Small Market Meetings November 2021

STREAMLINING REGISTRATION | MEETINGS ON THE BEACH | BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2021

n i s n o c s i W

WORK MEETS PLAY IN

SMALL MARKET

MEETINGS CONFERENCE

COVERAGE

feed their 150k sq. ft. of meeting space

18k lodging units 32 miles of beaches

Loosen up that tie, trade your business suit for a swimsuit, and begin planning the meeting, conference or event that no one will want to miss.

With meeting spaces that can accommodate up to 2,000 attendees, full-service beachfront properties and unique offsite venues, Alabama’s beaches offer plenty of flexibility for your next event.

Our sales professionals are excited to help you feed the FOMO with our complimentary services. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit GSOBmeetings.com.

Ahem. Excuse us.

(Just wanted to let you know, we’re adding another new hotel and conference center.)

Kearney, where the Heartland gathers.

When you have the best meeting and event facilities between Omaha and Denver, there’s only one thing to do. . . get even bigger and better. The region-leading Younes Campus is adding an additional conference center with 75,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and a brand new Crowne Plaza hotel to go with it.

Every year, (2020 doesn’t count) Kearney hosts more than 1,350 events. Conferences, sporting events, professional and educational meetings, they all come to Kearney. With the best facilities in the region getting better we look forward to welcoming even more events in the near future.

If you’re looking for a host city for your next event, make sure you look at Kearney.

WheretheHear tlandGathers.com

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ON THE COVER: The sun rises over the Highlands Golf Course on a chilly autumn morning at Grand Geneva Resort and Spa in Grand Geneva, Wisconsin. Photo courtesy Grand Geneva Resort and Spa

INSIDE VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 10

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MANAGING Streamlining Registration

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IDEAS Meetings at the Beach

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Courtesy Waukesha Pewaukee CVB

CITY Berkeley, California

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TOWN Bentonville, Arkansas

D E PA R T M E N T S

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PROFILE 6 INSIGHTS 10 CONFERENCE 16 Jane Try a Little Small Market Kantor Kindness

MEETING GUIDE Wisconsin

Meetings Conference Coverage

SMALL MARKET MEETINGS is published monthly by Pioneer Publishing, Inc., 301 E. High St., Lexington, KY 40507, and is distributed free of charge to qualified meeting planners who plan meetings in small and medium size towns and cities. All other meeting industry suppliers may subscribe by sending a check for $39 for one year to: Small Market Meetings, Circulation Department, 301 East High St., Lexington, KY 40507. Phone (866) 356-5128 (toll-free) or (859) 253-0503. Fax: (859) 253-0499. Copyright SMALL MARKET MEETINGS, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

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INSIGHTS WITH VICKIE MITCHELL

TRY A LITTLE KINDNESS

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fter nearly two years of downs and occasional ups, many of us feel stretched thin, like rubber bands at the breaking point.

It’s evident in our workday as responses to our emails or calls seem to crawl, some never coming at all. Who knows what has been thrown in our recipient’s path: another office shutdown, a sick spouse, a child back to home school because of quarantine or an aging parent trapped in a nursing home?

No doubt, the past 18 months have been demanding, depressing and often devastating. As we ease back toward normalcy in life and work, there’s value in finding ways to spread kindness and hope among those around us.

These simple practices will help you make business more personal

Embed empathy in email.

Remote work has meant more virtual and online interactions, and as we’ve juggled all the tech, the overload has left us like an outdated laptop, low on memory, short on battery power. Something simple like replying to an email can feel onerous, so keep that in mind as you send messages. Make it a habit to open your message with a caring phrase like “I hope you are doing well” or “I know you are busy juggling home life and work.” And if you send an email after hours, keep in mind suggestions from two organizational management experts that wrote a column recently in the Wall Street Journal. They found that even though most who send after-hours emails don’t expect immediate responses, their recipients often feel they must respond quickly. The experts suggested that senders include messaging along these lines in their email: “This isn’t urgent, so get to it whenever you can” or “Please know that I respect boundaries around personal time. If you receive an email from me during your personal time, please protect your time and wait to respond until you are working. It’s important that we all prioritize joy over email whenever possible.”

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www.smallmarketmeetings.com

Pick up the phone for a change.

Are we overusing email and texting? Would a co-worker or supplier like to hear your voice, maybe even catch up on personal life for a few minutes before plunging into project talk? We’ve been limited in our in-person meetings for months and months, so a quick call would likely be refreshing, a chance to laugh, share an insight, have a meaningful conversation. It could be a time to check in on a peer or a supplier, find out what the past 18 months have been like for them and show you care. That’s what builds business relationships. Too, a phone call can sometimes be more expedient than an email. Daniel Post Senning, great-great-grandson of Emily Post, says that if an email is longer than three paragraphs, you should pick up the phone instead.

Try your hand at a thank-you note.

How many times have people thanked you for the thank-you card you sent them? It happens a lot, and it points to how cherished and meaningful this old-school form of gratitude has become. So if you want to lift someone else’s spirits and your own, buy stamps you like — most post offices have lots of options — and notecards that inspire you or reflect your personality and that are just right for a three- or four-sentence message. As emilypost. com says, “The handwritten thank-you note speaks volumes simply as a medium and sends the message that you care enough to invest yourself personally in acknowledging another. Does it take longer to address and stamp an envelope than to click ‘Send’?

Yes, but by about one minute — a minute well spent to say thanks well.” And if you don’t feel confident in writing a note, Google “how-to write thank-you notes,” and you’ll find tons of tips.

Do something kind for others.

A lot of people are hurting, and helping others not only improves someone else’s life, it can make us feel better. The Mental Health Foundation — mentalhealth.org.uk — which has created a Kindness Matters guide, points out: “If we take the time to be kind to other people, we can reap the emotional dividends. It can really make a difference and especially for people who are vulnerable or struggling.” Adding an element of volunteer service to meetings and conferences has long been a tradition in meeting planning, so even if your event is abbreviated or hybrid, find creative ways to allow your attendees to get involved and help others. It could be a hula-hoop marathon to raise money for a local recreation center or an assembly line to package backpacks full of school supplies for schoolchildren. For a more active volunteer pursuit, dig into gardening chores at a local park or make repairs to an elderly person’s home. A service like VolunteerMatch or the area’s convention and visitors bureau service staff will have ideas.

