Recommendations needed- city to hold a business meeting

[jelloshots4all]

I volunteered to plan our next Exec Team meeting in late October/ early November.  I can propose several locations.  A few of the criteria:

Needs to be semi close to an international airport hub.  

People will be traveling from the east coast, west coast, Midwest and possibly Mexico (hence Int'l airport)

10 attendees, so a small group

Close to good restaurants (for dinners)

Preferably Marriott or Hilton hotels with a conf room space

We have held meetings in San Diego, Chicago and in Mexico (prefer it not be in Mexico though)

It will be Oct/November, so probably some place in the southern portion of the US.

Some thoughts I had were Vegas, Scottsdale, Austin TX

other ideas?

[Tennesseer]

Nashville?

[Lizard Queen]

New Orleans? Is that an international airport?

ETA: San Antonio, though I have a grudge against Texas right now. I really enjoyed visiting there years ago, and my friend went there for a convention more recently and enjoyed it as well.

[jerseygirl]

Vegas is nice for a meeting, plane fares and hotels reasonable (at least if not same time as a huge convention)
Scottsdale is more upscale and the Scottsdale Camelback resort is beautiful! You can get private casitas and the resort has gorgeous grounds and good restaurant

Vegas - noisy and fun
Scottsdale quiet and relaxing

[nidena]

Albuquerque is really nice in the cold months.  UpTown is a great place to visit and there are numerous places to eat.  I stayed at Homewood Suites back in 2017.  They were renovating then so I'm sure it's even better now.

[steph08]

Recent places my company has held meetings with similar stipulations- Orlando, Nashville, New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I was going to suggest the San Antonio Riverwalk.  Lots of good restaurants down there.

[stillmovingforward]

I second San Antonio Riverwalk. Is amazing!

[Sharon]

I have been to multiple conferences in Scottsdale including two different ones that were held at the Scottsdale Courtyard by Marriott.  I also attended three different conferences at the Talking Stick Casino and three conferences at the Westin Kierland both of which are in Scottsdale.  For me anyway the Talking Stick Casino was the easiest one to reach via rental car from the Phoenix airport.

[NastyWoman]

San Fransisco. The city really is quite beautiful and it fulfills all your requirements 

[gs11rmb]

Atlanta

smartasset.com/checking-account/best-cities-for-conferences-2020


4. Atlanta, GA



Atlanta, Georgia comes in fourth place. It has the second-highest number of medium-sized hotels in our study, at 100. In addition, it has seven large hotels and 253 total hotels, also both top-10 rates. The average price per night for a hotel room is $170, and the average three-course meal for two costs $50 at a mid-range restaurant. The airport is 9.2 miles from downtown Atlanta, and the trip will take you 15 minutes on average. Atlanta also nabs the top spot in our study on the best cities for frequent flyers.

[tractor]

I’ve attended fly-in meetings in Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Orlando. All worked out well. We would fly-in from all over the country, use a conference room at the attached hotel, and fly out the same day (or next day depending on schedules). It worked pretty well.

New Orleans was fun, but that meeting required an Uber from the airport to downtown. I don’t remember if they had anything at the airport.

[tractor]

Let me expand on Denver. The new airport is huge, and the attached hotel is beautiful. You can also take the train into downtown for dinner (so no need for a car).

[TheOtherMe]

FYI on Denver    It could definitely be snowing in late October/early November.

But DIA is set up for such meetings with the hotel attached to the airport.  It is also a United hub, if that makes any difference.

[happyhoix]

Jun 5, 2021 7:54:21 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

Atlanta

smartasset.com/checking-account/best-cities-for-conferences-2020


4. Atlanta, GA



Atlanta, Georgia comes in fourth place. It has the second-highest number of medium-sized hotels in our study, at 100. In addition, it has seven large hotels and 253 total hotels, also both top-10 rates. The average price per night for a hotel room is $170, and the average three-course meal for two costs $50 at a mid-range restaurant. The airport is 9.2 miles from downtown Atlanta, and the trip will take you 15 minutes on average. Atlanta also nabs the top spot in our study on the best cities for frequent flyers.

Atlanta would be my pick for logistical/ practical reasons. However Atlanta looks like every other big city. Not a lot of historical character (maybe because Sherman burned it to the ground.) But if you want a practical place, Atlanta would be it.

For a large city with more charm/ historical interest go with New Orleans; two smaller cities that are extremely walkable and tons of charm, Charleston and Savannah. All three of those, however, have the risk of being disrupted by hurricanes ( Atlanta doesn’t share that risk).

[andi9899]

KC meets all those requirements and it won't be terribly cold in the fall.

