< Previouscal convention with a doctor who was speaking and unbeknownst to the plan- ners, there were allegations against him of assault. The husband of one of the patients showed up at his talk and then got up on the stage and slapped the crap out of him. They could clearly have killed him. So you know that they didn’t do their homework to under- stand there’s a problematic speaker with legal issues or allegations pending against him that might bring problems to the event.” Hiring Your Own Security Planners also need to check with the venue if they want to hire extra or their own security team. One plan- ner was set on hiring outside secu- rity for an event but hadn’t checked with the venue. “The meeting planner in that instance thought that they could just hire the security team to show up for this event that they’re doing in San Fran- cisco and with no thought that it might be prohibited,” he said. “Plus, I’ve had instances where venues have said, ‘Wait a minute, if you think there’s going to be a problem, we don’t want your event. We don’t want the liability or concessions that have to be made and costs have to be incurred.’ So that’s why it’s impor- tant to have those conversations early on with the venue.” Darryl A. Diamond, CMP, associate director of meetings and events at Talley in Mount Royal, NJ, said that he worked with a group of research scientists at one point that was picketed by an animal rights organization. “We connected with local police when we started the planning phase,” Diamond said. “We went down to the first walkthrough and site visit and we stayed in contact with them. Through- out the year, we filled them in on the agenda. I think the more aware you are that your meeting has the potential for contro- versy, having those contacts with local authorities is super important.” Still, Diamond con- siders the biggest safety threat health issues, even post-pandemic. “Even though we’re post pan- demic, I still think that we’re always on the lookout for the next thing,” he said. “And if we forget the lessons that we learned during Covid, I feel like we just let a whole lot of knowledge walk right out the door. Even though there are no masks or vaccine checks any- more, we know how to jump into that space if need be.” Diamond added that one of the issues regarding health to look out for is whether the venue is following all local and federal guidelines. “We want to make sure that we have it right for insurance and that both par- ties are insured for any losses,” he said. “And then we do have business and practicability clauses in the contracts wherever possible, and if something should happen and we can’t get more than 40% of our attendees to the confer- ence or have the conference operate, we have it covered.” From a health and wellness stand- point, Diamond also noted a need to watch out for issues such as food- borne illness. “Are the sanitary procedures of the venue being followed?” he asked. “We want to make sure that we don’t get to a situation where somebody gets sick because another employee cut a cor- ner somewhere.” Environmental Safety Risks “You’re looking at the environmental conditions, and the timing of the year and what normally occurs in the area,” Richmond said. “If you’re going to have an event in Miami during hurricane season, then you’re going to have a dis- cussion around these issues, or you’re going to be in Dallas Fort Worth during tornado season. What are the protocols we want to have in place in case we have themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESSEPTEMBER 2023 Darryl A. Diamond, CMP Associate Director of Meetings and Events, Talley I think the more aware you are that your meeting has the potential for controversy, having those contacts with local authorities is super important. 30 U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (All Periodicals Publications Except Requester Publications) 1. Publication Title: Association Conventions & Facilities 2. Publication Number: 003-500 3. Filing Date: September 25, 2023 4.Issue Frequency: Bi-Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 6 6. Annual Subscription Price: N/A 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 Contact Person: Harvey Grotsky Telephone: 561-989-0600 x106 8. Complete Mailing Address or General Business Office of Publisher: 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 9.Full Names and Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Publisher: Harvey Grotsky, 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 Editor: Harvey Grotsky, 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 Managing Editor: Harvey Grotsky, 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 10.Owner: Harvey Grotsky, Coastal Communications Corporation, 2500 North Military Trail, Suite 283, Boca Raton, FL 33431-6322 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months 13.Publication Title: Association Conventions & Facilities 14.Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2023 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: Controlled Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 months No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date a.Total Number of Copies (net press run)21,45521,455 Legitimate Paid and/or Requested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) b1. Outside County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS FORM 3541 —— b2.In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS FORM 354112,53712,541 b3. Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid or Requested Distribution Outside USPS® —— b4. Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail Classes Through the USPS® —— c.Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation [Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)]12,53712,541 Non-Requested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) d1.Outside County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 ---- d2.In-County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 354188288739 d3.Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by Other Classes of Mail —— d4. Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail —— e.Total Nonrequested Distribution [Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4)]88288739 f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e)21,36521,280 g.Copies not Distributed90175 h. Total (Sum of 15f and 15g) 21,45521,455 i.Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation (15c divided by 15f times 100)58.7%58.9% 16. Electronic Copies Circulation: N/A a.Requested and Paid Electronic Copies—— b.Total Requested & Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Requested/Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 12,53712,541 c.Total Requested Copy Distribution (Line 15f) + Requested/Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a)21,36521,280 d.Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x 100) P I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are legitimate requests or paid copies. 17.Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the September 2023 issue of this publication. 18.Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or owner (Signed): Harvey Grotsky (Publisher/Owner) Date: 9/25/2023 I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties)a tornado, and we need to have people go into a secure area?” Diamond also focuses on watching weather related forecasts. “Let’s say that you’ve got a meeting citywide or even a multiple hotel meet- ing and you decided not to use buses because it’s walking distance to the other hotels,” he said. “But all of a sud- den, you’ve got weather that’s over 100 degrees and it could be dangerous for people to walk. What will you do? It’s going to be a newly budgeted item, so there’s some financial risks. It’s a mat- ter of setting priorities and asking the right questions. And doing it upfront and thinking about how and where we’re going might impact our budget and what might impact people.” Eisenstodt is also seeing more need for precautions due to the changing political landscape in the U.S. “With states instituting their own regulations on topics such as abortion and transgender bathrooms you may want to consider a meeting let’s say of 1,000 people or 10,000 people,” she said. “Within that population, you’re going to have somebody who might be pregnant, or you might have somebody who might be transgender. In the case of the pregnant woman who is talking about getting an abortion, she could be arrested for going into a restroom and being challenged on using that restroom. I don’t know that these are the extremes, I think we just don’t hear about it.” Forward Thinking The key to a safe event is forward thinking. Eisenstodt recalls one instance at a meeting she helped organize where exhibits were not her responsibility, but the person in charge had not checked carefully whether the carpet was laid down correctly. “Somebody attending the exhibit caught their toe under a corner of carpeting in the exhibit hall and fell on the concrete floor leading to a concussion,” she said. “Would I have anticipated that? No, but do I do now? Of cours, I do. You can do spot checks at least in an exhibit hall, as an example, or check in a meeting room to make sure that the AV company has carefully taped down any of the cords so that there’s nothing that somebody could trip on. You can check to see that tables are stable. You can check with food and beverage and you can look at how it is served, where it’s served and the temperature of the food.” Diamond also listed forward think- ing as a top priority for safety. “If I’m doing a cruise ship meeting in the Caribbean, and it’s August, I’m in hurricane season,” Diamond said. “So, I have to make sure that I’ve got cancellation insurance. Have I alerted my attendees? If I’m going to Phoenix next week, I better be sending emails out to my attendees to tell them, ‘Hey, it’s going to be hot. Even though we’re going to be inside in the air conditioning, when you go out at night, it’s going to be hot, and if you go out or take a jog in the morning, please consider bringing extra water.’ Do I have to have first aid and EMTs on-site? I think it’s also knowing your event and if your event is outside. Perhaps in this kind of weather, it may be prudent to maybe serve less alcohol and more cold drinks.” Communication is Key “We should know how to set up a communication tree,” Diamond said. “Who is getting that call when some- thing goes wrong? And who’s contact- ing everybody? Is there a mass email or mass texting system? Do we collect on-site attendees emergency contact information? And who is talking? Who’s getting up making a statement on behalf of your organization? Is it the president? Is it the executive director? Is it a member of my staff? Knowing that in advance and funneling all the information to that person is really important as well.” | AC&F | SEPTEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES Doing careful checking over any venue spaces before an event is important to identify any potential risks, such as tripping hazards. DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM 31PLANNER STRATEGIES themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESSEPTEMBER 2023 Creating an Experience The Changing Landscape of Event Design By Marlene Goldman “People are now much more critical about the events they spend their time on, which means that if you don’t think about event design, the likelihood of those events surviving is pretty mediocre,” Ruud Janssen, co-founder and managing partner of the Event Design Collective, GmbH, an event design consult- ing and training firm in Switzerland, said. The vision behind Janssen’s Event Design Collective (EDC) is to create a common language for designing events using a strategic management template – the Event Canvas, which is a visual chart with elements describing an event’s potential and how it benefits stakeholders. According to Janssen, “Many associations and member- ship-based organizations are very conscious about rethink- ing how they design events to suit the needs of the respective stakeholders most effectively.” Aside from the initial buy in from the association’s stakehold- ers, designers need to know an event’s target audience, which is getting younger. A report released earlier this year by event company Freeman, “Freeman Trends Report: Event Attendee Intent and Behavior Q1 2023,” found a drop in the average age of B2B event attendees — from 51 before the pandemic, to 45. “The biggest thing is a decided shift in audience,” David Sherman, vice president, executive creative director for Freeman in Dallas, TX, said. “Event organizers are starting to get serious about overhauling their events to make them more attractive for the more demanding preferences of Gen Z and Millennials who are now well over half the attendees.” Dennis Smith, vice president of business development at AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association) in Atlanta, GA, agreed that the generational shift in attendees is sparking a shift in event design strategy. “Meeting and trade show professionals are experiencing a strong return to face-to-face after the pandemic as there has been a high degree of pent-up demand for shows,” Smith said. “However, there is a demand for change as many companies that have been participating for years are now looking at the ROI of participating and/or sponsoring events. This result is driving some of the change toward event design strategy.” AAHOA produces the annual trade show AAHOACON, which draws some 8,000 attendees, in addition to 25 annual sin- gle-day regional events, charity golf tournaments and town halls. Smith added that with a changing workforce landscape and a new generation entering the workforce, the traditional event design model will not survive, as the expectations related to the event experience are changing. “A positive side of the pandemic is that we were able to test different models and measure the amount of true engagement, which by all accounts was quite low. More networking, more engagement and more experiential activities are all elements that every organizer must consider in designing their events.” Some engagement strategies AAHOA uses in its floor plan revolve around ensuring attendees walk the entire route of he changing needs and priorities of event exhibitors and attendees in today’s post- pandemic world is driving a change in the basic strategies of event design, from the conceptual stage to execution. T 32the hall. “We have plenty of activations to keep engagement at a high level. We also stagger meals and drink station times to pro- mote engagement during all our events,” Smith said. In addi- tion, one key change introduced this year at AAHOACON in Los Angeles was a stage area for hoteliers to experience solutions to common challenges that AAHOA branded “The Garage.” Other added activations on the show floor included a massage and relaxation zone and gaming locations that were strategically placed around the show floor, according to Smith. Michelle Koblenz, senior manager, events for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in Washington D.C., is also basing event design on the latest studies and surveys. “When we survey our attendees, we’re learning that, more and more, attendees are looking for opportunities to connect with other people at the events. That’s why they want to be in person. Now that we’re back in our full force of working towards live events, we’ve taken a little bit more of a critical look at our past patterns for our events. We’ve given each event additional opportunities to have a networking focus, so less time in the classroom and more time talking to each other.” NBAA’s annual show draws nearly 25,000 attendees, and the association also hosts smaller regional forums and a series of trade specific conferences, as well as a convention each year in Geneva, Switzerland. Another strategy is creating innovative environments to facilitate conversation. “At our event last year in Atlanta, we had an oxygen bar during the break. There were four chairs in a row, so you could strike up a conversation with the person next to you while enjoying some fresh air.” Koblenz said NBAA also added networking opportunities, offering food and beverage breaks on the show floor, timed events to draw crowds to exhibit booths, such as tarot card readers, and