Make Room for Marriott
Construction begins this year on a new Marriott hotel in Austin. It will be the largest hotel in the city, located just blocks from the convention center (pictured). The hotel will have more than 103,000 square feet of meeting space and 1,003 guest rooms. “The new Marriott is going to parlay us into a whole new level of convention planners that will be looking at us for the first time,” says Genovesi. The hotel is expected to be complete by late 2015.
 
  
The Ideal Downtown
Downtown Austin has everything—hotels, shopping, restaurants, live music venues, outdoor space, condo living and a river running through it. It’s truly a walkable city, and one where attendees feel safe and not overwhelmed. Downtown’s Warehouse District is filled with local eateries and bars, and the burgeoning Second Street District has upscale shopping and al fresco, but comfortably approachable, cafes. Austin’s most famous downtown area, though, is Sixth Street, a historic district where pubs, restaurants, music venues, theaters and comedy clubs are open to visitors morning through night.

Not Your Ordinary Hotels
Austin has a Hyatt, Hilton, Four Seasons and other well-known hotels, and local hotelier Liz Lambert added two not-so-ordinary hotels to the fray. The small, boutique hotels are less large-meeting-group and more VIP-event kinds of places. Hotel San Jose (pictured) came first; located in the hip SoCo (South Congress) area near downtown, the once-seedy motor court was transformed into an uber-cool, bungalow-style hotel hidden behind ivy-covered stucco walls. The hotel’s courtyard could be an intimate setting for an evening event. Lambert’s other property, Hotel St. Cecilia, is just a few blocks away on a secluded estate. With rooms inspired by artists, poets, and musicians, the property is an urban fantasia of style and originality.

The Hills Are Alive
With the sound of music and the taste of wine. Austin is located on the east side of the Texas Hill Country, a region known for its small towns, old dance halls and, perhaps most notably, its vineyards. More than 30 wine trails dot the arid yet fertile landscape. Plan a day for a group touring one of five self-guided, themed wine trails at texaswinetrail.com.

Navarre Beach in Santa Rosa County, Florida (MDi Media Group)

Santa Rosa County, tucked away in a corner of Northwest Florida, is far away from crowded theme parks and packed beaches. One of its biggest treasures is Navarre Beach, located on Santa Rosa Island, with sugar-fine white sand beaches and emerald green waters. It’s a natural retreat, surrounded by protected natural coastline, and the area’s gulf beaches are named among the best in the nation year after year.

Navarre Beach has a variety of accommodations, from gulf-front to sound-side vacation rentals, hotels and condominiums. Most beachfront condominium buildings feature meeting rooms with fantastic water views and space for outdoor receptions. Several hotels throughout Santa Rosa County are close to Interstate 10 and offer conference halls and smaller breakout rooms for meetings and retreats. Larger events can be hosted at the conference center at the Days Inn in Navarre.

For team-building retreats, Santa Rosa County has a good mix of activities for different group preferences. Coldwater Creek and the Blackwater River State Park offer canoeing, kayaking and tubing. Planners can organize fishing excursions in the Gulf of Mexico or schedule an outing to the new 1,500-foot Navarre fishing pier — the longest in the state of Florida — that opened in June.

The nearby towns of Milton and Bagdad are home to quaint historic homes, antique shops, parks and restaurants, as well as hiking and biking trails including the Eglin Trail, which spans 56 miles on Eglin Air Force Base. The trail crosses 25 creeks and gives hikers a chance to see endangered creatures such as the fox squirrel and red-cockaded woodpecker.

Santa Rosa County also has golfing, museums, cultural sites and moderate year-round temperatures. The diverse region provides planners with a slice of Old Florida for their meetings and events.

By Regina McGee

Less than nine months after Hurricane Ike swept through Galveston causing some $3 billion in damages, this Texas resort celebrated its remarkable recovery with Re-Birth Day festivities in the downtown area in May. Weekend activities included tours of the newly re-opened Tremont House. The return of the historic hotel, a Galveston icon, was the latest in a series of recovery milestones.

