The thriving metropolis of Dallas as seen at dusk from above. Courtesy Photo

It might be known as the Lone Star State, but Texas is home to multiple meeting-friendly cities that all play a starring role in the world of corporate and incentive travel. These destinations offer planners a cornucopia of opportunities and options, enabling them to easily find just the right fit for any meeting.

Fort Worth

Patrick Wilder is marketing coordinator for BWI Companies, Inc., a wholesale distribution company. He found exactly what he needed in Fort Worth, where his company hosted its BWI Expo, drawing 2,200 attendees last fall. However, as the saying goes, this wasn’t his first rodeo in Texas, so his group had first considered a number of other options.

“We bounced back and forth between San Antonio and Nashville, TN, since 2012 and felt it was time for a new location in Texas,” Wilder says. “In 2004, our trade show was in Biloxi, MS, and Hurricane Ivan forced us to cancel. That was the last time we chose a coastal location … That puts Houston out of contention due to hurricane season, downtown Austin is extremely busy and we felt Dallas wasn’t for us. Fort Worth offered everything we wanted. It has a clean, safe, walkable downtown area just a short drive from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) with numerous hotels and restaurants located close to Fort Worth Convention Center.”

Wilder worked with Visit Fort Worth staffers throughout the decision-making and planning process for his event. “In 2019, I reached out to Visit Fort Worth and was connected with Carrie Huff, senior national sales director. She was extremely convincing about why we needed to be there, and we formed an excellent relationship,” Wilder says. “We held our annual expo in Fort Worth in 2022 and 2024, with plans to be back again in 2025. April Montez, senior convention services manager, also remained in contact with me before and throughout our event. She was instrumental in helping me find offsite event locations, scooter rentals, boot shiners, longhorns for photo opportunities and anything else I requested.”

During the event, Visit Fort Worth provided street pole signs around the convention center, as well as a welcome video for BWI to share with customers and exhibitors. “We also had access to an image library, which was a huge help in creating our marketing material,” Wilder adds.

The trade show was staged in the convention center, as were two breakfasts and one lunch. “Everyone at the convention center, including Trinity Food & Beverage, Edlen Electric and Cox Business Internet, was easy to work with,” Wilder says. “We utilized one meeting room for a day and a half, and I arranged a screen through Stephanie Frances, my event coordinator. She put me in touch with Inspire Event Technologies for a projector. Everything was set up and ready to go before I arrived onsite.”

Omni Fort Worth Hotel was chosen as the HQ hotel for the event, based on its reputation and location across from the convention center. “I also previously stayed there and knew it would be incredible,” Wilder says. “Crystal Tsiachris, senior convention service manager, and I were in constant communication regarding my room blocks and pickup. The hotel provides excellent customer service, and I could tell Crystal wanted to make the stay a memorable experience for everyone in the group.”

Wilder says he didn’t require much assistance from the hotel once the contract was signed. The group didn’t use any function space there. “Everything went smoothly,” he says. “I only needed to contact them for additional rooms or to change reservations. Everyone at the hotel I dealt with was extremely accommodating and professional.”

Wilder encourages planners is to contact Visit Fort Worth. “They offer many valuable services that save you time and money before and during your event,” he says. “The convention services team will help promote the city and provide materials and tools to boost attendance.”

Houston

Houston checked all the right boxes for global electronics and appliance company Best Buy, which held its large-scale annual meeting in Houston last fall for 2,500 attendees. Andrea Naab, senior director, corporate and retail events, calls Houston a phenomenal fit. “Access to the location is convenient, and the convention center/hotel setup made it very easy for our attendees to navigate between meetings, and also to explore the city and all its offerings,” Naab says. She adds that cost-effectiveness and the high level of service also played into the decision to choose Houston.

In addition, Naab calls Visit Houston and Houston First standout partners. “They helped us plan a memorable welcome event and kept our budget top of mind,” she says. “Our attendees were impressed at the food selection, many activations and great music, all coordinated with the help of our partners in Houston.”

The George R. Brown Convention Center was central to the event. “We used the convention center to house all of our meetings,” Naab says. “The service level we received from the convention center staff, Visit Houston and Houston First was incredible. They made the planning process easy on our team and were a joy to partner with.”

Naab advises planners who choose Houston to give attendees plenty of time to explore the city. “From the theater district to market square to “EaDo” (East Downtown), there are ample restaurants and shopping to choose from,” she says.

San Antonio

Last year, campus technology solutions provider Ellucian selected San Antonio to host its Ellucian Live event for 5,600 people. “This was Ellucian’s first year in San Antonio, and it was very well received by our attendees,” says Debbie Carmody, manager, events. “The downtown area is easy to navigate, and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center provides a bright, modern space that our attendees appreciated. It also seamlessly complemented Ellucian’s event branding, which elevated the overall atmosphere and experience.”

Carmody calls San Antonio an incredibly welcoming city. “Attendee posts on social media demonstrated that they enjoyed exploring the city both during conference activities and when they were on their own,” she says. “Ellucian utilized indoor and outdoor spaces as part of our programming. The artwork and décor of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center provided a welcoming and authentic experience for sessions and networking, while the San Antonio River Walk created a unique backdrop for our street-party customer appreciation event and our eclipse-viewing picnic in Civic Park at Hemisfair.”

