When it comes to meeting at the Austin Convention Center, the numbers are forever in your favor. Let’s start with six. That’s how many full city blocks the convention center extends in the heart of the downtown business district. Or 12,000—the number of hotel rooms within a two-mile radius of the venue. Twenty-thousand is how many wireless devices that can be simultaneously connected, ensuring all of your guests won’t miss a meeting, Zoom call, presentation or email.
But want to know what’s really impressive: 247,052 square feet of column-free exhibit halls, 40,510 square feet of ballrooms and 54 meeting rooms. It all adds up—meeting at the Austin Convention Center, just makes sense.
But it’s not the numbers so much that the team at the Austin Convention Center focus on; it’s the people behind them. In fact, 99% of organizations who have met at the center say they would gladly schedule another event at the venue, based on their experience. It’s part of the convention center’s culture, and they take it seriously. “The staff takes great pride in customer service and making sure guests receive the full Austin experience while in the city, in the building and with convention team members,” says Paul Barnes, deputy director/COO of the Austin Convention Center. “We are fortunate to manage 90% of our services, such as housekeeping, security, IT and exhibitor services. We have a service-first culture and take ownership of our guest experience.”
A large part of that customer care is making sure that conventions and meetings run smoothly without interruption. The venue offers Wi-Fi throughout and 24/7 network support, and forward-thinking technology such as video walls allow for wayfinding and client messaging. The center has been rated one of the most technologically advanced centers in the country, with voice, video and data moving at more than 1 billion bits per second. The center is also GBAC Star Accredited—the gold standard for prepared facilities—ensuring planners that the most stringent protocols are in place to ensure guests are protected.
For city-wide events, Austin is prepared. With 12,000-plus rooms within two miles of the center, there are a total of 48,000 hotel rooms in the city. The 800-room Hilton Austin and the 1,048-room Fairmont Austin (the largest Fairmont property in the U.S.) are both connected to the center via walkways. And the new Austin Marriott Downtown is located adjacent to the center and offers 600 rooms. Additional hotels nearby include Four Seasons Hotel Austin, JW Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown, Radisson Hotel & Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown, Driskill Hotel, Omni Austin Hotel Downtown, Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel, W Austin, Hyatt Place Downtown Austin and Westin Austin Downtown.
And of course, when the workday is done and the meetings are past-tense, you just happen to be in the middle of one of the dynamic cities in the country. Your team will not only be getting down to business. They’ll be making memories.
