Ballantyne Hotel is a ‘Resort’ No More

Ballantyne Resort is no longer a resort—at least in name.

The luxury meeting place and golf course in Charlotte, N.C. has officially changed its name to The Ballantyne Hotel and Lodge after hearing from corporate customers who said the term “resort” carried too much of a high-dollar stigma in today’s economic and political climate, officials said in an article in the Charlotte Observer.

“Many of our customers are seeing a lot of pressure over meeting in hotels with the name ‘resort,’” said Joe Hallow, president of Bissell Hotels, which owns and manages the facility. “We wanted to make it easier for our customers to meet where they want to meet.”

Hallow said the new name also does a better job of highlighting Ballantyne’s 200-plus room hotel and its 36-room lodge meeting facility. It also recently added The Cottage at Ballantyne, a four-bedroom residence on the golf course for private or meeting use.

The facility is upscale, but with room rates averaging around $225 to $250, it’s less expensive than pricier locations around the country, Hallow said. The name change, however, doesn’t mean Ballantyne is “downshifting on quality,” he said.

Ballantyne officially changed the name about two months ago and switched some signs on the front of the hotel in recent weeks. It will roll out other changes more slowly, re-ordering shirts and other items as they need to be replaced. Ballantyne hasn’t promoted the name change, but plans to start this month.

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