November 2021

Share uplifting stories.

Break free of the standard motivational speaker and, instead, draw upon local leaders, innovators and do-gooders, or even attendees, with inspiring stories to share. Stories are all around.

Likely, the folks at the local convention bureau, who are connected to so many others in their community, know about them. Imagine hearing the story of Lasagna Love, launched by a California woman, which now has volunteers in 50 states baking lasagna for hungry people.

Or how about the Kindness Yard Sale, a project started a few years ago by a woman in metro Washington, D.C.? The most recent sale at this “pay what you want” sale raised $11,000 to fund acts of kindness around the region.

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CONFERENCE

SMALL MARKET MEETINGS CONFERENCE GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS IN CHEYENNE

MEET ON MSC! CHEYENNE MAYOR PATRICK COLLINS, LEFT, WITH JIM WALTER OF VISIT CHEYENNE, RIGHT

BY DAN DICKSON

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ore than 80 meeting planners from across the country, all searching for new sites for their meetings and conferences, discovered a gold mine of second- and third-tier destinations at the annual Small Market Meetings Conference, held recently in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

This historic state capital also welcomed 150 destination providers that met with planners to pitch their cities as event destinations.

Cheyenne lost out on hosting some conferences when the pandemic broke out in 2020. Visit Cheyenne, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, was pleased to book the Small Market Meetings conference and to provide a safe, productive environment for everyone.

“I’ve sat with you over the years at other conferences and talked about how we’d host it in 2021,” Jim Walter, vice president of sales and marketing, told the delegates. “Wow, you’re here. It’s been a long time coming. We’re so glad you came to see our community and to get some work done.”

That work came in the form of two busy marketplace sessions where meeting planners sat down with destination providers to hear pitches about cities, hotels, facilities and attractions in their areas.

“The travel industry that is here is hosting you,” conference co-founder Charlie Presley told planners. “That’s what this is all about. The payback is they want to meet you. You’ll meet new people and strengthen existing relationships.”

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WELCOME TO THE LITTLE AMERICA!

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

LET’S GET STARTED!

CHEYENNE RODEO FOR DELEGATES

By Marianne Van Wagner

BARREL RACING AT RODEO

STARS AND STRIPES

By Marianne Van Wagner

By Marianne Van Wagner All photos by Dan Dickson, unless noted

November 2021

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CONFERENCE

CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ENJOY NETWORKING AND SOLID SALES

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lanners had thousands of options at the conference. They came with agendas and worked hard sorting out the details.

Amy Preher of the Kentucky Justice Association in Frankfort loved the convenience.

“I want to make connections,” she said. “It’s great that we’re all in one place to hear about destinations and venues to see if they’re a good fit. It would literally take me years to go see all these sites in person. Now I don’t have to.”

Susan Shaffette of Team Dynamics in Mandeville, Louisiana, is an expert problem-solver.

“I’m a third-party planner hired by groups to take on their conference planning,” she said. “They don’t have the staff or time to do it, but they still want to conference. Here I get options and meet with various destinations to find out about locations and capabilities.”

Tom Henton of CRI Global in San Diego, California, craves normalcy.

“We’re a full-service association management company and hold corporate leadership retreats,” he said. “We’re looking forward again to face-to-face meetings. There’s a dynamic that takes places when two people or two groups get together. You can’t substitute that chemistry.”

Delton Ellis of Keepers Travel International in Nassau, Bahamas, was thinking small.

“We’ve been working in major markets, but this year we’re going into third-tier cities,” he said. “I’ll be able to network with hotels so we’re ready to choose when it’s time for our conferences. With the pandemic, we’re looking for smaller venues.”

Tracy Coleman plans for the Kettering/General Motors Institute Alumni Association.

“I’m looking for destinations for the alumni association to travel to for building camaraderie and networking,” she said.

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“We need rooms for meetings and meals and some fun outside activities.”

There was a tremendous amount of healthy competition among destination providers at the conference. They did their best to offer enticing ideas to planners.

Caitlyn Floyd of Visit Champaign County in Illinois liked the conference’s resources.

“They compiled a great list of planners for us to meet this year,” she said. “This has always been a good conference for us.

We often come back and book business from it. My goal is to bring even more business to our area.

Holly McElyea of Memphis Tourism made her strongest pitches to planners looking to buy.

“It’s my first time here,” she said. “A lot of meeting planners said I should come. Some people say they’ve driven past Memphis but never visited. We have more than 60 attractions and are the home of blues, soul and rock ’n’ roll.”

Ryan Hauck of Park County Travel Council in Wyoming also pitched hard.

“Cody/Yellowstone has always been known for its leisure activities,” he said. “It’s next to the first national park in the country. We have much to offer meeting and convention planners and sports event planners. This is one of our first trade shows, and we want to get the word out.”

Liz Boylan of Discover Long Island wanted to get reacquainted.

“I want to reconnect with all the meeting planners I haven’t seen for two years,” she said. “I want new business, too. We’re a strong tier-two destination. But I will reestablish old relationships to make sure the people I knew from the past are still at it.”

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

CHEYENNE RODEO HOSTS BARBECUE DINNER AT RODEO EVENT

WE WORE OUR HATS! AUCTION WINNER

LOCAL HOSTS

HAPPY PLANNERS

KEEP ‘EM COMING

HAPPY TO BE HERE

JANINE AT THE HELM

KYLE AND JENNIFER WORKING THE CROWD

November 2021

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CONFERENCE SILENT AUCTION

SPEAKERS AND SPONSORS ADD VALUE

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eeting planners got a tour of the country, so to speak, by way of a dozen on-stage pitches from destination providers that want planners to bring meetings to their towns. Some destinations also sponsored meals; Visit Cheyenne, for example, fed delegates a scrumptious chuck-wagon-style meal and then treated everyone to a mini rodeo, a sample of the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days, which bills itself as the World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration. Delegates enjoyed watching roping, bronco busting and steer riding events, all part of the local heritage.

“People around the world automatically get this image of Cheyenne and the Old West and cowboys and the railroads and the great expansion of America,” said Visit Cheyenne’s Jim Walter.

