You can’t sit still when you come to Austin. And that’s a good thing.
Natalie Kennedy, president and founder of Kennedy Creative, an Austin-based events management company, says what makes Austin unique (the city’s credo is "Keep Austin Weird") is its inimitable energy.
"There is a feeling of entrepreneurship and creativity and people are very gracious, which appeals to many groups," she says. "There are so many different cultures and backgrounds and the college atmosphere. You get the small-town ease with this forward motion. The energy is like nothing else."
That energy has been attracting groups and leisure travelers for a long time. And Austin is becoming more popular, as it doesn’t have the reputation for being a meetings boondoggle. The energetic city is also undergoing a lot of changes, which is going to get planners jumping out of their seats.
"What makes Austin stand out is its confidence," says Roy Benear, senior vice president for the Austin CVB. "We aren’t a city searching for an identity or a way to attract attention. And what’s really exciting is that the city is adding so many things to enhance its unique identity."
The biggest news without question is the new home of the 34-year-old PBS show Austin City Limits, which opens in 2011 at Block 21, a hip new urban development smack dab in downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District—a far cry from where the venue was formerly located, hidden away on the University of Texas campus.
"2nd Street is the newest, trendiest area in Austin," Benear says. "It’s got sidewalk cafes and lots of life. It’s already pretty cool, and it’s just going to get even better with the new theater."
Austin City Limits Studio Theater will seat more than 2,500—the old digs could only seat 340—and feature expertly engineered acoustics and easier access for persons with disabilities. Even with the expanded capacity, the theater will remain intimate. The farthest seat is only 60 feet from the stage. From the stage, theater views resemble reconstructions of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, according to Chris Apollo Lynn, editor of the Republic of Austin.
The new central location, private box seats, master acoustics (and prominent signage no less) suit the studio’s recently inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Landmark status. Shows from the new theater begin taping in February.
"It’s going to add a lot of possibilities for groups," Benear says. "There are just so many tapings per year, but groups are going to be able to have events in the theater when there aren’t tapings. They could have a band perform on the stage. Now that’s definitely memorable."
Meeting attendees and leisure travelers are attracted to Austin because it’s the "Live Music Capital of the World." (Note that if you forget to stock up on souvenirs, you can pick some up at the Austin City Limits store in the airport). The slogan became official in 1991 as the city has more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the nation. Austin hosts nearly 200 venues and is home to thousands of musicians. Attendees can catch a show any day of the week, day or night.
"The range of music that you can find in Austin is incredible," Benear says. "Not just country, but jazz, gospel, indie rock and rap. Our music office releases an original Austin music CD every year."
The city offers the Austin City Limits Music Festival (an annual event in Zilker Park) and South by Southwest, which serves up eclectic indie music and films.
And then there are Austin music districts: Sixth Street, Red River, Warehouse and Market, as well as the University of Texas. Conference-goers and planners can download the handy Austin Music Guide to better make sense of the possibilities.
A huge part of Austin’s culture takes place not inside a music club, but in the great outdoors. The city includes more than 200 parks and offers miles of hiking and biking trails. Austin is champion cyclist Lance Armstrong’s adopted hometown, after all. So the city has wholeheartedly embraced bicycle culture. (The fact that the live-work philosophy is alive and well doesn’t hurt either.)
Austin is also a great place to see amazing art. Blanton Museum at the University of Texas, Austin is the city’s newest art museum, housed in a recently completed two-building complex. The museum’s collection is the largest and most comprehensive in Central Texas and features more than 18,000 works. Its specialties are European paintings, modern and contemporary American and Latin American art and a massive collection of prints and drawings.
Meanwhile, Mexic-Arte Museum, situated in the heart of downtown Austin, focuses on Mexican and Mexican American art and culture. The main gallery space is ideal for small receptions, luncheons, corporate meetings and other events. Guests have private access to the museum’s exhibitions, ranging from traditional to contemporary Mexican, Latino and Latin American art.
Attendees have plenty of room to get comfortable thanks to a wealth of group venues, such as the Austin Convention Center, encompassing 881,400 square feet of function space that includes five exhibit halls, 54 meeting rooms and two ballrooms.
