Duluth-based Odyssey Resorts is the largest operator of independent Minnesota resorts, with nine properties throughout Grand Marais, Lutsen, Two Harbors, Duluth, and Deerwood. From Ruttger’s Bay Lake to Breezy Point, demand for corporate retreats at Odyssey Resorts has increased post-pandemic and continues to grow. It’s an area of focus for Howard Anderson, who joined Odyssey in 2022 as vice president of strategic planning and was promoted to CEO in May. 

Anderson, former vice president of operations for Duluth-based ZMC Hotels, has three decades of hospitality experience. He is a past board chair of Hospitality Minnesota, a past president of the Minnesota Lodging Association, and a member of the Minnesota Lodging Association’s Minnesota Hospitality Hall of Fame.

In a conversation with TCB, Anderson talks about the rising level of expectations for venues to meet the needs of the modern guest. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

TCB: How has hospitality evolved over the last few years for corporate events?

Anderson: In my history of hospitality, it was very transactional—people would come in, they would do whatever they needed to do, and they would leave. Now, people are looking much more intentionally for authentic and curated experiences, so customizing group activities is really critical. Hospitality itself hasn’t changed too much over the years—we’ve always bent over backward to make sure that the guest experience is positive, but the level of expectation has risen.

TCB: Does that put more pressure on the venue to deliver experiences?

Anderson: I think it does. For example, previously for corporate retreats, they would go into a meeting room, we wouldn’t see them for four hours, they would pop out, people would go to their rooms, they would change [clothes], they might get together for dinner, and then they go back to their rooms. And then we’d see them the next morning for breakfast.

Now it’s ‘Let’s meet for a couple of hours, but at 3 o’clock, we’re going to take a pontoon ride around a lake.’ And it’s not only a leisure activity, but they might tie in a breakout associated with that particular pontoon where there’s [learning] topics. Groups are getting creative, and I think our teams are getting creative by applying that ‘family reunion experience’ to those types of events.

TCB: Your Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resort in Deerwood is undergoing a summer renovation project. What are the project’s top priorities to attract companies to host events and retreats at the property?

Anderson: It’s primarily to upgrade the overall guest experience. A lot of the cabins that we’re replacing are 60–80 years old; they were good, but the modern guest has different expectations.

Our high-speed internet needs to be incredibly reliable. There are gathering spaces that are a little bit larger to accommodate more space and more separation. Most of these cabins were built for families, so it was one bathroom and two bedrooms. Now, we’re going with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so that they can be separate and compartmentalized. We have 25 “winterized” cabins—year-round cabins for fall and winter, along with multiple room options.

We’ve added a Par 3 nine-hole golf course where guests can be done with an entire round in an hour and 10 minutes. We also have a “Games on the Green” with croquet, bocce ball, and bags.

“People are looking much more intentionally for authentic and curated experiences.”

—Howard Anderson, CEO of Odyssey Resorts

TCB: With today’s demands, how might a venue miss the mark?

Anderson: By not listening. Throughout my career, I’ve worked in very large convention-style hotels and smaller, more intimate, independent resorts. If you don’t listen to the coordinator, get what their intent is, and deliver on that, you [miss the mark].  And it’s not about missing a cookie break or the coffee coming in late, it’s just not listening to the [event vision].

You can only make a first impression once, but that last little bit of engagement is a lasting impression. And that is what we try to do from their arrival to the moment they leave. We want them engaged, and then when they’re back at the office, they’re still talking about us as well as the event.