Visit Williamsburg and Julia Smyth-Young sponsored a breakfast.

“We’re home to Colonial Williamsburg, the largest living-history museum in the country; Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement; and Yorktown, where American Revolutionary battles were fought and won,” said Smyth-Young.

Travel Juneau, based in beautiful Alaska, sponsored another breakfast.

The Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office sponsored a lunch.

“We’re located in the southwest part of Utah about four hours south of Salt Lake and an hour and a half north of Las Vegas,” said speaker Jacqueline Grena. “We have several communities in our area and 5,500 hotel rooms available. We have a convention center with 100,000 square feet of space.”

The host city for the next Small Market Meetings Conference provided the closing luncheon.

“We look forward to hosting you in 2022,” said Mindy Lallier of Visit Wichita. “You can travel from our airport to our downtown hotels in just 12 minutes. We have 1,200 restaurants, over 50 museums and attractions, and we’re home to the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center, with 110,000 square feet of mixed-use space.”

The conference had a clever magician who did card tricks with participation from audience members. Then he made a proposal to planners on behalf of all conference performers like himself.

“Our goal is to help the event planner look great,” he said. “If you look good, I and others get hired again. My background is in marketing. Word of mouth is real, and I know if I do well, you’ll be talked about as a successful planner.”

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MENTALIST DANIEL JASPERSEN BLACK TIE TIPS

JOIN US IN WICHITA!

GOOD MORNING FROM COUER D’ALENE RESORT

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

DEVIL'S TOWER NEAR GILLETTE, WYOMING

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A CONFERENCE SUCCESS STORY

eff Esposito, executive director of CAM-PLEX Multi-Event Facilities in Gillette, Wyoming, came to the Small Market Meetings Conference in Cheyenne because he wanted to see the meeting that created a game-changing event for his city.

“Vern Byrd, the planner who handles the International Pathfinder Camporee for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, visited the Visit Gillette booth at this conference a couple of years ago and ended up placing this huge international youth event in our city,” said Esposito. “When I saw that this conference was going to be in Cheyenne, I signed up.”

Esposito and another local leader, Jessica Seders, executive director of Visit Gillette/Campbell County, say the camporee is scheduled for August 5-11, 2024, and will return to Gillette

our yours

every five years. It has been the catalyst for building an outdoor amphitheater in Gillette that will not only accommodate its production of “Believe the Promise,” based on the story of Moses, but also enable Gillette to host major concerts and productions.

“This group of 5,000 kids will come into our community and give back their time and energy to nonprofits in our area,” said Seders. “This is exactly the type of large group our city and county have been trying to attract. We’re thrilled.”

“I’ve been sending sales teams to meetings like this for years,” said Esposito. “You always wonder if there is a return on investment at these things. This, for me, was a huge example of that. It speaks to the quality of the Small Market Meetings Conference. The former host city for the camporee estimates its economic impact at $25 million per event.”

on the ground

Take a Load Off

November 2021

courtesy Visit Gillette

We all know how much work goes into planning meetings.

That’s why we believe YOU deserve to enjoy the event, too!

Deliver an authentic Western experience to your attendees, just 90 minutes from Denverwhile our team helps wrangle the details onsite. Experience our famous Wyoming hospitality in the areas that matter toYOU!

Plan your next meeting wit

13 Cheyenne.org/meetings

CONFERENCE SILENT AUCTION TAKE US TO THE RODEO

SIGHTSEEING TOURS

SHOWCASE CHEYENNE

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elegates slipped into jeans and walking shoes for an afternoon and evening of sightseeing and dining around Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Conference attendees had their choice of three sightseeing tours. One was a Wild West Trolley Tour of downtown Cheyenne sites hosted by a lively guide who kept up a steady stream of historical facts and one-liners.

Other delegates went to the famous Terry Bison Ranch for a close-up experience on a small train that rolled into a large herd of bison; riders got to touch and feed the beasts.

Then, touring delegates managed to survive an attempted “train robbery” by some desperadoes.

A third tour option was for the thirsty. The Daddy of the Malt Brewery trail featured a visit to Cheyenne’s craft beverage scene and tastes of some local brews.

“The brewery name is a spin-off of the slogan for the Cheyenne Frontier Days, which is ‘Daddy of ‘Em All,’” said Visit Cheyenne’s Andi Jasperson.

One night of the conference was designated a dinearound. Delegates set out in downtown Cheyenne and visited various restaurants and taverns for an evening of good food, drinks and fun.

Meeting planners were also eligible to win prizes at the conference while visiting the many destination provider booths around the marketplace. For the privilege of talking with planners one-on-one, providers gave them “cash” to bid on the prizes in an exciting auction on the conference’s final day.

All in all, planners walked away from the gathering with a treasure trove of information they can use to decide where to book their next meetings and events. Meanwhile, many old friendships were renewed and new ones begun, thus adding to the value of the Small Market Meetings Conference.

To register for the 2022 Small Market Meetings Conference, October 2-4, in Wichita, Kansas, call 800-628-0993.

BLACK TIE TIPS

TERRY BISON RANCH

courtesy Visit Cheyenne

SIGHTSEEING IN CHEYENNE courtesy Visit Cheyenne

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www.smallmarketmeetings.com

November 2021

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“It’s super important to not only actively listen but to read between the lines.

Figure out their pain points . . . and being proactive so those problems don’t happen again.”

MEETING LEADERS JANE KANTOR

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BY REBECCA TREON

ane Kantor, director of sales at Visit Bellevue, first got into sales and marketing as a recent college graduate.

“I was bright-eyed, just out of college, and I thought I wanted to go into marketing,” she said. “I interviewed for a sales position at the Edgewater Hotel.

At the time, I didn’t even really know what that meant. But now I know it means that once you get into working in hotels, you never get out.”

Though Kantor joked about the hospitality industry being the type of career people stay in until past the age they should retire, she said that her hotel job ended up teaching her skills that are crucial to her work today.

As a meeting planner, she understands the logistics of a hotel’s hosting a group, from breakout rooms to banquet dinners.

“I feel quite fortunate that that was my first job out of college — it is the greatest industry that I could possibly imagine,” she said.