Moreover, the city provides a variety of meetings-friendly hotels, with 30,000 guest rooms metro-wide and more than 5,500 rooms downtown, in addition to exciting new properties gracing the scene.
Aloft Austin at The Domain recently opened in a hip mixed-use development 10 minutes north of Austin. Another hotel is planned at the project, the Westin Austin at The Domain, which will feature 340 guest rooms and about 15,000 square feet of meeting space. And the ever-chic W Hotels is bringing its name to downtown Austin in the development that will house the Austin City Limits Studio Theater. W Austin is slated to debut this December at Block 21.
Meanwhile, existing hotels satisfy every group size and budget. The 800-room Hilton Austin, across from the convention center, offers the city’s largest ballroom and a scenic rooftop pool and sun deck. The 448-room Hyatt Regency Austin features views of Lady Bird Lake from its Foothills Ballroom. InterContinental Stephen F. Austin and the Driskill Hotel, both with 189 rooms, are other meetings stalwarts.
"Every major hotel flag is represented," Benear points out. "Plus, Austin has some cool little boutique hotels, especially along South Congress Avenue, where there are tons of live music clubs and chic restaurants."
Unique boutique options on South Congress Avenue—where the Colorado River runs through Austin—include the European-style Kimber Modern, the stately Hotel Saint Cecilia (with vintage vinyl in its library) and the 1939-built Hotel San Jose, where you could easily imagine Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth hiding away in one of the bungalows if they ever came to Austin.
Making it even easier for planners is that Austin boasts 300 days of sunshine and moderate temperatures averaging 70 degrees year-round, and the city is easily accessible, with Austin-Bergstrom International Airport just 7.5 miles from downtown.
Hill Country
Texas Hill Country extends from Austin southward to San Antonio. The region that was settled by early German immigrants is worthy of exploration, thanks to picturesque canyons and hills and an emerging wine trail that attracts 5 million visitors annually. The New York Times ranked the Texas Hill Country No. 1 out of the "Best Places to Go This Summer."
"We have done a number of unique events in Hill Country," Kennedy says. "It’s so close to Austin, and it offers a lot of choices. The wineries in particular are pretty amazing."
The wine trail, which includes 24 wineries, offers five self-guided trail events planned throughout the year. Becker Winery has been featured in Wine Spectator and has served at The White House. The venue offers event space and a bed-and-breakfast property. Driftwood Estate Winery boasts a hilltop view overlooking the vineyard, a picnic area and a covered deck. And Grape Creek Vineyards channels Tuscany in Texas at their new Italian villa tasting room and event center.
Austin and the Hill Country is serious about golf. Golf Magazine ranks it the "No. 1 Golf City in America." And CNN.com named Austin the nation’s No. 1 golf destination.
Set on 4,000 acres, the 295-room Barton Creek Resort & Spa features four championship golf courses, redesigned rooms, the 8212 Wine Bar & Grill and The Rock House at the Fazio Canyons, a ranch house that is available for private parties. It is located next to the 18th green of the Fazio Canyons golf course.
The 492-room Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa boasts a large pool deck that is part of 230,000 square feet of outdoor function space and 60,000 square feet of indoor meeting space.
In the heart of the Texas Hill Country, the 7,000-acre Horseshoe Bay Resort overlooks a lake and offers a variety of indoor and outdoor space. It features three Robert Trent Jones Sr. golf courses, water sports, a dining yacht, pools, a spa and an 18-hole Bermuda grass putting course. It was named one of America’s Best Golf Resorts by Golf Magazine and has been listed among the "50 Best Courses in Texas" (Dallas Morning News) every year since the list was created. The accommodations options range from The Waters, with one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with lake views, to the 385 guest rooms and suites at the Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott Hotel.
Other choice options for groups include Lake Austin Spa Resort, one of Travel + Leisure’s top 10 coziest spas in the nation; the 166-room Lakeway Resort and Spa, scenically fronting Lake Travis; and the intimate, 43-room Vintage Villas, also on Lake Travis.
Farther south toward San Antonio are more options, including Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa, with abundant meeting space and 27 holes of championship golf, a spa and a four-acre waterpark.
