Charleston, South Carolina, has consistently topped charts as one of the most sought-after U.S. destinations for tourists, and now the city has emerged as a coveted host for meetings and events, too. Don’t let its laid-back, pastoral atmosphere fool you—the Lowcountry peninsula the city sits on is minutes from Charleston International Airport, flaunts opulent mansions, showcases waterfront gathering spaces, thrives with a vibrant culinary scene, and rolls out immersive activities that give event attendees memorable experiences and myriad reasons to stay a few extra days.
“I hear from meeting planners that there is always a bump up in percentage of attendees from their past years [for gatherings in Charleston] because it’s just a huge destination,” says Jennifer Jessup, director of venue sales at the Charleston Gaillard Center, a breathtaking exhibition and performance hall downtown. The Gaillard Center flaunts a 13,000-square-foot ballroom with 24-foot ceilings, marble floors, elaborate millwork, and a pleasing wedgwood blue palette.
Such luxury is abundant in Charleston, particularly among Charming Inns’ boutique properties that cater to more intimate events. Experienced planners advise: Be prepared to pay top dollar for what you get. Booking in Charleston is comparable in price to hosting in Tier 1 cities, but your dollar will take you further in terms of value.
“The popularity of Charleston and the city’s increasing number of boutique hotels make it the ultimate destination for smaller C-suite groups and are quite a draw when spouses are involved in the decision-making or attendance factor,” explains Mitchell Crosby, native Charlestonian and founder of JMC Charleston, a destination management and event-planning company based in the city. “With multiple things to do for people of all ages—a happening scene, hip hotels that are fun and chic (even a little edgy), food of all types, great entertainment in a safe, historic atmosphere—the city is very popular with C-suite groups and incentives groups.” Crosby notes manufacturers such as Boeing and Volvo, who have plants near Charleston, have hosted meetings in the city.
One-Stop Shops
Event planners might start by contacting local experts like those at the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, which serves as the central point of contact to schedule site visits and coordinate lodging, catering, destination management services, and group activities in the city. They have the local knowledge planners need to make events in Charleston successful.
Knowing the best times to visit is key when planning events in an unfamiliar state or region. The best time to schedule an event in Charleston is for September or October, when venues have more availability and weather is not very hot and humid, according to Kelsea McGrogan, booking coordinator for the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center, as well as the adjacent Charleston Area Convention Center. The coliseum and convention center, both in neighboring city North Charleston, boast a range of spaces for different purposes and group sizes, but planning an event from January to April can be challenging, as sporting events and annual trade shows tend to fill up spots.
Dan Blumenstock, the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau board chair and director of Lowcountry Hotels, says the city thrives because of the layers of venues and accommodations in the city and Charleston’s continued desire to develop. Many hotels are undergoing renovations to enhance the visitor experience.
For instance, downtown serves the luxury market with The Charleston Place, among the longest-standing hotels in the area, touting 40,000 square feet of ballrooms, conference rooms, hospitality suites, and more. Ballrooms with 16-foot ceilings can accommodate theater, classroom, banquet, reception, or U-style seating and a maximum of 1,700 guests, while the largest boardrooms can host up to 135 each. Windows in the walkways of its Grand Hall, and garden-inspired The Palmetto Cafe stream in ample light during daytime events. “Any one hotel is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all because you want to make sure you’re planning an event with scaling in mind,” Blumenstock says.
Event planners should consider the services, staffing, and equipment included when evaluating a vendor’s proposal, according to Ashley Gunnin, director of sales at Charleston-based Duvall Catering, which offers full services including floral, linens, flatware, and more. Due to its long-standing reputation as a performing arts center, the Charleston Gaillard Center, for example, comes with in-house audiovisual bells and whistles ideal for keynotes or musical performances (think: specialized projectors and soundboards).
Meanwhile, properties close to the convention center accommodate its overflow or breakout sessions. The DoubleTree by Hilton North Charleston–Convention Center is uniquely situated to provide attendees an often-needed respite from the buzz of the city with its outdoor patio, according to Betsay Painter, area director of sales and marketing for Lowcountry Hotels. “We back up to wetlands, so it’s very beautiful, but you would never know that you are in an urban area,” she says.