“It just has all sorts of interesting facets to it that you don’t realize are even out there.”

During her tenure, Kantor worked in the catering department, which she said was a beneficial path that gave her the tools she needed as a salesperson to be realistic about what was possible and the type of experience meeting attendees would have. After the stint in catering, she went to work at the Meydenbauer Convention Center in her hometown of Bellevue, Washington, which has about 54,000 square feet of meeting space.

Following her time there, Kantor worked with an association management company, which gave her a close-up view of meeting planning, especially when it comes to guaranteeing the attendees’ participation.

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“It really opened my eyes to the complexities that a meeting planner has to deal with and all of the moving parts in getting a meeting planned and executed and the resources you need to do that,” she said. “It’s critical to have partners that are able to bob and weave along with you.”

One of the divisions of the Meydenbauer Convention Center is Visit Bellevue, so Kantor moved in that direction after meeting planning.

“I’ve gone from selling a hotel to selling a city that is a great place for smaller meetings,” she said. “We have undergone a lot of growth, and in addition to the convention center, we have larger hotels that have substantial meeting space.”

She said that the best advice she can give someone new to the sales side of the industry is to try to be an active listener when working to assess clients’ needs.

“I know that sounds trite, but it’s super important to not only actively listen but to read between the lines,” she said. “Figure out their pain points — asking about their bad past experiences of what did not go well at the last destination and being proactive so those problems don’t happen again, and getting creative, which is really the fun part of planning.”

Kantor said one of the best things about her job is that she gets to share the town where she grew up with the world.

“There’s a lot of problem-solving that happens in hospitality when dealing with visitors that aren’t familiar with your destination,” she said. “Not that I’m changing the world or anything, but it’s nice to think you’re giving someone a memory that they can look back fondly on when they think of your city.”

EXECUTIVE PROFILE NAME Jane Kantor TITLE Director of Sales ORGANIZATION Visit Bellevue Washington LOCATION Bellevue, Washington BIRTHPLACE Bellevue, Washington EDUCATION University of Puget Sound CAREER HISTORY • Edgewater Hotel in Seattle • Embassy Suites in Lynnwood • Meydenbauer Center • Melby, Cameron and Anderson • Visit Bellevue Washington

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

TIPS FROM JANE KANTOR

• Stay curious. Every person you meet will give you a gift — you just have to be open to receiving it.

• Ask questions. Digging into a thought can bring great rewards.

• Find humor in everything. It’s the best ab workout with the least amount of effort.

JANE KANTOR POSES AT A PHOTO BOOTH DURING AN EVENT IN BELLEVIEW.

Where

Meets

BUSINESS

ADVENTURE

November 2021

VISITHENDERSONNV.COM

702-267-2670

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MANAGING

Streamlining Registration

THESE TECH TOOLS AND BEST PRACTICES WILL TAKE THE PAIN OUT OF SIGN-UPS AND CHECK-INS

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BY RACHEL CARTER

or meeting planners, event registration doesn’t seem to be as challenging as, say, wrangling audiovisual. But just because something isn’t a struggle doesn't mean it can’t be improved. Finding ways to streamline registration makes the planner’s job easier and makes the attendee experience breezier.

The vast majority of event registration is done online these days, though there are still organizations that offer paper registration and accept paper payment. For the most part, though, online registration is like online shopping: Everyone does it.

From building the registration form to executing on-site check-in, there are many ways to make registration more efficient and enjoyable.

On using technology to improve registration: “It’s time we realize technology can be our friend and think about how we do that. There are so many great tools out there now that can make that happen.”

TAP THAT TECH Planners should invest in some kind of registration software, said Abby Gasch, senior meetings and events operations coordinator for Land O’Lakes, who builds registration sites, oversees e-mail communications and runs registration desks for company events.

The team at Land O’Lakes uses Cvent and GTR, but it doesn’t have to be a fancy, pricey program. Programs like Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics let you build easy, fillable forms, Gasch said, and planners can even use SurveyMonkey for registration, said Cori Dossett, president of Conferences Designed.

However, having a platform makes it easier to integrate multiple aspects of the event. Land O’Lakes uses GTR to create event websites that incorporate everything from registration to livestreaming.

Vinnu Deshetty takes it a step further. She encourages organizations to invest in integrating their customer relationship management (CRM) software or association management system (AMS) with their registration platform.

Deshetty is general manager for EVA, a virtual conference, trade show and registration platform.

EVA recommends using its virtual event platform for in-person meetings. That way, if planners have to pivot to virtual or add a hybrid component, everything is seamless.

Deshetty often encounters organizations that choose not to integrate their AMS or CRM with their registration, so they end up doing tedious,

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Vinnu Deshetty GENERAL MANAGER

EVA, Virtual Conference and Registration Platform Experience: 25 years

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

On how to improve the registration experience: “Think through how your attendee would look at your registration site and think through your [on-site] checkin process like you’re an attendee.”

Cori Dossett PRESIDENT

Conferences Designed Experience: 20 years

November 2021

time-consuming manual checks of what data has changed between the two platforms. Integrating a membership system with registration saves time, saves money and basically allows attendees to update the organization’s CRM as they register.

EVA will also soon roll out artificial-intelligence-powered features that take registration data even further: using attendee demographics and attendance history to provide personalized recommendations about which future events would best serve their needs and fit their interests.

THINK LIKE AN ATTENDEE When designing your registration portal, it’s about finding the right balance: Make sure you get everything you need, but also get rid of anything you don’t.

Take time to build a form that contains all the information you need from the start, Deshetty said. If you have to add a field midway through registration, half the attendees who already submitted their information will have blank fields, “which is a big headache,” she said. “So really taking the time to figure out if you have everything you need, but also think about whether you actually need all the information you’re asking for.”

Don’t hesitate to include questions about information you need, from photo waivers to vaccination status, but make the form as short, simple and concise as possible, use clear language and have a “very clear” cancellation policy, Dossett said.

If there’s any doubt about whether to include a question, it’s better to ask it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Dossett once had a client who was thinking about providing T-shirts but didn’t want to ask about shirt sizes at registration.

When the client later decided to give out shirts, “we had to go back to every single person,” she said.

