Texas Meetings + Events

From outside-the-box photo ops to elevating go-tos like balloons, planners share how they are providing their clients with new branding ideas that ‘wow.’  

Cozy Corporate Gifts

The newest concept to the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol, a Sheraton Hotels & Resorts property, backYARD at Waller Creek, soft opened during SXSW 2017 in Austin. backYARD is Austin's newest restaurant, bar, and outdoor venue downtown, offering American cuisines with Texas flavors, a spacious outdoor event space, and house-infused spirits.

The soon-to-open Omni Frisco Hotel in Dallas has announced the names of its new director of operations, director of finance, director of sales and marketing, director of engineering, director of human resources and neighborhood services general manager.

The hotel will open in July 2017. All of the announced positions will report to Jeff Smith, hotel general manager.

MSN recently announced the Best Hotels in Every State, and selected Hilton Americas-Houston as number one. The ratings are based off of expert reviews, local recommendations and their own list of the Best Hotels in America. Hilton Americas-Houston was recognized for superior guest service and its commitment to guest satisfaction.

The Statler in downtown Dallas named Evan Danziger general manager and Jennifer Wasserman as director of sales and marketing. The boutique luxury hotel is currently undergoing a $225 million renovation and is anticipated to open in spring 2017.

Have an event on the horizon? Then it may be time to check out your catering and event planning options. Although I’ll periodically introduce you to caterers and event planners in other Texas regions, this particular post is focused on Austin.

Dagar’s Catering

Earlier this month, The Professional Convention Management Association hosted their 2017 Convening Leaders Conference in Austin, Jan. 9–11.  

“We are thrilled to host convening leaders for the first time in Austin,” says Tom Noonan, president and CEO , Austin CVB. “Austin has become a premier destination for meeting, conventions and leisure business and we are confident that we will see return business from the PCMA attendees.”

The conference attracted about 4,500 attendees and is estimated to bring in around $11 million in economic return.

The Austin Conventions and Visitor’s Bureau and the Professional Convention Management Association hosted an event to support Sammy’s House, a nonprofit organization that helps children with medical or developmental issues.

The event—Hospitality Helping Hands—sold 150 volunteer spots. During it, volunteers worked on projects like playground repair, yard maintenance, toy sorting, cleaning classrooms and more to improve the facilities of the daycare.

San Antonio landed the top spot on Meetings and Conventions magazine’s Top 20 Meeting Cities in 2016 list.

The city has many venues for meeting planners. Hotel Contessa, a AAA Four Diamond hotel, has partnered with The Briscoe Western Art Museum to build a unique Texan experience for their guests.