educational content in theaters on the show floor. “We have our Keynote Theater, which is a 2,000-seat theater, on the show floor facing the exhibits.” Janssen looks at networking and engagement as the result of good event design. “If things are well designed, if they con- nect to the needs of the respective stakeholders, if they enable you to go into the direction of changing of the behaviors and they’re done in the ways that people are moti- vated, I think that’s what that’s what engagement looks like. Engagement is never a purpose; it’s an outcome. You just need to make sure you address what’s needed and cut away all the stuff that’s not needed. It’s the art of weeding it out and keeping the essence. We’re not looking for more complexity. We’re looking for more simplicity.” Immersive Design Event designers are leveraging data to customize immer- sive event experiences that resonate with their attendees. 33 SEPTEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES Dennis Smith Vice President of Business Development, Asian American Hotel Owners Association More networking, more engagement and more experiential activities are all elements that every organizer must consider in designing their events. COURTESY OF DAVID SHERMAN COURTESY OF DENNIS SMITH Left: Inviting signage welcomed attendees at the Inspired Home Show this spring at McCormick Place in Chicago. Above: Surveys by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) revealed that attendees are looking for opportunities to connect in person, so planners took that into consideration when designing their annual convention and trade show this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center.“We’ve seen a number of clients interested in re-organizing their event around topic and content-focused experiential zones,” Sherman said. “Often these experiential zones repre- sent the organizational pillars for the industry the show rep- resents. Therefore, you get a neighborhood effect whereby communities form around the experiential zones and provide a more focused, more efficient, more valuable experience for the attendee.” Sherman also noted that Freeman is trying to offer more opportunities for attendees to create a personalized or curated agenda or experience based on their objectives, interests or backgrounds. Ideally, this starts pre-event and integrates into their planning. “One project gave the attendee an ‘ideal day’ based on desired outcomes, and then led them through the event floor with LED towers that featured QR codes that iden- tified nearby content and exhibitors related to the desired out- come,” he said. “Hopefully, this type of guidance can be accomplished with AI in the near future.” Sherman said Freeman is start- ing to use AI image generators to help visualize new concepts, or establish inspiration or mood boards for a project. Freeman has also partnered with companies like Zenus to introduce ethical AI tech- nologies that capture sentiment and allow for AI-based behavior mapping that can measure KPIs to inform the design of future events. Freeman is also seeing a desire to create intentional micro-com- munities within events based on common interests, segments of the industry or desired outcomes. “Oftentimes, this is being accomplished by using a more ‘destination’ based event design,” Sherman said. “We are curat- ing features, activities and engagement around topical areas of focus that draw together attendees with common needs and interests. There is always a desire to offer greater personaliza- tion and matchmaking to interests as well.” At NBAA’s events, attendees are looking for more custom- ized experiences. “They definitely are more interested in a curated experi- ence for the people who are coming who are qualifying,” Jessa Foor, senior director of marketing, NBAA, in Washington D.C., said. “For instance, if they have somebody come to the booth who they really feel is going to buy XYZ, then they will invite them to a truly curated intimate VIP experience that they’re having at the event. They’ve pivoted away from having these large parties where they invite basically everybody. Now, they might rent the penthouse of a hotel and have a bourbon experi- ence where smaller groups of people are actually getting the chance to network at this small, curated experience.” For the Toy Association’s annual Toy Fair show this year, a cornerstone feature was a new Visual Merchandising Initiative, which required exhibitors to make products visible in at least 20% of their aisle- facing booth space. The initiative came as a result of feedback from the retail community and media to create a more engaging show experience, according to Kimberly Carcone, Executive Vice President, Global Market Events, The Toy Association. “When show attendees walked the aisles, they were met with fewer barriers for business and more opportunities to fully engage with the companies and products on display,” Carcone said. “By tak- ing advantage of this opportunity, exhibiting companies were also able to put their top camera-ready priorities front and center for media, while still having the opportunity to create more private spaces to showcase 2024 product behind closed doors to more exclusive and trusted partners.” Exhibit booths were evaluated based on creativity, effec- tiveness, presentation and overall structure. Five companies — based on booth size — were to be awarded in each of the four categories: themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESSEPTEMBER 2023 The European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) is an annual event focused on networking and education. COURTESY OF JESSA FOOR / NBAA The Event Design Collective team trains event planners on how to elevate their event design to reach its full potential. COURTESY OF RUUD JANSSEN 34• Connection Award: An exhibit space whose entire atmosphere is united in design with the core product(s) • Out-of-the-Box Award: A creative, imaginative exhibit space that is innovative and outside the limits of conven- tional thinking • Powerfully Playful Award: An exhibit space that con- veys fun and liveliness to the attendee with inter- active elements • Warm Welcome Award: A visually hospitable exhibit that invites the attendee in Recognizing that play’s impact reaches well beyond the toy space, this year’s show incorporated new product zones highlighting the opportunities in toy-adjacent industries and trends, such as the World of Toys Pavilion in partnership with Spielwarenmesse eG, featuring brands and playthings from around the world. Sustainability and Healthy Practices With sustainability and the Net Zero Carbon Events ini- tiative taking center stage in recent years, event designers are focusing on exhibitors using eco-friendly materials, reducing waste and considering the overall carbon footprint of an event. “I think social justice and social change is important to people and more and more we’re incredibly focused on trying to make our events as sustainable as possible,” Koblenz said. “Part of what we’ve done is we have started carbon offset pro- grams, we try and reduce single-use plastics and we are doing our best to reduce as much printing as possible.” NBAA also uses more digital signage on-site and options like a video wall to showcase what is currently happening at events to draw attendees in. “Looking to the future, I think that looking to the device in your hand, and making sure you can use that throughout the show is such an important feature,” Koblenz said. “We fre- quently do a lot with our QR codes around the building so that, if you scan something, you can learn more about what’s going on. For a VIP event we did a couple years ago, we had link tree QR codes on each table as the centerpiece so you scan the QR code and it brought you to a link tree where you could click through to see all the different resources and news articles about what was going on. The program- ming related to the programming that we were putting on in that room.” On the health side, in designing an F&B menu, Koblenz said she is being asked to provide healthier options that fuel people. “How you serve your food has become more and more important to the attendee. When I go to events and when we’ve set up events, if we put two food and beverage options out, one is a standard display and one is something interactive, like you get a crudité cup where attendees choose all their dress- ings. “People like those types of oppor- tunities so they are fun for people who are outgoing, and sometimes, it helps people who are a little bit shyer feel more comfortable because we’re giving them something to do with their hands, or something to do because they’re on the show floor.” Casual dinners are also more popular for NBAA’s member- ship rather than big gala events, Koblenz noted. “They don’t want to go and listen to speeches for an extended period of time and sit at a table with the same 10 people. They want to have the opportunity to talk to 20 differ- ent people at our reception event,” she explained. Sherman said that for Freeman, Product Theaters with food included and Lunch & Learns are increasingly attractive for both sponsors and attendees. “In general, blending consumption and learning just makes for a more natural, comfortable, social experience that people are more likely to participate in and linger around,” Sherman said. Next Generation Training for the next generation of event designers is a pri- ority for the EDC. Janssen noted about 700 people have gone through the EDC’s level three cohort training to become certi- fied event designers. The Event Canvas is also being taught in universities and EDC is building design labs around the world, from Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands to Purdue University. “Also, we’ve got this massive repository of event designs,” Janssen said, based on all the collaborative training sessions, or cohorts, EDC has hosted worldwide. “It’s like this IKEA store of event designs that’s building up in the background. And people can just go shopping and then go look at open rooms where you can look at each other’s designs.” He also noted the event designs are looking toward the future. “We’re designing very often for far out,” he said. “What does this look like in 2029? How does the evolution work in the next three, four years? What iterations of change do we have to be able to get to that future state?” | AC&F | SEPTEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen navigates a SolarStratos solar powered airplane simulator with the airplane’s founder, Raphaël Domjan, at EBACE 2023. Michelle Koblenz Senior Manager, Events National Business Aviation Association When we survey our attendees, we’re learning that, more and more, attendees are looking for opportunities to connect with other people at the events. That’s why they want to be in person. 