According to one company that tracks corporate offsites, Chicago overtook Orlando in 2014 as the No. 1 destination for meetings.
Top 10 meeting destinations
- Chicago
- Orlando
- Las Vegas
- Atlanta
- San Diego
- New York
- Dallas
- Washington, D.C.
- New Orleans
- Nashville
A link to Cvent’s list of the top 50 business meeting destinations can be found in our Additional Web Resources box at SalesandMarketing.com.
Chicago has passed Orlando as the top spot among U.S. destinations for companies and associations that plan meetings and events, according to Cvent, a technology company that connects event planners with tens of thousands of venues. Analysis of its booking data from July 2013 to June 2014 revealed that Chicago, previously the second-most popular destination, overtook Orlando, which is now second and is followed by Las Vegas.
“It’s pretty significant,’’ says Eric Eden, Cvent’s vice president of marketing, noting that it’s usually difficult for other U.S. cities to top Orlando and Las Vegas, which have large convention centers and hotels that on their own have millions of square feet of meeting space.
Chicago has seen extensive investment in its hotels, including major renovations
of the Hyatt Regency Chicago and The Langham, Eden says. The fact that Chicago and other Midwestern cities are more centrally located also is appealing because they may be more convenient and affordable for attendees traveling from various cities.
“Chicago in particular is very attractive to association meetings as they’re trying
to draw their membership from around the country,” Eden told USA Today. “It’s not just the hotel rates that might be more competitive than some other locations. But because it’s centrally located, the airfare and total cost for people to attend are lower versus if people have to fly from one coast to the other.”
This cost consciousness shows that while meetings and events activity has bounced back after dropping significantly during the recession, businesses are still spending cautiously, sometimes holding meetings in hotels near airports or in the suburbs to curb expenses.
“Meetings are how business gets done, so organizations need to continue to have them,” Eden says. “But there is a lot of focus on being financially responsible.”
Chicago was not the only centrally located city to grow more popular in the past year. Dallas moved up one spot to No. 7, and Nashville jumped four sports to No. 10.
“A lot of destinations that aren’t as large are investing in interesting ways and doing a lot of marketing to attract business,’” Eden says. “Nashville is a good example — it’s attractive to a lot of planners because you have new properties, there’s a brand new convention center experience, and it isn’t as expensive as other, larger destinations.”
How cities were ranked
Cvent evaluated more than 5,000 U.S. cities featured on the Cvent Supplier Network to compile the third annual list. Activity was tracked from July 2013 to June 2014, and the ranking was then determined by a set of qualifying criteria consisting of:
• Unique request for proposals received
• Total room nights
• Awarded request for proposals
• Awarded room nights
• Percentage of qualified meeting venues
• Number of profile views