Across the street, the Hilton Garden Inn Charleston Waterfront/Downtown, like many hotels in the area, welcomed attendees to a newly renovated hotel this year. The hotel brightened up public spaces and soft goods in rooms, and moved the pool outside to expand indoor meeting space from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet. Similarly, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Airport Hotel & Convention Center, which is connected to the convention center, is undergoing a renovation that should be complete by March of next year.
After Hours
When venues are not in proximity to each other, meeting attendees might require transportation to get around the city. Horse-drawn carriage is one way to traverse the historic district in style while learning about the personalities and events that have shaped Charleston, according to Derek Evenhouse, group sales manager at Old South Carriage Co. In addition to the historic and haunted tours his company offers, Evenhouse says each surrey carriage can seat 16 passengers, so his fleet can transport up to 200 people at a time from meeting venues to dining venues and back to hotels. Historic carriage tours take groups past the popular Rainbow Row and Battery to off-the-beaten-path hidden spots that speak to Charleston’s history.
The sunny Aiken-Rhett House is one of the best-preserved landmarks in town that groups can tour. Built by merchant John Robinson in 1820, and expanded by Gov. William Aiken Jr. in the 1850s, the house provides an intriguing snapshot into the 19th-century lifestyle of Charleston’s elite. The Historic Charleston Foundation, which owns the home, has taken a “preserved as found” approach, so visitors can witness layers of time peeled back to reveal pre-Civil War residential scenes.
“It has an incredible intact kitchen, and you can walk into the rooms where enslaved people lived,” says Elizabeth Chew, CEO of the South Carolina Historical Society, which offers smaller meeting spaces at its museum for board meetings or nonprofit events of up to 75 people.
She says planners might feel understandably hesitant to take meeting attendees to sites with a strong connection to the slave trade, but notes that Charleston continues to work to ensure its historical places acknowledge their troubled past and educate visitors in a way that amplifies the voices of African Americans. Last year, the city opened the International African American Museum on Gadsden’s Wharf, the harbor where 40% of the nation’s enslaved Africans disembarked—it offers nine distinct galleries that demonstrate how enslaved and free African Americans shaped economic, political, and cultural development throughout the nation and beyond. Several options for private event rentals are available at the museum.
Lowcountry Grub
Charleston has a lot to offer hungry planners and attendees looking for locally inspired cuisine. West African-style food, particularly that of the Gullah Geechee people, has heavily influenced Charleston’s gastronomical scene—including well-known favorites such as shrimp and grits. According to Sameka Jenkins, owner of Carolima’s Lowcountry Cuisine, Gullah Geechee cuisine is defined by the way in which food is prepared: with love, always from scratch, sourced from the sea, and simmering or smothered in some type of gravy. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of West African people who were once enslaved on plantations along the lower Atlantic coast.
“The reason [our ancestors] ate like this is they were always near the ocean, and seafood was accessible,” Jenkins explains. “It didn’t cost them anything other than time, and money was tight. So, we eat a lot of seafood.” She also notes that in Gullah Geechee cuisine, crab and shrimp are usually served with rice, gravy, or soup, born out of the past necessity for portions to stretch due to large family sizes.
If you are unsure exactly what you need food-wise, consult with your catering contacts. When reviewing caterer proposals and pricing in the city, Ashley Gunnin from Duvall Catering recommends event planners think about the format of their event, as some layouts are more conducive to specific seating or serving arrangements. Gunnin has noticed a shift in preference by event planners to do banquet-style dining with water and salad prepped and served at the start, but she warns planners of the additional setup time it requires. Fully seated meals like this will require more time and staff for setup and cleanup.
One of the easier African-influenced Southern dishes to serve at events is jambalaya, according to Lauren Pozega, event coordinator for 82 Queen, a restaurant in the city’s French Quarter. Pozega finds the Creole butter rice dish tossed with andouille sausage and chicken is easy to send in bulk to meeting spaces. Queen Street Hospitality Group, which runs 82 Queen and its sister company 82 Queen Events, is building an additional venue by fall next year to accommodate up to 300 guests—on top of the dining spaces it has available for buyout today.
Charleston’s improvements and expansion greatly impress local event designer and planner Christy Loftin. “I plan events all over the world, but my hometown of Charleston is really exceptional in the amount of offerings,” she says. “You get bang for your buck.”
