked the fact that attendees had a wide choice of things to do, everything from enjoying the river that runs through the resort to trying their luck in the casino and socializing in the lounges.

“We saw a lot of people just sitting outside and enjoying nature,” Altadonna says. “It gave everyone a chance to relax and unwind.”