Corporate meetings are coming back with a resurgence that surpasses pre-pandemic levels in Irving, Texas, according to Lori Fojtasek, vice president of sales and services for Visit Irving.

“They are the last segment to return to pre-COVID numbers, but we are thrilled to be able to say that COVID is now in the rearview mirror,” she says.

Walkability is part of Irving’s attraction as a meetings destination, Fojtasek says.

“Attendees might not need to ride in a car once they arrive, given the proximity of our many attractions, entertainment venues and hotels to each other and to the Irving Convention Center,” she says, noting the popularity of the Toyota Music Factory, an event venue in the city’s entertainment district. “New waterfront eateries continue to populate the shores of Lake Carolyn in the Water Street development.”

Hotel renovations and new property debuts have been happening throughout the city, which now offers 13,000+ rooms at 90 hotels across all categories.

“The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas opened its doors on Jan. 23, becoming the newest addition to The Ritz-Carlton’s collection of hotels,” Fojtasek says. “Formerly the Four Seasons, the property has a 38-year-old legacy in Irving’s Las Colinas neighborhood. Following a yearlong, $55 million transformation, the property features new meeting spaces and state-of-the-art ballroom facilities, covering 80,000 square feet.”

The Ritz-Carlton is 10 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

“Location makes all the difference. Planners value convenience for travel as much as the culture their group will enjoy for their home away from home,” Fojtasek says, noting Irving’s central location in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan hub and appeal for regional meetings as well as national conferences and conventions.

San Antonio

Tyler Orwig, vice president of association and tradeshow sales for Visit San Antonio, says the key to successful events in 2024 is doing more with less.

“Many meeting planners are having to juggle budgets and financial resources while expenses continue to rise,” he says.

As the seventh-largest U.S. city and one of the fastest growing, there is always something new in San Antonio, according to Orwig, with San Antonio International Airport undergoing a $2.5 billion expansion that will add new flights, new airlines and a new terminal.

“Hemisfair, home of the 1968 World’s Fair, is adjacent to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and has been undergoing a redevelopment,” he says. “Recently, Phase 1 of Civic Park opened, including five acres of public parkland, a five-pool water feature and a great lawn area that can accommodate large events, concerts, dinners and receptions just steps outside the convention center and the River Walk, with proximity to many hotels.”

Hemisfair will be home to a 200-room, 17-story boutique hotel—The Monarch San Antonio—in 2026. Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa, San Antonio’s first Autograph Collection Hotel, debuted in January 2024 at the corner of South Alamo Street and East Cesar Chavez Blvd with 253 oversized guest rooms, two restaurants and bars, expansive meeting space and a day spa. Kimpton Hotels will introduce a downtown hotel in late 2024 that’s part new-build and part adaptive reuse of an 1850s schoolhouse and will feature 347 guest rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a 5,000-square-foot ballroom and a courtyard for events. Also debuting in 2024 following a $50 million overhaul of a 21-story former Wyndham hotel on the River Walk, the 390-room InterContinental Hotel will offer 40,000 square feet of meeting space and nearly 3,000 square feet of dining and restaurant space.

Orwig says the River Walk—also referred to as the “World’s Largest Hotel Lobby”—is a huge part of San Antonio’s appeal for meetings and events, connecting the convention center to hotels, restaurants, museums and attractions.

“It also provides networking and team-building opportunities, with a plethora of activities ranging from shopping to arts and culture to barge rides and kayaking,” he says. “A blend of cultures from its very origins, San Antonio has always been a standard bearer for welcoming hospitality to all, embracing diversity and inclusion.”

Houston

Medical meetings and bleisure travel are on the rise in Houston, according to Michael Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First Corp.

“We are excited to see medical meetings on the rise, especially since the Texas Medical Center, one of the world’s largest, is located just a couple of miles outside downtown Houston,” he says. “And like other destinations with a significant corporate footprint, we are seeing a growing number of visitors and meeting attendees wanting to combine business and leisure travel. Whether you refer to it as ‘bleisure’ or ‘bizcation,’ visitors can easily find activities in Houston to fill a couple of hours or a couple of days to make the most out of their travel.”

Houston’s convention district is continuously growing, and the attendee experience will be further enhanced now that the Texas Legislature has passed a bill that will give Houston access to an estimated $2 billion to transform the George R. Brown Convention Center and the surrounding campus, according to Heckman.

“This economic game-changer will provide a more flexible meeting space with innovative, state-of-the-art technology to better address the demands and expectations of today’s meeting and event planners,” he says.

Growth in Houston extends way beyond the convention center, with ongoing expansion at both international airports; new bars, breweries and nightspots just blocks from the convention center and downtown in the east end (EaDo); an expansion at the Houston Zoo, which features a Galapagos Islands exhibit with a 40-foot-long acrylic tunnel through a 190,000-gallon aquarium; America’s first Ismaili Center (opening next year), a place of worship and a hub for cultural and educational events complete with outdoor gardens and a great lawn; and the fifth permanent installation from experiential arts organization Meow Wolf (located in the 5th Ward). On the hotel front, eight new properties came online in 2023, bringing more than 1,000 new rooms to the market, and more properties under way will add nearly 8,000 rooms (including Great Wolf Lodge with more than 500 rooms and an indoor waterpark debuting this year).

Houston is appealing as a meeting destination because it offers a “wonderful mix of world-class arts, diverse cultures, thriving business, pro sports, abundant green space and a culinary experience that rivals any destination in the world,” Heckman says, noting some of the large events the city has hosted—Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours and the World Petroleum Congress, soon to be followed by the FIFA World Cup in 2026—as well as Avenida Houston, downtown’s entertainment and convention district.