When Hotel Contessa, already equipped with ample meeting and event space, was looking to expand its square footage for groups, it didn’t have to look far. The hotel partnered with neighboring Briscoe Western Art Museum to offer not only additional space but group offerings.
“The hotel’s corner location in downtown San Antonio does limit our ability to add to our footprint so it was a natural progression to look to our neighbors,” explained Hotel Contessa Director of Marketing and Sales Jerry Jensen. “The Briscoe Western Art Museum and its new facility Jack Guenther Pavilion are located adjacent to Hotel Contessa (across a narrow street), so we began discussions with museum senior management on how we could work together for our mutual benefit.”
The Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Jack Guenther Pavilion offers 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space on three floors. The first floor is home to the River View Room, which has views of the Riverwalk and opens onto the museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden and courtyard accommodating 500 guests. On the second floor, The Gallery can be used for meetings, tradeshows or as a lounge and can be combined with the River View Room or the City Overlook Room on the third floor. The City Overlook Room features floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Riverwalk, the McNutt Garden and historic San Antonio.
The close proximity of the properties allows for groups to seamlessly use both venues, and the hotel’s food and beverage team can cater breaks and meals at the Pavilion. In addition to the extra space, groups can partake in tours and have the option to access the museum’s exhibits before, after or during an event on-site.
“The Briscoe Museum offers docent-led tours scheduled in advance through the museum, and Hotel Contessa offers customized teambuilding activities at the hotel,” Jensen said. “We are working on how to incorporate programs that are mutually beneficial for our clients.”
Hotel Contessa currently has more than 10,000 square feet of conference and event space across 11 rooms, including an executive boardroom, a ballroom and three terraces that look out on the Riverwalk. There are also teambuilding activates at the hotel, with the culinary-focused options like Salsa Showdown, Get Into Guacamole and a Chili Cook-Off being the most popular.