Over Memorial Day weekend, thousands of visitors enjoyed the island’s famous beaches, restored after a $10 million effort. Hundreds of shops and restaurants in the downtown area are now open for business, though recovery is still underway in parts of the Strand, famous for its beautiful Victorian architecture.

Thanks to the city’s seawall, much of the island’s tourism infrastructure was left in tact following Hurricane Ike. This includes the Galveston Island Convention Center, located at the San Luis Resort, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The center’s resort-like ambience is complemented with state-of-the-art facilities, including a 43,100-sq.-ft. exhibition hall. Parking at the center and anywhere on the island is complimentary — as is the shuttle to and from contracted hotels. With 700 hotel rooms adjacent to the center and another 1,400 within two miles, the island accommodates citywide events averaging 1,200 people.

Recently, Galveston was voted the top Texas tourist destination for out-of-state leisure travelers in a survey conducted by the state’s Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism. Indeed, this 32-mile-long island continues to offer a an amazing diversity of attractions.

Moody Gardens boasts everything from a world-class aquarium and a Discovery Museum to a spectacular hotel, spa and convention center. With its huge array of aquatic attractions, the Schlitterbahn Waterpark is a mecca for families. The island’s many treasured historic attractions include the Grand 1984 Opera House, a jewel of Victorian-era theater, and Bishop’s Palace, a castle-like home now one of the island’s most visited museums.

“The pace of recovery is a testament to the resiliency of the people of Galveston,” remarks Meg Winchester, CMP, director of sales, Galveston Island CVB. Galveston continues to be an excellent choice for conferences, she says. “Our whole philosophy is that groups have the best experience possible.”

“I think this helps to reinforce that we’re a major destination – not just for travel tourism – but a major destination for business and living,” Sain says. “Sports is going to continue to play a major role in the future of this destination, and it will drive overnight visitation.”

Orlando hopes to become a top sports tourism spot long after the 2009 NBA Finals. A renovated Citrus Bowl and new events center could draw tourists to Orlando for big sporting events like Wrestlemaina and the Pro Bowl.

Although Tulsa is celebrating its fourth annual Tulsa Tough Ride & Race, May 29-31, the designation marks the first time the city has appeared on the list. The three-day cycling festival promotes fitness and healthy lifestyles while showcasing the city with events in the Blue Dome District, Brady Arts District and River Parks. The action-packed weekend includes professional-level races, recreational and tour rides, kids’ and youth activities, live music and vendors.

The economy, in addition to a recent wave of “Sin City” criticism, has had negative effects on the city’s meetings industry. In an effort to promote Las Vegas as a city where serious business is done, the convention bureau is launching a $1 million ad campaign emphasizing why it is a good decision to hold meetings and conventions in the city. So, look for deals, discounts and reasons to bet on Vegas as your group’s destination.

If you build it, they will come
Look around Las Vegas and you’ll quickly notice as many construction cranes as casinos. Even in these uncertain economic times, dozens of new buildings are being erected and old ones are being overhauled.

To give you a quick glimpse at the many changes on the horizon, we’ll start with the granddaddy of them all: CityCenter. Still set for completion in late 2009, this $8.6 billion city-within-a-city has been described as the most expensive private development in U.S. history. It, too, is on shaky ground though. While MGM Mirage paid off $200 million on the project March 24 — the amount was initially supposed to be split with its intended partner, Dubai World — an ongoing legal battle between the two has hit Las Vegas with possibly another stroke of bad luck. Jeremy Aguero, a principal analyst with Applied Analysis, a Nevada-based advisory services firm whose clients have included MGM, is still looking on the bright side. “Right now, there is no indication that CityCenter is not going to be completed,” he said in a press release.