Planners should also look at the site from the attendee perspective. Gasch recommends asking other team members to peruse the registration site for anything an attendee would call out, from unclear language to misspelled words.

Also keep in mind that attendees aren't likely to read huge paragraphs of information. Instead, use several simple, short bullet points “because they’ll read that,” Dossett said. Gasch suggests using links to simplify the site, such as linking to a full agenda or to rules and regulations. She also builds a simple “agenda at a glance” timeline and always includes an FAQ link.

Improving the registration process also means testing your online registration, not as a planner but as an attendee.

“You have to try to break the site, in a sense,” Gasch said. “We get so fixated on the site — does it look good, sound good. But at the end of the day, does it work well?”

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MANAGING

PAY UP For payment, every registration portal is different. Some offer their own payment processing system, and some allow you to integrate PayPal, Stripe and other payment services. No matter what they use, planners need to understand how their payment processing works and should help educate attendees on the process, Deshetty said. Where does the payment end up? How does it appear on attendees’ financial statements? What does confirmation look like?

What happens if you need to issue a refund? “It’s important to know those things when you’re talking about people’s money,” she said.

Cvent provides “On Arrival” kits, a mobile-app-specific process that allows attendees to pay on-site. Attendees use an iPad to check in and then, if they didn’t pay in advance, swipe their card on the connected Square. It eliminates having to handle cash or checks onsite and allows staff to pull reports afterward.

“So, whether we pay online or in person, it has become a saving grace,” Gasch said.

On investing in registration software: “We house everything in one area, and it makes all our lives so much easier. I cannot stress enough how important it is to invest in some type of online registration tool.”

ON-SITE EFFICIENCY The pandemic has forever changed on-site registration, and contactless check-in and social distancing have created opportunities to make it even more efficient.

“Self-check-in is so easy,” Dossett said. “I’m a big fan of it.” She prefers stand-alone check-in kiosks that allow attendees to print their own badges and can be set up to allow for ample space and smooth traffic flow. Plus, using a program where people print their own badges allows the planner real-time access to see who has checked in.

Thinking about physical layout is important to avoid traffic jams, especially now with social distancing protocols. Dossett was recently at a meeting where they touted their touchless check-in, but then had six badge printers on a 12-foot table, so people were standing shoulder to shoulder.

You also want to minimize lines as much as possible. If it’s necessary for people to physically check in or pick up materials, try to staff appropriately and spread people out to make lines move quickly.

Make sure the persons running the registration desk have everything they need, like an attendee list sorted by last name, adequate instructions to hook up badge printers, familiarity with the software — “and, most importantly, who to go to if they have a problem,” Dossett said.

Deshetty has also seen people ship out badges and materials ahead of the event, which can be expensive but minimizes the hassle of on-site check-in and provides an opportunity for a sponsorship asset, like a gift or branded packaging.

20

Abby Gasch SENIOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Land O’Lakes Experience: 6 years

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

IDEAS

Courtesy Visit St. Pete/Clearwater

BUSINESS AT THE BEACH These coastal destinations are popular picks for work and play

S

BY RACHEL CARTER

ugary sand, salty breezes, white-capped waves: Sun-seekers and vacation-goers flock to beaches to relax, recharge and recreate during their time off. If people want to go to beach destinations for leisure, it only makes sense they would want to go there for business.

Planners who organize multiple meetings or the same conference in different destinations every year often report that holding a conference in a beach destination boosts their attendance as well as attendee satisfaction. If you want to bring beach appeal to an upcoming event, consider these cities,

November 2021

which offer planners a plethora of waterfront venues and on-the-water activities.

CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA

Florida’s Clearwater Beach is no stranger to accolades; it regularly lands atop lists of America’s best beaches, along with nearby St. Pete Beach.

“Obviously, our beautiful beaches are an attraction,” said Suzanne Hackman, vice president of business development for Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. “It’s attractive to planners to host their meetings here because people can come pre- and post- and get some destination time in.”

Construction is underway on a new JW Marriott on Clearwater Beach that will include 162 hotel rooms and 36 owned residential units when complete in early 2023. The beachfront property will also feature meeting space, ballrooms, an 11th-floor swimming pool and bar, and oceanfront restaurant with private dining.

The Wyndham Grand, which opened in 2017, fronts Clearwater Beach and offers over 22,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 10,000-squarefoot Dunes Ballroom and 12 meeting rooms.

On St. Pete Beach, the iconic, pink, 93-year-old Don CeSar hotel recently wrapped up a resortwide

Above: St. Petersburg and Clearwater offer a wealth of upscale meeting options on Florida’s gulf coast.

21

renovation that included all 277 guest rooms, fifthfloor meeting space and the first-floor 5,700-squarefoot Grand Ballroom. Also on St. Pete Beach, the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort offers over 50,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and another 20,000 square feet of outdoor venues.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium just built a new waterfront meeting facility, Hackman said. The venue features a 7,200-square-foot ballroom with intracoastal waterway views, a 289-person theater, meeting rooms and exhibit spaces. visitstpeteclearwater.com

“It’s attractive to planners to host their meetings here because people can come pre- and post- and get some destination time in.”

— Suzanne Hackman, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater

GULF SHORES AND ORANGE BEACH, ALABAMA

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach sit on Alabama’s Gulf Coast — and on bays and bayous, rivers and lagoons.

“We are surrounded by water, and we have 32 miles of beach,” said Michelle Russ, vice president of sales, sports and events for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism. “We have great beachfront properties with options for properties on our back bays.”

The Lodge at Gulf State Park opened in November 2018, 14 years after Hurricane Ivan destroyed the original lodge in 2004. With the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Lake Shelby on the other, the lodge’s 350 guest rooms and 40,000 square feet of event space take full advantage of surrounding views and encompassing nature. Groups can use the beach for picnics and bonfires or explore the 6,500-acre park on 28 miles of trails. Planners can also use the Learning Campus, with its mix of indoor and outdoor classrooms, meeting spaces and bunkhouses, or the Woodside Restaurant just across the street.

