Meetings

It’s a new year and with it, as always, comes new ideas about how to make meetings and events more exciting, more comfortable and above all more useful for those in attendance. Part and parcel of this experience are the spaces in which we meet. Convention centers, hotels and other event venues are upping the ante at all levels to ...

There’s no question that when people take time out of their busy schedules – and money out of the budget – to attend a conference or event, they want to see a return on their investment. But that shouldn’t come at the expense of their experience. Cramming in too many education sessions, speakers or even casual mixers for networking can ...

French Flair in Dallas The Le Méridian Dallas, The Stoneleigh lists its ideal group size as falling between 10 and 130 and that works well with the historic, uptown Dallas property’s newest addition: Perle on Maple. Bistro classics with a Texas twist are on deck for all three meals in the new space, which offers private dining for groups from ...

When it comes to attending any conference, whether it’s ASAE’s Annual Meeting in August or TSAE’s New Ideas Conference in September, it’s best to be prepared. Conferences and other educational events offer tremendous learning and networking opportunities. You will be inspired by the keynote speakers, excited about the connections you make, and motivated by what you learn. As someone who ...

QUESTION: Why do rates (and for that matter, pricing in general) vary so widely hotel to hotel? ANSWER: Rates completely depend on supply and demand. The room inventory that is remaining in the hotel dictates the guest room rate. Hotel A may have a group already contracted and that makes rates higher than Hotel B over the same dates. Hotels ...

Big airports. Big arenas. Big hotels. Big convention centers. Big cost. Bigger (excepting what they say about Texas!) may not always be better. So while attendees might be wowed at the idea of New York, Chicago or San Francisco – and surely these cities do have their charms – in the case of meetings, it’s results that counts. Were members ...

Size Matters Chicago shines, Orlando is awesome and what happens in Vegas is always noteworthy, but some meetings don’t require the convention center kings – or any large venue, for that matter. And while Texas often likes to do “everything bigger,” association planners in the Lone Star State know that isn’t always the best philosophy when it comes to site ...

Like most associations, the annual meeting is the centerpiece of our always busy year. Site searches, contract negotiation, months of event planning, member questions and reservations, hotel and destination deposits, and, equally important, significant staff emotional involvement and anticipation are all integral to a successful meeting. When all of this collides with Mother Nature’s terrifying force, a clear decisive mind, ...

QUESTION: What is rooms-to-space ratio, and why does it matter? Answer: The rooms-to-space ratio represents the amount of meeting space your event uses for every guest room your attendees occupy. It’s the most important metric hotels and convention centers use to determine the best group rate. Meeting planners should know their room-to-space ratio to help with venue selection and rate ...

Austin Downtown Continues to Grow There’s no shortage of places to stay in Austin, as 2017 saw new hotels opening throughout the city, but especially in the growing downtown. As Austin continues to become one of the country’s top event destinations, that trend will only continue, as 2018 will see innovative brands and unique properties join the city’s offerings. In ...