If the project continues, it will boast a 61-story gaming resort, ARIA; luxury non-gaming hotels Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel, which is scheduled to be the first property to open in early October 2009; Veer Towers, the center’s only strictly residential buildings; and Crystals, a 500,000-sq. ft. retail and entertainment district. A collaboration between eight top international architects, the 18 million-sq. ft. complex, with a hard-to-come-by-anymore 1,200 feet of frontage on Las Vegas Boulevard, will boast everything from showrooms to spas, business centers to dog parks.

The newly minted M Resort, Spa and Casino, a luxe, off-Strip lodging with 390 guestrooms and suites, nine restaurants, a 14-screen movie theater and other four-star amenities opened March 1 with plenty of fanfare. With more than 60,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, the resort can accommodate small- to medium-size groups and large groups that want to take over the complex.

Another recent off-Strip addition is the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, where the 2009 Connect Marketplace will be held in August. Guests rave about everything from its “sumptuous rooms” to its “fantastic pool area.” Better yet, it has an offshoot of one of the great barbecue joints of all time, The Salt Lick.

Las Vegas’ Clark County is currently the largest county in the country without its own world-class performing arts center. That will change sometime in 2011, when work on the Smith Center for the Performing Arts is scheduled to be completed. The future home of the Nevada Ballet Theatre and Las Vegas Philharmonic is one of the largest art projects in the state’s history and will include three separate performance spaces.

An elegant 3,800-room casino resort set to debut this fall, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas comes from the company that owns and operates the famed Fontainebleau in Miami. Boasting its own 3,200-seat theater, the hotel has in-room attractions that include marble bathrooms, custom artwork, flat-panel TVs and 20-inch Apple iMac computers. The Gardens of Fontainebleau, a hospitality garden accessible from six meeting rooms, is one of the highlights of 400,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor conference space available at the resort.

Extreme makeovers
In the city that never sleeps, neither does the competition, so area hotels and attractions are constantly revamping and upgrading. For example:
The Flamingo recently unveiled its new Go Rooms. With a decor described as “South Beach meets Austin Powers,” the rooms are designed to attract a hipper, younger clientele, drawn in by the mod white-and-pink color scheme, stereo stations with slots for your iPod, remote-controlled drapes and shears, high-tech bathroom mirrors with built-in TVs, and $160 a night room rates. Also new are its one- and two-bedroom suites, which feature niceties like bamboo floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. Even at $1,200 a night, Travel + Leisure called the two-bedroom suites, with ample room for meetings or small groups to share, one of the best values on the Strip.

The Excalibur, once the largest hotel in the world and one of the less expensive spots on the Strip today, has renovated its guestrooms as well, subbing its medieval-themed interiors with softer palettes and patterns, and stocking the rooms with plasma TVs. Its meeting space was recently spruced up too, and can be arranged to accommodate small groups easily. Multiple variations of the grand ballroom can serve groups as small as 30 or as large as 800, and the hotel’s restaurants, pool or midway can be closed for private use.

The rooms at the Riviera are changing as well.  The hotel’s meeting and convention center, which ranges from classroom space to theater space, was included in the multi-million dollar rejuvenation project. The Golden Nugget, a downtown fixture since 1946, is still glowing after unveiling its $100 million transformation last year, including renovations to its meeting rooms, which can accommodate 15 to 1,300 guests, and its new Grand Ballroom. Notable are the expanded spa, salon and fitness areas, renovated lobby and showroom, and new VIP lounge. Perhaps most notable, though, is the pumped-up swimming pool, dubbed The Tank, which boasts new cabanas, eateries, a three-story tube slide and a 200,000-gallon shark tank.

Even the famed volcano at the Mirage, which has been entertaining visitors with its fiery eruptions since 1989, has gotten a facelift. Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Indian tabla sensation Zakir Hussain and the Fountains of Bellagio design firm WET were part of the team behind the new attraction.