Courtesy Visit Galveston

Clockwise from left: An oceanfront hotel in Orange Beach; an event at Galveston’s East Beach; sunrise on the beach in Galveston

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Courtesy Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism

Courtesy Visit Galveston

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

In Orange Beach, the Perdido Beach Resort boasts 44,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space, including a flexible 8,500-square-foot ballroom and two expansive outdoor beachfront venues that total 14,500 square feet. The standalone Orange Beach Event Center has another 18,000 square feet of event space.

The Wharf is a multipurpose entertainment venue with dining, shopping, a 10,000-seat amphitheater, an arcade and a marina that offers recreational boating, like dolphin cruises and sailboat tours. gulfshores.com

GALVESTON, TEXAS

On Galveston Island, just outside Houston, “we practice what we call island time — that feeling you get when you come over that bridge,” said Bryan Kunz, director of group sales for Visit Galveston.

The barrier island is surrounded by water, and “pretty much every hotel on the beach has outdoor meeting space or indoor meeting space with gulf views,” he said.

The San Luis Resort is a 32-acre beachfront campus that is home to three hotels — a Hilton, a Holiday

Inn and the San Luis Hotel – with 700 guest rooms among them; 10 dining venues; entertainment attractions; and the stand-alone Galveston Island Convention Center that’s “literally across the street from the beach.” The elevated, stand-alone building offers 140,000 square feet of event space, including floor-to-ceiling windows that deliver ocean views.

The San Luis Hotel boasts another 40,000 square feet of IACC-approved conference center space.

The beachfront Grand Galvez hotel was built in 1911, and the new owners are remodeling and restoring the elegant, 225-guest-room property.

The hotel’s 15,000 square feet of meeting space includes the 4,500-square-foot Music Hall and the 2,500-square-foot Terrace Ballroom that leads onto the 2,500-square-foot veranda.

On the island’s bay side, Moody Gardens is a 240-acre resort with a 418-room hotel, over 100,000 square feet of event space, a golf course and three pyramids that house a living rainforest, an aquarium and a discovery center.

Galveston Historic Pleasure Pier is “basically a theme park over the water,” Kunz said, with a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster and a stage area that works

“We are surrounded by water, and we have 32 miles of beach. We have great beachfront properties with options for properties on our back bays.”

— Michelle Russ, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism

November 2021

23

IDEAS

well for opening or closing receptions. Groups often book sunset cruises, rent jet skis or pontoon boats and arrange fishing charters. visitgalveston.com

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

People who grew up spending summer vacations in Ocean City, Maryland, may not realize everything the destination offers in the off-season.

“We practice what we call island time — that feeling you get when you come over that bridge. Pretty much every hotel on the beach has outdoor meeting space or indoor meeting space with gulf views.”

— Bryan Kunz, Visit Galveston

“Our beach season is so extended; we start seeing meetings and conventions as early as January and February,” said Jessica Waters, communications manager for Ocean City Tourism. “There’s something extremely peaceful about being at the beach in the winter; it’s quiet, it’s natural. We have so much to do here in the shoulder seasons.”

Because the city straddles a barrier island, it fronts both the Atlantic Ocean to the east and two bays to the west. The Roland E. Powell Convention Center sits on Assawoman Bay with waves lapping at its base, so it offers “absolutely incredible views, especially at sunset,” Waters said. An expansion is underway that will add 30,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 15,000-square-foot gallery overlooking the bay, along with meeting rooms and restrooms.

Ocean City has over 30 hotels with dedicated meeting space, many of them bayside or beachfront. The Cambria Hotel Ocean City Bayfront, which opened in May, is home to Spain, a rooftop wine bar and Spanish restaurant that dishes up ocean views. The Aloft Ocean

Courtesy Visit Newport Beach

Clockwise from left: Beachfront in Ocean City; a Newport Beach amusement area; a reception on the water in Newport Beach

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Courtesy Ocean City Tourism

Courtesy Visit Newport Beach

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

Hello, Fort Wayne!

I N D I A N A

City opened in 2019 with 120 guest rooms and two bay-facing event spaces that total 3,250 square feet.

On the north end of the city, the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel has a 40,000-square-foot conference center with 16 meeting rooms. The beachfront Grand Hotel offers not only beach access, but also boardwalk access, along with 10,000 square feet of event space.

Groups can go kayaking or take out catamarans, gather around a beach bonfire or golf on one of the area’s 17 professional courses. ococean.com

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

In Newport Beach, California, the Balboa Peninsula juts out into the Pacific Ocean like a protective arm around the city. The strip of land serves as a beachfront attraction and creates islands and inlets, harbors and bays behind it, so water weaves its way throughout the destination.

Newport Harbor is the centerpiece of Newport Beach. Mansions and restaurants ring the harbor, which is dedicated strictly to recreation and residential uses. Fronting the harbor coastline, the Balboa Bay Resort offers 159 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event spaces, including the 6,900-square-foot flexible Grand Ballroom, bayview meeting rooms, a bayfront event lawn and a terrace patio.

Visit Newport Beach can connect planners with vendors of a fleet of Duffy boats — small, covered electric boats with banquette seating for eight to 10 people around a central table. Groups can enjoy a floating happy hour with cocktails and appetizers as Duffy boats ferry attendees to harborfront restaurants for dinner. Groups can also take the boats to an off-site event at the Marina Park Community and Sailing Center on the harbor side of the peninsula; the venue can seat 144 for banquets and offers two classrooms and an event lawn.

The Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina is a 110-acre property that wraps around the horseshoe-shaped waterfront stretch of Back Bay Nature Preserve. The shoreline is dotted with event terraces, pavilions and gazebos, allowing planners to arrange formal dinners, casual barbecues, beach picnics and water sports activities.

The Balboa Inn sits across the street from Balboa Pier and offers the 2,000-square-foot Siena Room for events with up to 120 guests and the Siena Grand Terrace, with ocean views. visitnewportbeach.com

November 2021

“Grand Wayne Center is a stunning work of architecture with easy access to hotels, restaurants and entertainment. Our members were impressed with how clean, modern, walkable, and friendly downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, proved to be.”

— Dallas. W. Johnson, North American SCRABBLE® Championship

NOW BOOKING 2022 and beyond!

