Planners looking to add spice to the meetings menu can start by bringing a new destination into the mix. Here are four locales, including an important music capital and a nearly 500-year-old city, that are evolving as exciting choices for planners to consider.
Austin, Texas
Widely known as the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin is also gaining recognition on the meetings front with a host of brand-name hotels and increased exposure thanks to the likes of star-studded festivals like SXSW.
"This was our 25th year for SXSW, and it continues to give us great exposure all over the world," says Rob Hampton, vice president of sales of the Austin CVB.
According to Hampton, it was recently announced that Austin will serve as the host city of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix starting in 2012, with a 10-year commitment. The city will be constructing a track for the race called Circuit of the Americas that will include a 3.4-mile circuit track and a capacity for 120,000 fans, 14 executive meeting suites, a conference center, a banquet hall as well as an expansive outdoor live music space.
Over the past few years, numerous name-brand hotels have added themselves to the Austin list, including the W Austin as well as the Westin at the Domain and Aloft at the Domain, both in north Austin.
"When we're out talking to groups and meeting professionals, we are an emerging destination—a destination people are talking about," Hampton says. "It's a new city for a lot of people who have been to other great Texas cities; it's a new city they can add to their rotation or introduce to attendees. We have had good success with that."
Austin also offers convenience due to the Austin Convention Center's location, which is within striking distance of 5,500 hotel rooms downtown. Situated between the shores of Lady Bird Lake and historic 6th Street, the convention center, offering 900,000 square feet of meeting space, is close to many of the city's main attractions.
Groups often find more than they imagined when it comes to the live music circuit, according to Hampton.
"Although they have heard so much about the live scene, they are surprised with the diversity of the live music and entertainment districts we have to offer," he says, "such as the variety of music you can hear on our 6th Street, the most famous entertainment street in Texas, as well as the SoCo, Red River and Warehouse districts."
Not surprisingly, a majority of groups incorporate music into their meetings.
"We have a director of music marketing on staff, to work with any budget," Hampton says. "If a group wants an acoustic guitarist at registration or full band and reception, we can do that. One group wanted to go out to Salt Lick Bar-B-Que, a famous barbecue place, and hired musicians for all the buses taking them out there. Groups can do pub crawls, progressive dinners and organize VIP access to several clubs."
Aside from the nightlife, Austin's setting is another draw.
Jamaica
Known more as an idyllic Caribbean getaway than a conference venue, Jamaica earlier this year stepped up its meetings offerings with the opening of the Montego Bay Convention Centre, located in the Rose Hall area of Montego Bay.
"Jamaica has been in the group market for many years," says Marcia Bullock-Jobson, regional director of groups and conventions worldwide for the Jamaica Tourist Board, explaining that the most emphasis has been on incentive and SMERF groups. "Until now we have been only able to attract small meeting groups. Most of the market share has been in the incentive market."
Bullock-Jobson notes that Jamaica previously offered ballrooms for groups, with an average capacity of 200 to 250 people. With the convention center, groups have exhibition space of over 55,000 square feet and a banquet hall for up to 2,000 people, as well as eight breakout rooms for 600 people each.
"This puts us in a completely different ballpark in terms of business," Bullock-Jobson says. "With its opening we can redirect our focus. Though we will still go after the incentive market, the convention center gives us the opportunity for larger groups such as associations and large corporate groups that require meeting space and a trade show floor."
Over the last five years there has been a lot of hotel development, especially in Montego Bay, an advantage for citywide meetings. New brands include the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Riu Montego Bay Resort & Spa and the Palmyra Resort & Spa at Rose Hall.
Jamaica markets its diversity of attractions, including 11 golf courses, five within Montego Bay.
"Most hotels have great spas and there are a number of soft adventure options, such as zip lining, ATV tours, horseback riding in the ocean," Bullock-Jobson says.
Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, an hour away, attract the majority of Jamaica's group business. Both locations are home to a number of all-inclusive resorts and myriad attractions, such as rafting on the Martha Brae and visiting the Windsor Caves, both near Montego Bay, and excursions to Dunn's River Falls & Park near Ocho Rios.
