In these days of economic uncertainty, San Antonio is one destination that is reaping the rewards of good planning.
Economic diversity is carrying the city forward as more business sector groups find homes in the area. It is also a drive-to destination for about 22 million Texans. Groups find it a convenient and colorful place to meet, with plenty of new infrastructure and exciting attractions to welcome them.
San Antonio counts around 20 million visitors a year, and though the city’s backbone remains tourism and military spending—there are two Air Force bases and the Army’s 130-year-old Fort Sam Houston in the region— recent business sector additions are keeping the city near the top rung of the destination ladder.
According to a hospitality industry impact study by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, health care and biosciences now surpass tourism and the military’s impact. Manufacturing, ranging from textiles to silicon chips, is also growing jobs, too. High tech is big, especially in Research Park, where university researchers and private firms develop cancer and other drugs. The National Security Agency is also on the scene, with a cryptological data center for the conduct of electronic surveillance.
All this economic diversity means more jobs and more need to meet local. It also means San Antonio can ride out cycles that might send competitors into significant slumps.
With all the business diversity comes increased population. The city is now the seventh largest in the country and growing.
“According to the last census, we are the third-fastest-growing city in the U.S., with 1.2 million people,” says Steve Clanton, vice president of sales and services for the San Antonio CVB. “Just one of the big growth areas is in military and homeland security destinations. There’s a huge growth in that presence—in part because we are close to international borders.”
Affordable and Available
More business and more people mean more meetings, and San Antonio is prepared.
Clanton says this year’s opening of the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, which features more than 1,000 guest rooms and is located next to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, has elevated San Antonio’s ability to serve larger groups.
“We now have 10,000 committable rooms downtown, and this allows us to host bigger meetings,” Clanton says. “In October, we’ll welcome our biggest convention to date: the American Dental Association, with 10,000 rooms on peak. Alcoholics Anonymous is coming in 2010 with 12,000 rooms.”
The real benefit to having more rooms, he says, is that the city can handle two to three large meeting groups simultaneously.
San Antonio’s total meeting facilities package can serve groups of many sizes and profiles. The 600,000-square-foot convention center is the centerpiece, with additional spaces at the Alamodome and the restored 1920s-era Municipal Auditorium. Major headquarters hotels downtown, including Marriott Rivercenter, Marriott Riverwalk and The Westin Riverwalk, mingle with historic properties and boutique lodgings throughout the downtown district. Unique venues, including historic villages, mansions, dance halls, ranches, sports parks, galleries, museums and Art Deco theaters for off-site functions abound all over the city.
About 20 minutes north of downtown in the foothills of the Texas Hill Country, luxury resorts offer meet and play spaces.
At the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, 33,000 square feet of meeting space accommodates groups. Radisson Resort Hill Country & Spa features Texas ranch-style decor and the Asira Spa & Health Club among its amenities. The Westin La Cantera Resort continues to collect annual accolades from top travel magazines for its service and features, including championship golf courses. It also has 39,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space and a terraced event pavilion with panoramic views of the city lights.
Joining the north San Antonio resort portfolio soon will be the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, slated to open in 2010. It will offer two Tournament Players Club golf courses, 1,002 rooms and suites, and 140,000 square feet of meeting space.
Affordability is another reason San Antonio remains appealing during uncertain economic times. Smith Travel Research reported San Antonio’s RevPAR (revenue per available room) rose in the first half of 2008 to $73.32 from $70.84 the same time last year. Average daily room rates rose from $103.94 last year to $109.26 during the first half of 2008. Because it is a walkable downtown city, taxi and bus transportation is often unnecessary for groups once they are in residence.
Clanton says his city is feeling some impact from airlift cuts, but San Antonio doesn’t have one dominant carrier, so attendees still have good choices.
That said, there are still reasons to offer group incentives in the coming months, he says.
“We have seen some slippage in attendance—nothing dramatic—but we expect hotels to do some flexing in the fall with pricing, and we are doing promotions for 2012 where demand seems to be softer,” Clanton says.
Cultural Icons
San Antonio’s colorful heritage and rich array of culture stops continue to be its biggest draw for both business and leisure visitors. There are the historic icons—The Alamo and other Spanish missions—as well as La Villita, site of an original settlement that is now lined with galleries, boutiques and cafes. Market Square, the largest Mexican market north of the Rio Grande, is also a popular attraction.
The city’s artful side is on display in a lineup of cultural institutions such as the San Antonio Museum of Art, the McNay Art Museum and Museo Alameda, a Smithsonian affiliate. As part of a $130 million cultural investment, several museums are expanding, including the McNay Art Museum, which is adding a 45,000-square-foot space that will house exhibits and offer event space for up to 800 guests, and the Witte Art Museum, where an expansion is adding 30,000 square feet of exhibit, event and restaurant space. Additionally, the Briscoe Western Art Museum is opening in fall 2009, celebrating the art, people and history of the American West with an emphasis on the South Texas region.
After The Alamo, the world-famous River Walk is San Antonio’s most popular visitor stop. It winds through downtown past hotels, restaurants, clubs and shops, as well as along the landscaped parkland along the San Antonio River, and it’s about to get even better. A planned extension will take the original walk to museums and the historic Pearl Brewery on the northside by 2009, and the city’s four Spanish colonial missions in the south by 2014. The city is dedicating $345 million in resources to improve and lengthen the River Walk from two to 13 miles.
When it’s time to dine, San Antonio’s unique flavors also reflect the city’s cultural spice and sophistication.
Local chefs put their own spin on the cuisine for which the city is best known, Mexican, but there are traces of German, Southern, Asian and French in local table fare, to name a few.
Most first-time visitors to “Alamo City” don’t expect to learn that German influence is second only to Mexican in everything from local architecture to eats. Germans founded the King William historic district, and historic eateries like the Guenther House restaurant and Schilo’s serve up brats, wursts and Teutonic-style potato salad. Barbecue is easy to come by in San Antonio, too, and that’s where Texas meets German traditions in pit-smoked brisket, ribs and other finger lickin’ good choices. Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese are more recent infusions into the local cuisine scene, as are Indian flavors. You can even find traditional French fare at some local bistros. The variety continues to evolve.
Meanwhile, some call San Antonio “Fiesta City” because there’s a celebration nearly every month on the calendar. Fiesta San Antonio, or “Fiesta,” is an April festival with origins in the 19th century. It began as a carnival to celebrate and honor the memory of Texas Revolution heroes, especially those who fell in The Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto. By 1891, Fiesta was formalized by the Battle of Flowers Parade organization and continues today. Elsewhere on today’s events roster, groups find excitement like the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo (February); Cinco de Mayo (May); Texas Folklife Festival (June); and Fiesta Navidenas (December), which celebrates Mexican Christmas traditions along the River Walk and at Market Square.
There is plenty to celebrate in most any San Antonio season, and diversity is one chip that’s keeping the city not just in the meetings game, but also on the rise in uncertain economic times.
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