Working Ahead: Dates Set for the 2023 National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn
by Kate Nixon
Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa aerial photo taken on October 6, 2012 in Asheville, North Carolina – © 2012 David Oppenheimer – Performance Impressions Photography Archives
The historic 1913 Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, has been home to the National Arts and Crafts Conference since our first meeting in 1988, and will again serve as our host next year for the 36th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows to be held February 17-19, 2023.
While many of you are still making your travel plans for next month’s 35th conference, it is not too soon to be thinking about 2023, especially as many attendees call months in advance to request a specific room, wing, or view for their Arts and Crafts weekend.
Reservations for the 2023 National Arts and Crafts Conference can be made starting at 9:00am (EST) on February 9, 2022. This date is later than it has been in the past. Due to staffing challenges which arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, reservation calls have been routed to the Omni call center in Omaha, where their agents book rooms for more than 50 different Omni hotels. After a transitional first year, Omni is implementing a new room reservation system and increasing training to remote agents, which requires extra time to train and implement the new program.
When contacting the Omni reservations call center at (800) 438-5800, please make sure to press #1 for group reservations. When speaking with an agent, you can request one of the three sections: the Sammons Wing, where the seminars are held; the Vanderbilt Wing, where the shows take place; or the original Main Inn, located above the Great Hall in the center of the resort hotel.
A historic Main inn room at the Grove Park Inn. Because these rooms include Arts & Crafts style decor and furniture, they are often a popular option with attendees and it is recommended to call early to obtain the historic rooms especially in the Palm Court area of the hotel.
A modern Sammons-wing room located in the side wings of the Grove Park Inn.
The reservation agent cannot guarantee any request, as room requests will be filled in the order in which they are received beginning on February 9. Be sure to also request your bed preference (king, queen, or two doubles) and, if known, even a specific room number you may have had in the past. When a requested room has already been assigned to an earlier caller, every effort is made to assign the closest room matching the requested description.
When making the reservation, a credit card number is required to take a deposit to hold the room. However, the Grove Park Inn offers full refunds if the cancellation is made eight days before your day of arrival.
As always, if you have any questions about the process, please call our office at (828) 628-1915. Be aware, however, that we are not connected to the Omni Grove Park Inn’s computer system and cannot make any room reservations from our office.
For those who have received their Pre-Conference Information Packets already, please note the information on the packet should read as follows:
For the February 17th – 19th, 2023 conference, please call (800) 438-5800 starting February 9th, 2022 at 9:00am to make your room reservation.
For more information, please visit arts-craftsconference.com.