One upscale option that would be especially conducive for incentives or executive meetings is available at The Tryall Club, which is located 12 miles west of Montego Bay and offers 84 luxury villas spread over 2,200 acres, ranging from beachside bungalows to hillside chalets. Tryall also offers a traditional meeting room that can accommodate 100 seated and 80 in classroom configuration.
St. Augustine, Fla.
St. Augustine prides itself on being the oldest city in the U.S., featuring an array of historic churches, monuments, brick streets, horse-drawn carriages, antique shops and ghost tours. The city spills with more than 60 historic sites and attractions, including the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest remaining European fort in the continental U.S., the Cathedral-Basilica, home of the oldest Catholic parish in the U.S., as well as Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archeological Park.
On Sept. 8, 2015, St. Augustine will be the first city in the nation to commemorate 450 years of unbroken existence. Led by First America Foundation, the multiyear commemoration will honor the multicultural history of St. Augustine with a series of events, festivals, programs and historical exhibits.
The foundation is coordinating a few other major upcoming celebrations, including the 500th anniversary of the founding of Florida in 2013 and the 200th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution in 2012. The city's Plaza de La Constitucion houses one of the only two remaining Spanish constitution monuments in the world.
The celebrations will help bring attention to an already burgeoning meetings market, according to Barbara Golden, communications manager for the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau.
"We're seeing more corporate travel over the last few years," Golden says. "We used to be a heavy incentive market. That backed off in the recession, but now that is also on the increase. We hired an aggressive corporate meetings salesperson last year. The CVB is also doing more outreach."
A number of attractions have recently opened in preparation for all the anniversary celebrations, including Crocodile Crossing, a zip line above the canopy of trees and swamps that are home to hundreds of alligators and crocodiles at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
Also recently opened is the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum, located across from the Castillo de San Marcos. The museum houses an impressive private collection of pirate artifacts and also features interactive exhibits.
Another new feature is El Conquistador, a high-speed thrill ride on the waters of Matanzas Bay, the Tolomato River and the Atlantic. This speedboat takes up to 14 passengers on a one-hour narrated tour focusing on history as well as marine science.
The city is also sprucing up its 16th century Aviles Street, the country's oldest street, adding gas-lit lanterns and sidewalk dining.
St. Augustine's neighbor Ponte Vedra Beach is the area's main resort-style getaway with numerous spas, 42 miles of beaches and the famous THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, which hosts the THE PLAYERS Championship each May.
Golf fans can also find the World Golf Hall of Fame at World Golf Village in St. Augustine.
Asheville, N.C.
Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and close to the Great Smoky range, Asheville's tranquil setting inspired the likes of native author Thomas Wolfe.
"In the meetings world we use the line 'Think Better Here,'" says Tim Lampkin, director of convention sales and group services for the Asheville CVB. "The idea is that getting away to fresh mountain air energizes meetings in a natural, organic way."
One of the city's main attractions is the Biltmore Estate, the largest private residence in North America, which is a 250-room mansion built by George W. Vanderbilt and modeled after the 16th-century chateaux Chenonceaux and Chambord in France.
Asheville's Central Business District features unique restaurants and shops, while its River Arts District, the old warehouse district, is brimming with artists at work. Recently, the area's funky setting has started to boom as a destination with music venues, theater and restaurants, including the 12 Bones Smokehouse, where President Obama has visited twice.
"We're becoming more of a nationally known destination. I think that we are growing into a reward destination and an experiential type meeting place," Lampkin says. "More meeting attendees are bringing their spouses and engaging in the community."
Access is getting easier, as well. The Asheville Regional Airport has continued to expand with close to 40 direct flights.
"Asheville on a regular basis sets attendance records," Lampkin says. "We've seen in recessionary times that attendance still has held up. We're fairly easy to get to and pretty balanced in price, so good value at the end of the day. During the worst of the recession we saw some travel that had previously gone overseas and we had great experience with those meetings."
Other attractions for groups include the many breweries that have helped dub Asheville Beer City USA and outings to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