35he deserving winners of the 2023 Distinctive Achievement Awards presented by Association Conventions & Facilities magazine have met or exceeded the high standards that association meeting planners demand today. Many of the more than 20,500 meeting professionals who read Association Conventions & Facilities cast their ballot for the hotels, resorts and convention and visitors bureaus that successfully accommodated their association meetings during the past year. The Distinctive Achievement Award winners were judged on the following criteria: CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAUS • Superior Service and Support • Top-Notch Assistance with Promotion, Accommodations and Site Inspections • High Level of Assistance to Identify and Liaise with Suppliers, Vendors, Facilities, Venues and Local Government • Outstanding Communication and a First-Rate Website HOTELS & RESORTS • Superior Service Standards • Excellent Accommodations and Meeting Facilities • Reasonable Room Rates and Labor Costs • Advanced Technological Capabilities and a First-Rate Website • Environmentally Friendly Policies • Paramount Safety and Security You will find profiles of several of the best of the best on the following pages. | AC&F | BEST OF THE BEST VISIT DALLAS VISIT TAMPA BAY CELEBRATING THE LOUISVILLE TOURISM MONTEREY CONFERENCE CENTER NEW ORLEANS & COMPANY VISIT TUCSON themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESSEPTEMBER 202336CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAUS Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau Atlanta, GA Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Ormond Beach, FL Destination Cleveland Cleveland, OH Destination DC Washington, DC Discover Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico Experience Columbus Columbus, OH Experience Scottsdale Scottsdale, AZ Explore St. Louis St. Louis, MO Meet Boston Boston, MA Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau Miami, FL Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Las Vegas, NV Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau Long Beach, CA Louisville Tourism Louisville, KY Marina Del Rey Tourism Board Marina Del Rey, CA Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. Nashville, TN New Orleans & Company New Orleans, LA New York City Tourism + Conventions New York, NY Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau Philadelphia, PA San Diego Tourism Authority San Diego, CA Team San Jose San Jose, CA Visit Anaheim Anaheim, CA Visit Cincy Cincinnati, OH Visit Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Visit Dallas Dallas, TX Visit Detroit Detroit, MI Visit Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX Visit Houston Houston, TX Visit Indy Indianapolis, IN Visit Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL VISIT Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI Visit Orlando Orlando, FL Visit Savannah Savannah, GA Visit Tampa Bay Tampa, FL Visit Tucson Tucson, AZ CONVENTION CENTERS America’s Center St. Louis, MO Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA Austin Convention Center Austin, TX CAESARS FORUM Las Vegas, NV Colorado Convention Center Denver, CO George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, TX Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, OH Henry B. González Convention Center San Antonio, TX Huntington Place Detroit, MI Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Dallas, TX Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Convention Center Paradise, NV Miami Beach Convention Center Miami Beach, FL Monterey Conference Center Monterey, CA Music City Center Nashville, TN Myrtle Beach Convention Center Myrtle Beach, SC New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center New Orleans, LA Orange County Convention Center Orlando, FL Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, PA Phoenix Convention Center Phoenix, AZ Puerto Rico Convention Center San Juan, Puerto Rico San Diego Convention Center San Diego, CA Seattle Convention Center Seattle, WA Tampa Convention Center Tampa, FL HOTELS & RESORTS ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas, NV Atlantis Paradise Island Paradise Island, Bahamas The Broadmoor Colorado Springs, CO Caesars Palace Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV Caribe Royale Orlando Orlando, FL Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center Nashville, TN Hilton Anatole Dallas, TX Hilton Atlanta Atlanta, GA Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre Dallas, TX Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, LA Hyatt Regency Atlanta Atlanta, GA Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center Denver, CO JW Marriott Washington, DC Washington, DC Kimpton EPIC Hotel Miami, FL Loews Atlanta Hotel Atlanta, GA Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV Mohegan Sun Montville, CT New York Marriott Marquis New York, NY Omni Dallas Hotel Dallas, TX The Omni Homestead Resort Hot Springs, VA Omni Nashville Hotel Nashville, TN Orlando World Center Marriott Orlando, FL Resorts World Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV Rosen Shingle Creek Orlando, FL San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter on the River Walk San Antonio, TX Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Hollywood, FL Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, TX Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort Lake Buena Vista, FL Washington Hilton Washington, DC Wynn Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 2023 DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS HE BEST SEPTEMBER 2023 themeetingmagazines.comASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIES 37AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER W ith world-renowned restaurants nearby, 12,000-plus hotel rooms within a two- mile radius of the facility, and iconic music venues just a short walk away, there is no better place to host your next event than in Austin, Texas. As a LEED® Gold-certified and a Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accredited facility, the Austin Convention Center is located in the heart of the capital city’s downtown business district. This is the perfect place to serve as your home base for meetings and events in ATX. Spanning six city blocks, the Austin Convention Center offers 374,000 sq. feet of meeting and exhibition space. There are five column-free exhibit halls, totaling 247,052 square feet, and two ballrooms that range up to 40,510 square feet in size. There are 54 meeting rooms and show offices and ample parking in two garages with 1,700 spaces. CHECK OUR TECH There is robust and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the facility. Over 20,000 wireless devices can connect simultaneously so there is no need to roam, looking for the full connectivity sweet spot. There are video walls for additional wayfinding and client messaging to go along with a 24/7 network support team for event customization. THE CENTER OF IT ALL Just like the rhythm embedded in its live music culture, the facility has a connection with its community. Hotels connected by walkways include the 800-room Hilton Austin and The Fairmont Austin, North America’s largest Fairmont property with 1,048 rooms. The Austin Marriott Downtown, located adjacent to the Austin Convention Center has 600 guest rooms. CUSTOMER SERVICE One Hundred. The facility has a stunning 100% customer survey rating from clients saying they would schedule another event at the Austin Convention Center. The staff takes great pride in its customer service and making sure the guest receives the full Austin experience while in the city, in the building, and with convention team members. The Austin Convention Center is fortunate to manage 90% of its services such as housekeeping, security, IT, and exhibitor services, all provided by in-house trained staff. The team practices a service-first culture and takes ownership of the guest experience. The Austin Convention Center Catering team works with area vendors to procure local ingredients for catering menus. Among the most popular items are mouthwatering local favorites like street-style tacos, smoked meats, and Tex-Mex. More than 90% of the menu items are produced in-house. EXPANSION UPDATE Currently in the design stage, the facility is embarking on a complete building renovation and expansion project to double in size. The project timeline estimates for the building closure, demolition, and construction activities are to begin in 2025, with the new larger facility reopening in 2029. | AC&F | 500 E. CESAR CHAVEZ ST., AUSTIN, TX 78701 CONTACT: AMY K. HARRIS, CMP, DIRECTOR OF SALES | TEL: 512-404-4200 CONVENTIONSALES@AUSTINTEXAS.GOV | AUSTINCONVENTIONCENTER.COM FACTS & FEATURES Total Square Feet of Meeting Space: 370,000 sq. ft. including five contiguous exhibit halls. Convention Center FYI: The Austin Convention Center has 12,000-plus hotel rooms within a two-mile radius and manages 90% of its services such as housekeeping, security, IT, and exhibitor services, all provided by in-house trained staff. BEST OF THE BEST CELEBRATING THE Everyone Is Talking About Austin themeetingmagazines.com 38 ASSOCIATION CONVENTIONS & FACILITIESSEPTEMBER 2023CommunitySupport For more information: www.austinconventioncenter.com “We’re so pleased to support the Austin Convention Center and the City of Austin as they move forward with the redesign project.” Michele Flores SXSW Chief Logistics Officer “This announcement is an exciting one for the Austin hotel community. Not only will a new and redeveloped convention center bring more meetings and events business to Austin, but create more jobs for our industry and further positively impact the Austin hospitality community at large. This project has long been in the works and we are happy to finally see this come to fruition.” Nenad Praporski General Manager of Fairmont Austin and Chairman of the Austin Hotel Lodging Association “To give the community, visitors, and attendees the true authentic Austin experience, we want the new Austin Convention Center to be an iconic, innovative, and symbolic meeting location.” Trisha Tatro Austin Convention Center Department Director The Austin Convention Center is preparing to make its mark on the ever-changing Austin skyline with a vertical approach to expansion and redevelopment, beginning in April 2025, that will nearly double the amount of rentable space by 2029. Vertical Approach In using a vertical approach to deliver a larger, more efficient facility, the goal of the Austin Convention Center expansion and redevelop- ment is to transform the southeast corner of downtown Austin into a community-centric destination for attendees and the community. Signature Design Along with providing more rentable space, the Austin Convention Center expansion and redevelopment will provide a signature design, featuring state-of-the-art technologies and an industry-leading facility that is ready to exceed future clients’ needs. The Austin Skyline is About to ChangeNext >