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WHAT YOU’LL LOVE ABOUT US:

• Full in-house services for In-person, Hybrid, or Remote meetings • 225,000 sf. of beautifully appointed space • 18 carpeted, fully equipped event rooms • 4500 theatre; 3100 banquet; 2900 classroom • 3 adjacent hotels with garage parking • In-house Sales, AV, Catering, Event management, and Guest experiences • 60+ walkable restaurants and pubs, boutiques, and riverfront parks • Easier event planning & guest navigation >> SAVE UP TO 15% versus comparable cities!

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‘FUN AND

d r a w For hinking’ T

The University of California Berkeley campus makes a scenic setting for meetings outside San Francisco.

Courtesy UC Berkeley

CITY

Berkeley offers Bay Area vibes in a smaller package

H

BY ROBIN ROENKER

ome to the picturesque University of California, Berkeley campus — and offering easy access to nearby San Francisco — Berkeley, California, features world-class dining, eclectic shopping and opportunities for fun outdoor adventure.

Known for its striking views of San Francisco Bay, Berkeley is eminently walkable yet chock-full of inviting attractions to fit any interest, from urban wineries and botanical gardens to esteemed golf courses and a revered local food scene.

BERKELEY AT A GLANCE

LOCATION: San Francisco Bay Area ACCESS: Oakland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, interstates 80 and 580 HOTEL ROOMS: 1,475 CONTACT INFO: Visit Berkeley 510-549-7040 visitberkeley.com MEETING HOTELS

DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina GUEST ROOMS: 378 MEETING SPACE: 30,659 square feet; largest room setup, 11,000 square feet; 22 meeting rooms Residence Inn by Marriott Berkeley Scheduled to open in December MEETING SPACE: 11,298 square feet; largest room space, 517 square feet; seven event rooms DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina GUEST ROOMS: 199 MEETING SPACE: 7,500 square feet; largest room space, 2,788 square feet; five event rooms WHO’S MEETING IN BERKELEY

UC Berkeley’s HAAS School of Business ATTENDEES: 311 Western Society of Periodontology ATTENDEES: 85 Institute of Brain Potential ATTENDEES: 120

November 2021

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Destination Highlights

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Gather restaurant

B

erkeley is easy to reach from either San Francisco International Airport or Oakland International Airport via Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), so out-ofstate guests can enjoy their stay without needing to rent a car.

Though it’s a midsize community of around 120,000 residents, Berkeley’s vibe is fun and forward-thinking thanks to both the liveliness of the modern UC Berkeley campus and the area’s legacy as the origin point of the 1960s free speech movement.

Celebrated as a food lover’s paradise, Berkeley was an early champion of the farm-to-table movement across America.

Finding outstanding, locally sourced cuisine here is easy, particularly in the city’s North Shattuck Neighborhood, the hotbed of the city’s thriving food scene.

“The food scene is really electric here,” said Dan Marengo, communications director for Visit Berkeley. “The North Shattuck district is home to Alice Waters’ restaurant, Chez Panisse, which is credited by many as the birthplace of California cuisine — founded on eating fresh, local, seasonally produced ingredients.”

Visitors can find boundless opportunities to browse unique local shops and eateries, too, along Berkeley’s iconic Telegraph Avenue. In West Berkeley, guests can explore the city’s thriving urban wine district. For those looking for a high-energy outing, the Berkeley Marina area boasts waterfront views and seven miles of hiking trails, plus opportunities to enjoy the bay on kayaks or stand-up paddleboards.

Outdoor lovers will also enjoy the city’s two botanical gardens and its Tilden Regional Park and Tilden Park Golf Course that, thanks to its location in the Berkeley Hills, offers sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay. Additionally, the UC Berkeley campus itself is a must-see highlight, serving as a sort of “Central Park” for the city, Marengo said. “It’s just a beautiful, scenic destination with interesting architecture and a vibrant energy.”

courtesy Visit Berkeley

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

A Berkeley winery

By Patrick Civello, courtesy Visit Berkeley

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Berkeley town square

By Patrick Civello, courtesy Visit Berkeley

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DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

A statue on Fourth Street

courtesy Visit Berkeley

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

DISTINCTIVE VENUES

Tilden Park Golf Course

courtesy Visit Berkeley

DISTINCTIVE VENUES

South Hall at UC Berkeley

Distinctive Venues

T

he covered patio at the Tilden Park Golf Course can accommodate up to 150 guests and provides sweeping views overlooking the course’s 13th and 18th greens. The on-site Grizzly Bar and Grill can seat up to 75. The course itself offers stunning views of San Francisco Bay and the Oakland and San Francisco skylines.

The Kala Art Institute and Gallery, home to professional artists in an array of media from film and photography to printmaking and digital media, offers a spacious 2,200-square-foot gallery and an adjoining conference room that can accommodate groups of up to 100.

The Julia Morgan Hall, originally built in 1911 and carefully restored in its new location in the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, features a 20-foot deck overlooking the garden’s native California plant collection. Groups can also rent the Botanical Courtesy Alabama Theatre Garden’s Mather Redwood Grove and Amphitheater, which can accommodate 200 guests in inviting outdoor seating surrounded by towering redwood trees.

Golden Gate Fields, home to live horse racing, makes its full facility available for rental on non-racing days. Featuring in-house catering and hospitality services, the venue can provide both concession-style dining or more formal sitdown dinners. In all, the facility includes roughly 300,000 square feet of indoor/ outdoor function space.

One of the region’s most iconic venues, the famed William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, is an outdoor amphitheater with a capacity of 8,500. It’s available for meeting rental and offers stunning views of the surrounding Berkeley Hills.

On-campus meeting venues include the Zellerbach Auditorium, UC Berkeley’s largest performance facility, with 1,978 seats. The nearby Zellerbach Playhouse, also on campus, includes seating for 547, and the UC Berkeley Faculty Club can host 230 for banquet-style dining or 100 in a meeting room setup.

Courtesy UC Berkeley

DISTINCTIVE VENUES

Hearst Circle at UC Berkeley

By Patrick Civello, courtesy UC Berkeley

November 2021

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Major Meeting Spaces

PUT MEANING ON THE MAP.

T

The DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina offers the largest traditional meeting capacity of any venue in the city: 22 meeting rooms totaling more than 30,000 square feet of event space, a ballroom that can accommodate 400, plus 378 guest rooms. In-house audiovisual services and professional catering are available.

