Attending a meeting or conference at a hotel used to involve a lot of snacking on cookies and downing cup after cup of coffee to get through the day.

Now, business travelers are much more likely to see dried goji berries and wheatgrass shooters at banquet tables during breaks and mealtimes.

Before booking meetings, companies are increasingly demanding that hotels provide foods packed with nutrients rather than empty calories. Healthier foods, they argue, make employees more productive during long days of meetings. But they're also listening to their employees, who've become more open about food allergies or special diets, such as gluten-free.

"People are realizing the way we have been trained to eat since the 1950s is anathema to a healthy lifestyle," says Glenn Haussman, editor-in-chief of Hotel Interactive magazine. "So people are changing their diets at home but need help to maintain their newly found healthy habits while on the road."

Says Barbara Korte, a software industry executive from Ann Arbor, Mich.: "I always look for healthy lunches and snacks. I would pick fruit over a cookie any day."

Hotels, always on the chase for the revenue that meetings generate, are designing more creatively nutritious banquet menus.

"The more upscale and convention hotels that cater, especially, toward the business traveler are responding by offering healthier options including fruit, smoothies, power bars and so-called 'superfoods', or simply tailoring menus to meet the specific needs of the individual," says Adam Weissenberg, vice chairman and U.S. leader of Deloitte's travel, hospitality and leisure sector. "Beyond that, we are also seeing hotel properties and even brands themed around the broader concept of wellness and healthy living."

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Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants recently introduced smoothie bars and trail-mix stations to their banquet menus. Groups that book their events at Kimpton can select from five smoothie options and blends of antioxidant-rich dried fruits and nuts.

"It's about creating energy, positive energy, being able to make people feel refreshed," says John Inserra, executive vice president of restaurants for Kimpton.

InterContinental Hotels have a program called InterContinental Meetings­. The hotel works with meeting planners to come up with tailored healthful menus that often feature locally sourced products.

Omni Hotels and Resorts this week announced it was tapping Cheryl Forberg, a nutritionist for NBC's The Biggest Loser, to create new banquet and other menus as its in-house nutritionist.

The Ritz-Carlton has introduced several unique menu items for meetings across the country. At The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas new chef Chris Southwick has just created a group menu with themed breaks such as the "Good For You," offering granola bars, fresh fruit kabobs, and terra chips. Ginseng shots and fresh sushi also are available.

The Ritz-Carlton Resorts of Naples, Fla., has a "Lite Break" program for meetings with such items as Health Nut, a selection of nuts that is slowly roasted in-house. Guests can add natural seasonings such as paprika, cinnamon, and cayenne. The Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park in New York has just rolled out a banquet menu that includes the "Battery Park Organic Farm" for a break. Items on that menu include carrot juice and wheatgrass shooters and petite tomato and cucumber sandwiches.

"Just because you're in a meeting doesn't mean you have to have standard banquet food," Kimpton's Inserra says.

Worth the calories?

Meeting planners can't just snap their fingers and get any healthy item they want. They have to actually come up with the budget to pay for healthier foods, which tend to be more expensive.

"The challenge for meeting planners is to get healthy food items from the hotels to fit into their budget," says Nikki McLain, global program manager for Carlson Wagonlit Travel meetings and events.

With the economy still recovering, "we're being asked to do more with less and it's not any secret that eating healthy usually costs more," she says.

If the meeting is big enough, she says planners are usually able to get 10% to 20% discounts off food and beverages.

Martin Pfefferkorn, executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, which just introduced a 500-calorie and below menu for meetings and banquets, says his hotel is willing to work with planners to come up with affordable healthy menus.

It helps that people are more interested in eating smaller portions now. During lunch, he used to serve a 6 oz. protein. Now he offers a 4 oz. portion. Rather than put out five different proteins during a lunch break for a meeting, he'll offer two or three.

"There's no complaint," he says. "People are accepting healthier eating. It's not that we're putting our customers on a diet. We're guiding them toward a better lifestyle when it comes to food."

Still, he says, many companies are willing to pay extra for organic, locally sourced foods. The new menu incorporates hormone-free milk, cage-free eggs, more wheat bread, and sweeteners such as agave syrup and honey.

"The meeting planner who chooses that is more than willing to pay for it," Pfefferkorn says.

Does it pay off?

Inserra says he believes healthier menus attract more meetings.

"They are looking for reasons why one facility will be better for their group than others," he says.

Maryam Wehe, senior vice president at Applied Predictive Technologies, which does hotel consulting, thinks there is truth to that.

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"Becoming increasingly responsive to attendees' food choices helps meeting planners obtain good grades from their meeting attendees," she says. "As importantly, it enables hotels to accommodate a wider range of guests and increase event bookings."

Deloitte's Weissenberg says that can depend on the size of the property.

"Smaller companies may choose a hotel based on their healthy offerings, particularly if the decision-maker is passionate about leading a healthier lifestyle," he says. "However, for larger companies, it still ultimately comes down to price and location."

Bill Catlette, a speaker and executive coach from Collierville, Tenn., says he appreciates when hotels offer healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.

But he doesn't want the "Bloomberging" of the menu, referring to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban against super-sized sodas.

"I prefer that at both breaks and meals, participants be provided choices between traditional and healthier fare," he says. "If I'm presenting in a mid-afternoon slot, it's more than okay with me for attendees to have caffeine-laden beverages and some cookies available, alongside the bottled water and fruit or veggies."

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