It’s showtime

Once you are settled, the rest of Vegas awaits. Stick to the amenities available in whichever hotel your meeting or convention is held in, or  venture out into the bright and shining lights where you’ll find plenty of options. Beginning in late May, Carlos Santana joins a long list of top-name entertainers to become a mainstay on the Strip. The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino launches Santana as the first rock and roll resident artist in Las Vegas with the new show “Supernatural Santana: A Trip Through the Hits.” Santana’s 36 performances a year through 2010 will feature the 11-time Grammy winner’s hits and famous guitar skills. The Broadway sensation “The Lion King” is also finding a permanent home here in May. Mandalay Bay’s stage production brings the music and vibrancy of Africa to audiences with its larger than life puppets, costumes and breathtaking performances adapted from the Disney animated movie.

For more information about planning a meeting in Las Vegas, visit here.

Photo courtesy Las Vegas News Bureau.

Adding to the renovation challenge is the 2009 Valero Texas Open. The Westin La Cantera is scheduled to host the tournament for the second year in a row in May. The Palmer Course and The Resort Course are the two premier courses at the resort. Both were designed by noted golf course architects and provide a combined 107 holes of championship golf.

The La Westin Cantera Resort also features six pools, health club and spa services, tennis courts, fine dining, three hot tubs and flexible meeting space. The resort received Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 “Gold List,” Conde Nast’s “Top 100 Resorts for 2008,” and Golf Magazine’s 2006-2007 “Silver Medal Resort Award.”

Read more.

North Building, Phoenix Convention Center

Phoenix was among the top cities in several polls of frequent travelers last year. It ranked at the top of Hotwire’s list and 100 on the site’s Travel Value Index with low prices on world-class hotels and resorts. Calling Phoenix “a city that offers almost everything a vacationer could want,” the discount travel site said the outdoor adventures, breath-taking golf courses and trendy shopping in the “Beverly Hills of the desert” made it the city to beat.

Phoenix also added more points to its meetings resume: It got a lot greener with its new convention center and the opening of its new METRO Light Rail system.

Last July the U.S. Green Building Council awarded the convention center’s West Building a LEED Silver certification for its various green elements, and in January the center’s North Building opened, boasting a few green features of its own. The West Building, which contains 157,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, uses high Energy Star-compliant roofing materials, an elaborate recycling program, and low-flow toilets—resulting in a 42 percent water use reduction. And with more than 700 solar panels on the building, it’s estimated the building’s carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 95 metric tons a year. The building was also constructed from recycled material from the demolished Phoenix Civic Plaza.

Not to be outdone, the new North Building, which has 190,000 square feet of exhibit space, features a unique water-harvesting garden that reuses the condensation from the buildings’ HVAC units to water its landscaping. The new building, the final phase of the $600 million expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center, has six new food venues, including City Central Coffee. The coffee shop serves fair trade brews, including a blend created exclusively for the convention center.

The new light rail system adds to the city’s growing list of green features. Spanning 20 miles and connecting the cities of Tempe and Mesa, the system allows convention-goers to ride from the convention center to the hotel—and to all the museums and restaurants in between—with ease. For more information on Phoenix and its green initiatives, check out VisitPhoenix.com.
Other top destinations

Topping the lists of value U.S. destinations compiled by several travel industry publications and sites, beside Phoenix, are: Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Miami and Milwaukee. —Laura Moss

Exhibits range from music, crafts and visual arts, including some spectacular works by artists Jacob Lawrence and James W. Washington, Jr., to literature and historical artifacts.

The museum’s intimate setting, a former brick school building, includes two studios for receptions of 75, and the Legacy Gallery and Sculpture Garden, which holds 160 for dinners and 200 for receptions.

“We face greater and greater competition from cities and towns throughout the world for visitors and tourism dollars. A top-notch website is a great way to put Amarillo in the public eye.”

Following up the new website design will be greater online marketing of Amarillo and the website, with plans to reach other popular online websites like TripAdvisor.com, MapQuest.com and Weather.com.