North Carolina's Triangle region is a striking mix of intellect, natural beauty and sophistication.
Between the three universities located in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill is Research Triangle Park, a massive science center with more than 170 companies working in every scientific discipline imaginable. Each city also has its own take on art, sports and history, from the museum-rich Raleigh to Durham's reinvention of historic tobacco and textile facilities and Chapel Hill's famed Tar Heels basketball team.
With so much to offer, planners who make a date with these destinations won't be disappointed.
Raleigh
Three years after the opening of the Raleigh Convention Center and its anchor hotel, the 400-room Raleigh Marriott City Center, North Carolina's capital city is reaping the rewards of a six-year, multibillion-dollar investment in infrastructure by hosting nearly 60 conferences and trade shows annually.
New attractions and hotels are still coming into the area, according to Loren Gold, executive vice president for the Greater Raleigh CVB.
"The new Contemporary Art Museum opened in April, and it's a unique museum for North Carolina since there are no permanent exhibits—all exhibits are constantly changing," he says. "The Museum of Sciences will open in autumn 2012 with a one-of-a-kind, three-story-tall globe and several multimedia interpretive areas in science in technology. We also continue to add smaller hotels, including a Hampton Suites property and three others within the next four months."
Gold says that the new museums will be excellent options for off-site events and receptions.
A rising corporate market combined with a strong association market gives Raleigh an edge with both regional and national planners. Since many national business and technology brands have offices in Raleigh, they are bringing meetings to the city, according to Gold.
"Traditionally, companies like Lenovo have gone to tier-one cities, but now they're bringing meetings back to Raleigh," he says. "We're a market that relies heavily on community connectors in the private, public and academic fields, and we call on our connectors to assist with sponsorship, speakers and exhibitors for industry meetings. One of the bigger trends we've seen is planners asking how to access these areas and figure out ways to help their bottom line."
Other recent trends include planners seeking educational tracks on local sustainability like LEED certification and carbon offsets, and participation opportunities in voluntourism, two interests that fit perfectly with Raleigh's existing social responsibility programs. The CVB can assist any planner looking to incorporate these themes with tours, workshops, fundraising activities and on-the-ground donations of time and talent.
The city's numerous museums, such as the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Museum of History, make great locations for off-site events. The Museum of Art, located on 164 acres just 10 miles from downtown, can accommodate up to 250 people for a meeting, and the Museum Park lets attendees enjoy large outdoor artwork via walking and biking trails. The recently developed Fayetteville Street entertainment district can be closed off for a group event, and the new Lonnie Poole Golf Course, located at North Carolina State University, can also host events and conference tournaments.
In addition to the new convention center, the Raleigh area also has the RBC Center, a sports and event center that also offers 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
The AAA Five Diamond Umstead Hotel and Spa and the recently renovated Sheraton Raleigh Hotel are two of the city's popular meetings properties. New properties include the 109-room Courtyard Raleigh North/Triangle Town Center; the 173-room Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport/Brier Creek, which offers more than 6,500 square feet of meeting space and 7,000 square feet of event and outdoor space; and the 128-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport/Brier Creek, which offers two meeting rooms and 1,550 square feet of meeting space.
Durham
The job market may still feel like it's lagging across the country, but in Durham, that market is on fire. Home to cutting-edge facilities in technology, medicine and education, including Research Triangle Park and Duke University, Durham has received recognition for its job growth, innovation and quality from publications such as Forbes, Advertising Age, American City Business Journal and many more.
That stellar reputation for business also makes it a top draw for meeting planners. Educational, medical and tech meetings are strong in Durham, and the area attracts an equal number of state, national and international meetings. While the city's room inventory tops 7,600 with another 1,255 in development, the average group totals around 500, enabling the area to host more than 4,000 meetings annually.
"Durham currently has one hotel downtown with several new lodging developments on the horizon," says Sam Poley, director of marketing and communications for the Durham CVB.
Those developments include a 137-room Hampton Inn and Suites, opening this fall; a 125-room Hilton Garden Inn and 151-room Hyatt Place, both opening next year; and several other projects slated for development in 2013 and beyond. These new hotels will give Durham approximately 500 guest rooms within walking distance of the Durham Convention Center Complex downtown. The convention center itself will also undergo an upgrade within the next year as well.
The 44,000-square-foot Durham Convention Center is connected to the 190-room Durham Marriott City Center, and other meetings options include the 180-room Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club, the Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center and the Charles Hammer Conference Center.
When it comes to off-site venues, Durham has a number of unique choices, especially in downtown, with 4 million square feet of renovated tobacco and textile factory space. The American Tobacco Campus, a renovated tobacco company with 1 million square feet of shops, eateries and entertainment, also contains Bay 7, a top event venue for meetings that can accommodate up to 400. Another historic site is the Golden Belt, a renovated textile mill campus featuring an arts center and The Cotton Room, an upscale event venue featuring 11,000 square feet of event space. Recently opened options include the Fullsteam Brewery, which accommodates up to 200, and two live music venues: MotorCo Music Hall, hosting up to 500, and Casbah, accommodating up to 288.
Sports fans can enjoy both the historic Durham Athletic Park and the current downtown home of the Durham Bulls baseball team, Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Prefer history over home runs? The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University features top contemporary exhibits, while the family-friendly North Carolina Museum of Life and Science offers interactive exhibits and a butterfly garden. All four facilities provide options or space for group events. The Durham Arts Council and the Carolina Theater are also available for events.
Chapel Hill/Orange County
As the home of University of North Carolina (UNC) and the UNC Hospital, Chapel Hill is just as strong as the other Triangle destinations in education and medical advances.
Association meetings are the main market and the area caters to smaller meetings, according to Linda Ekeland, director of sales for the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.
"Chapel Hill continues to grow as a destination for smaller groups, and we are experiencing smaller-sized groups and fewer days in conference," she says. "We're also starting to see groups book further out and recent requests have been for 2012, 2013 and 2014."
Renovation is the word of the day in Chapel Hill lodging; the Carolina Inn, originally built in 1924, is halfway through a $19 million renovation of its guest rooms; the project won't affect the facility's 13,000 square feet of event space. Three other properties, the Siena Hotel, Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel, which offers 17,000 square feet of meeting space, and Courtyard by Marriott have recently finished upgrades as well.
Group activities are a grand mix of country charm and cutting-edge tech, from bottle-feeding calves on a visit to the Chapel Hill Creamery or strolling through the North Carolina Botanical Gardens to a behind-the-scenes tour with the latest science research at Morehead Planetarium.
For those who prefer to think with their taste buds, Chapel Hill is a foodie's delight. With a collection of top eateries, including the Lantern Restaurant, whose chef recently won a James Beard award, Bon Appetit magazine deemed it one of the "foodiest" places in the South. Groups can also take dinner to another level with team-building culinary classes at A Southern Season, a 60,000-square-foot facility packed with gourmet shopping and dining.
In addition to the city's main meetings hotels, another option is the Friday Center for Continuing Education at UNC, which can accommodate up to 450 people.
Freelancer Beth Bartlett spent way too much time happily geeking out over Triangle science while writing this article.