Carmody says her company felt that San Antonio would appeal to its attendees, and it did. Ellucian used the convention center to host the conference keynotes, exhibit hall, lunches and over 300 concurrent sessions. “Our attendees found it easy to navigate,” she says. “It has a clean design and wonderful art collection. The front lobby with the large exhibit hall space provided a central location when we gathered the full group. The caterer at the convention center was very reasonable, and the food was delicious.”

As for the CVB, Carmody says Visit San Antonio provided expert guidance and local contacts when asked. “This proved to be extremely helpful since we were there during a solar eclipse, one of the busiest weeks for the city,” she adds.

Ellucian used multiple hotels for lodging — some within walking distance, some requiring bus rides. “We also used the meeting space at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio due to its proximity to the convention center. It was also recently redecorated and offered a lot of flexible meeting spaces,” Carmody says. “We found the AV and Wi-Fi to be modern and effective, and the décor was fresh and contemporary with lots of light in the upstairs foyer areas.” She adds that the staff members her team worked with were great, and Ellucian returning is a possibility.

To planners considering San Antonio she says: “We recommend utilizing Visit San Antonio for site selection and bringing them on as partners. Also, make sure your event highlights the local culture, and use San Antonio River Walk for your receptions where possible. The proximity of the conference center to the airport is great and will help attendee arrivals and departures go smoothly and efficiently.”

Dallas

While the requirements for some meetings are fairly straightforward, other events have specific needs that must be met to ensure success and ROI for the organization. “For our events we need high ceilings, the ability to transform a space into an experience, rooms at a good price and dependable F&B,” says M.B., a senior manager for a global pharmaceutical company. “A venue’s ability to work with our agencies to set up and tear down the show to meet our rehearsal and showtimes is also critical.”

For these events, it is important to secure a central location with easy access for attendees from across the country, and sometimes the meeting dates are set to coincide with another conference, which means there is almost no flexibility in terms of destination and timing. As such, the group has found exactly what it needs in Dallas, twice. Three years ago, they held an event at the Grand Hyatt DFW, while last year, a gathering took place at the Hilton Anatole.

For that first event, M.B. says, “We needed a hotel that could meet our large-group needs, multiple breakout rooms, a ballroom, F&B, as well as ease of access for all the attendees flying in for the weekend,” adding, “We booked our 2024 event to dovetail off [another] conference. The location was perfect for attendees flying in and driving in. The meeting … and hotel space gave us the square footage to engage our customers and provide the premium experience we and they expect.”

According to M.B., the fact that Dallas has two airports is a plus, but the city also has a lot more going for it: “Dallas is a vibrant city. There’s a growing food scene and plenty of shopping.  Being centrally located in the country means no one has more than a two-hour time difference, which is appreciated by attendees needing to be awake and engaged from morning into evening events.”

“For the meeting [a few years ago], the ability to walk off a plane and into the hotel meant our attendees did not need to worry about transportation from the airport, which allowed us to maximize the time we had with them before they needed to depart for their flights,” M.B. adds. “And surprising for an airport hotel, the Grand Hyatt DFW offers high ceilings, a large enough ballroom, breakout rooms, good F&B and fair rates, along with the added benefit of ease of access from the airport.”

The primary needs for last year’s event differed somewhat because the Hilton Anatole was the convention hotel for the meeting the group was looking to tag onto, so it was the choice from the outset. But the venue also met the group’s needs in other ways. “It has the function space and pricing we required,” M.B. says. “It’s a small city with everything a meeting such as ours needs … In addition, the Hilton Anatole staff were professional, accommodating and responsive to our needs for the show.”

Laredo, El Paso & Austin

Elsewhere in the Lone Star State, planners can take advantage of other destinations, facilities and experiences to meet their unique event needs. In Laredo and El Paso — which both lie along the Rio Grande, the natural border between Texas and Mexico — local culture is a melting pot of American, Texan and Mexican elements. Plus, Visit El Paso was named DMO of 2024 at the annual conference of the Texas Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus in Austin, and for planners who haven’t worked with the organization, it’s time to consider it.

Visiting groups will find many options for venues, but one that raises the bar for any event is the Plaza Theatre, a gorgeous historic theater and culturally iconic location in the heart of downtown Laredo. In addition, the city offers meeting facilities at venues including Courtyard by Marriott, Embassy Suites, La Posada Hotel & Suites, Texas A&M International University and the Laredo Center for the Arts.

There’s also the state capital, Austin, which offers a lot to interest planners. Eight budget- to mid-range hotels opened in the city last year and another three — Element Austin, Tru by Hilton Austin South and Green Pastures Hotel — opened recently. For planners who book at least a year out, Hotel Trinity and 1 Hotel are scheduled to open in 2026, while Graduate Austin is slated for a 2027 opening. Additionally, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has begun construction of a planned expansion that will add 84,500 gross sf to the Barbara Jordan Terminal.

With everything the Lone Star State has to offer, whatever your group’s size and requirements, there’s a city waiting to give you a Texas-size welcome with exactly the facilities you need to hold any event. C&IT