[jelloshots4all]

Thank you for all of the recommendations!!  I have been to all of those cities (A LOT of work travel, got engaged on the San Antonio Riverwalk, had my bachelorette party in NO, and other places for vacations) but didn't think of several.

Is the Buckhead area of Atlanta still a good location?

[Anne_in_VA]

I’ve attended conferences in New Orleans, San Antonio, Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles and San Diego as well as New York.  I would vote for New Orleans or San Antonio as both have  hotels with conference space, wonderful things to see and lots of restaurants. 

[andi9899]

I love San Antonio.

[chiver78]

Jun 4, 2021 19:48:46 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

New Orleans? Is that an international airport?

ETA: San Antonio, though I have a grudge against Texas right now. I really enjoyed visiting there years ago, and my friend went there for a convention more recently and enjoyed it as well.

New Orleans is an international airport, but it doesn't have direct flights to a number of major cities. not sure if that's a need, too.

[Deleted]

Houston!  We check off all the boxes and that's the best time of year here.  

[alabamagal]

Jun 5, 2021 13:54:09 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Thank you for all of the recommendations!!  I have been to all of those cities (A LOT of work travel, got engaged on the San Antonio Riverwalk, had my bachelorette party in NO, and other places for vacations) but didn't think of several.

Is the Buckhead area of Atlanta still a good location?

Yes Buckhead is nice area, plenty of nice hotels.

[bean29]

September in MKE=Summerfest this year, can you move the Conference to an earlier Date?

DD and I went To Atlanta and Orlando and Vegas with Mom for Conferences recently. We liked Atlanta and Orlando, none in our group were enamored of Vegas.

We went to Universal Studios in FL with a large group about 10 years ago, had a great experience and went with Comcast to Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive/La Dodgers game and that Trip was a lot of fun too-was also a large group.

[gs11rmb]

Jun 5, 2021 13:54:09 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Thank you for all of the recommendations!!  I have been to all of those cities (A LOT of work travel, got engaged on the San Antonio Riverwalk, had my bachelorette party in NO, and other places for vacations) but didn't think of several.

Is the Buckhead area of Atlanta still a good location?

Yes.  Lots of nice hotels and restaurants as well as two large malls.  All of the main attractions are downtown so not walkable from Buckhead (~10 miles) if the attendees want to do anything outside of the conference.  There are two MARTA stations, essentially on either side of Lenox mall, so people can easily get downtown.

[TheOtherMe]

Jun 4, 2021 19:27:14 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

I volunteered to plan our next Exec Team meeting in late October/ early November.  I can propose several locations.  A few of the criteria:

Needs to be semi close to an international airport hub.  

A lot of the suggestions are not for an international airport hub.  That is on the list and I would guess you are hoping for as many direct flights as possible.  

For me, I don't gamble and there is no lure for me in Vegas.  

All of the hubs will have a wide array of hotels with conference space.

[imawino]

I second Atlanta!  

And after that, New Orleans, Orlando and Vegas.  Major airports, lots to do, plenty of hotel space at reasonable rates.  I'd agree on Nashville, but it depends on your budget.  Hotel rooms are typically going to run you a lot more in Nashville than the other spots.  

[buystoys]

I vote San Antonio or Houston.  Houston is still on my to-do list.  I loved San Antonio.  That's a good time of year for the weather.

[jelloshots4all]

Jun 5, 2021 18:46:59 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Houston!  We check off all the boxes and that's the best time of year here.  

Houston would be the spot I pick so I can go see friends too (and eat kolaches)!  It's on my short list!

[Deleted]

Jun 7, 2021 17:09:31 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Jun 5, 2021 18:46:59 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Houston!  We check off all the boxes and that's the best time of year here.  

Houston would be the spot I pick so I can go see friends too (and eat kolaches)!  It's on my short list!

Give me a heads-up if you make a decision to head Houston way and I'll put you in touch with some local business tourism resources.  We really do have world-class hotels with meeting facilities, incredible museums, and access to a diverse world of amazing cultures and foods.  

[jelloshots4all]

Jun 7, 2021 17:15:37 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Jun 7, 2021 17:09:31 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Houston would be the spot I pick so I can go see friends too (and eat kolaches)!  It's on my short list!

Give me a heads-up if you make a decision to head Houston way and I'll put you in touch with some local business tourism resources.  We really do have world-class hotels with meeting facilities, incredible museums, and access to a diverse world of amazing cultures and foods.  

Thanks donethat.  I would probably choose the Galleria area to stay.  Restaurant's I used to love- America's, La Griglia, Pappa's group, Brennan's, Chuy's ( ) and so many others!