Already highly regarded for its renowned live music scene, culinary options and venue choices, Austin is now in the midst of a hotel building boom that promises to make it a bigger draw for meetings. This year has already brought a major convention hotel to the city, while many other choices, including new boutique properties, are soon to follow.
Austin’s largest hotel, the 1,012-room, 34-story JW Marriott, made its downtown debut in February, a LEED Silver property with more than 112,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel brought on chef Juan Martinez to oversee restaurants and catering at the hotel, which includes restaurants serving Italian and local Texas favorites as well as one with a walk-up food truck-style window on Congress Ave.
An even larger convention property, the 1,066-room Fairmont Austin, is under development and set to open in 2017. Linked to the Austin Convention Center, it will offer 106,500 square feet of meeting space plus an additional 43,300 square feet of prefunction areas and a roof deck large enough to accommodate 1,200 guests at outdoor receptions.
Another addition for the convention center area will be the 366-room Westin Austin Downtown. Scheduled to open in July, the hotel will feature a full-service restaurant, fitness center and 15,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Austin is already reaping the benefits of these new convention hotel additions, according to Steve Genovesi, senior vice president of sales for the Austin CVB.
“With the JW Marriott announcement, Austin has been able to attract more citywide business—meeting planners now feel that our hotel package mix is much more attractive,” he says. “Having the Fairmont Austin on the horizon has helped even more. We’re now able to go after larger groups than we have in the past.”
In particular, the medical and tech sectors are fueling much of the meetings growth in Austin, owing partly to the presence of the University of Texas, major tech companies and the Austin Convention Center, which, according to Genovesi, is one of the most technologically advanced convention centers in the nation. The convention center, which offers 375,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, is host to such mega events as Dell World and South by Southwest Music and Media Conference.
Boutique Boom
Austin is also expanding its boutique hotel options, including hip new properties with signature dining and outdoor event spaces. In July, the city will welcome its first Kimpton property, the 322-room Hotel Van Zandt in the heart of the Rainey Street Historic District, a major hub for nightlife. The hotel will offer a chef-driven restaurant, 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space and an expansive pool deck and bar.
“We’re really excited about getting this new hotel in Rainey Street, which is really popular for pub crawls and entertainment,” says Cindy Lo, owner of Red Velvet Events, a local DMC. “It will be a great option for small groups.”
In August, another boutique property, the 71-room South Congress Hotel, will open downtown with a rooftop pool featuring downtown views and event space for up to 300 guests. It will also have three chef-driven restaurants, including Otoko, which will serve a Japanese tasting menu created by James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Qui.
Scheduled for downtown in 2016 are two “hybrid” hotel complexes, each encompassing dual properties located in the same building. One will pair InterContinental’s Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn Express brands, while the other will pair Starwood’s Aloft and Element brands. In 2017, Texas-based Hotel ZaZa plans to open a 160-room boutique property in a mixed-use downtown tower.
Hill Country Newcomers
New hotels are also springing up in suburban Austin and the surrounding Hill Country. In a new mixed-use development in suburban Georgetown, the 224-room Sheraton Georgetown, Texas Hotel and Conference Center is slated to open next year with 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
Two properties are scheduled to open later this year west of Austin. The 195-room Sonesta Bee Cave, set for a July debut at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, will feature 10,000 square feet of meeting space. In Westlake Hills, the 194-room Hotel Granduca is slated to open in October with a Northern Italian restaurant, extensive gardens and 6,650 square feet of meeting space.
Wine and Dine
Along with expanding hotel choices, Austin offers a wealth of dining and entertainment venues that are much more varied than many out-of-towners realize, according to Lo.
“While our No. 1 request from planners is for a venue with a country and western theme, we’ve got so much more than that,” she says. “There are great country and western places like the Rattle Inn, where we can bring in a mechanical bull and serve drinks in mason jars. But right near there is the Rio, a nightclub with a modern Miami vibe that has great rooftop space. And we have great places for jazz like the Elephant Room.”
Austin’s culinary scene holds abundant options for dine-arounds and restaurant buyouts, she adds.
“We have an amazing number of talented chefs, many who graduated from our local culinary school and decided to stay in Austin,” she says. “What you won’t find here is a lot of chains.”
Among Lo’s favorite Austin restaurants for group buyouts are Swift’s Attic, which has won numerous awards for its small-plates menu, including Asian fusion dishes. She also likes Barley Swine, which is known for its locally sourced cuisine drawn from local ranches and farms.
In the Hill Country town of Driftwood, Lo recommends The Salt Lick, a landmark barbecue restaurant with atmospheric venues that include a private dining room with a stone fireplace, a wine cellar, a historic mansion overlooking vineyards and the Pecan Grove, a glass-enclosed pavilion overlooking a waterfall.
“It’s about a 45-minute drive from downtown Austin, but definitely worth it,” Lo says.