The Hotel Shattuck Plaza, featuring newly renovated rooms in a former Mission-style home, has 199 guest rooms and 7,500 square feet of meeting space. Gourmet catering and full audiovisual support are provided.

A new hotel, the Residence Inn by Marriott Berkeley, is slated to open in December with more than 11,000 square feet of meeting space across seven planned event rooms. Audiovisual services, catering and event planning services will be available.

MEETING SPACES

DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina

MEETING SPACES

Berkeley Marina from above

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As travelers, we all want rich, authentic, and meaningful travel experiences. As travel professionals, we want to ensure we use travel as a force for good. Through the Meaningful Travel Map of North America, visitors can connect to locally owned social and environmental impact experiences and opportunities, unique and hands-on cultural experiences, products, and services.

www.meaningfultravelplatform.org/main/map

Pictured: Dive with the Coral Restoration Foundation, as they replant and restore coral reefs in the Florida Keys.

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www.smallmarketmeetings.com

AFTER HOURS

Vica Minor Winery

After the Meeting

D

uring downtime, meeting attendees can easily explore the iconic sights of San Francisco — including the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and Coit Tower — via a quick trip by BART from Berkeley.

“Getting between the two cities on public transit is super easy,” said Marengo. “It’s one train and no transfers.”

Berkeley is also within an hour’s drive from California’s famed wine country, so wine afficionados may want to spend a day or more pre- or post-meeting exploring wine tours and tasting options in Napa or Sonoma.

But there’s so much to do in Berkeley itself that many visitors may prefer to spend all their free time inside the city limits.

For example, guests can explore the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley to unwind and relax after a meeting. Home to 10,000 types of plants, many rare or endangered, on 34 beautifully manicured acres, the site offers a wonderful spot for quiet reflection.

For families visiting Berkeley together, Tilden Regional Park, nestled in the Berkeley Hills, features 40 miles of hiking trails, plus a Children’s Garden and Little Farm — home to sheep, goats, pigs, and more — making it a favorite of young visitors.

Visitors on the hunt for a unique shopping experience, should also set aside time to explore Fourth Street in West Berkeley, which has evolved from a former warehouse district into a popular, upscale shopping destination.

“There’s an open-air mall there that is very walkable,” said Marengo. “There is just a nice, friendly California vibe to that area.”

For a great nightcap, meeting attendees can wrap up a busy day at any of the city’s popular urban wineries, including Broc Cellars, Donkey and Goat, Lusu Cellars, Hammerling Wines and Vina Minor.

“The wine that’s being produced here is really being heralded by critics,” Marengo said. “We’re surrounded by wine country, so it’s easy for our vintners to go up there, hand-select their grapes and then come back here to Berkeley to create their wines. It’s a wonderful synergy between California wine country and the great food culture that we have in Berkeley.”

November 2021

31

TOWN

UNCONVENTIONAL

e l l i v n o t n e B B

BY TOM ADKINSON

entonville, Arkansas, is not your average small town.

It’s also not your average small town meeting destination.

Unlike average small towns, even ones with some hefty corporate headquarters, Bentonville is home of the heftiest of all corporate headquarters: Walmart.

And unlike many small towns that attract meetings because of one standout meeting facility, Bentonville doesn’t have a dominant meeting facility as its magnet. Instead, it offers a menu of choices that lets meeting planners surprise attendees.

That’s why Visit Bentonville enjoys marketing what it calls the “Unconventional Convention.”

“Our sweet spot is meetings of about 350 people,” said Amanda Khanga, director of sales at Visit Bentonville, while quickly noting that larger gatherings are possible and frequent.

The Unconventional Convention concept is rooted in multiple hotels and a variety of downtown venues that are convenient to each other.

Planners can have an opening session or keynote speaker in one venue and breakout sessions nearby, letting attendees stretch their legs in the Ozark outdoors. They can stroll around the charming town square and maybe visit a local coffee shop or get a milkshake at the Walmart Museum’s Spark Café Soda Fountain. The museum once was Walton’s 5&10, and that morphed into Walmart.

An extra diversion downtown is admiring a collection of murals that expand Bentonville’s solid reputation for art of many types. A favorite is Big Blue, a sprawling octopus putting the squeeze on a red and white pickup truck. Ask a local about the truck’s significance.

“Bentonville is a city built with intention, not by happenstance,” Khanga said. “It goes back to [Walmart scion] Sam Walton. The extended Walton family takes pride in a community that is a great place to live and to visit.”

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OPENED 10 YEARS AGO, CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART IS THE PRIDE OF BENTONVILLE.

EXPLORING 21C MUSEUM HOTEL

Photos courtesy Visit Bentonville

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

Lodging and Event Spaces

Three Bentonville hotels are meeting planners’ primary targets. The artcentric 21c Museum Hotel emphasizes contemporary modern art. It has 104 guest rooms and 12,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. The DoubleTree Suites has 140 guest rooms and 14,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Four Points by Sheraton has 105 guest rooms and 15,000 square feet of meeting space.

Bentonville’s list of meeting spaces is extensive and varied. One with an interesting backstory is the Record, an adaptation of a 1950s automobile dealership. Beneath its original wooden barrel ceilings is space for events for up to 850 people. A relaxed and relaxing meeting site is the Compton Gardens and Conference Center, a six-acre sanctuary that celebrates Ozark horticulture and Neil Compton, leader of the fight to save the now-protected Buffalo National River.

Distinctive Venues

BENTONVILLE ARKANSAS LOCATION

Northwest Arkansas

ACCESS

On Interstate 49 and served by Northwest Arkansas National Airport

MAJOR MEETING SPACES

21c Museum Hotel, DoubleTree Suites, Four Points by Sheraton

HOTEL ROOMS 2,100

OFF-SITE VENUES

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Momentary, the Record, the Museum of Native American Art, the Amazeum

CONTACT INFO Visit Bentonville 479-271-9153 visitbentonville.com

November 2021

By far, Bentonville’s most famous attraction and most appealing facility for meetings is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which has been rocking the American art world for a decade. Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, endowed Crystal Bridges, which features works by Thomas Hart Benton, Gilbert Stuart, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol and many others.

Beyond the galleries are meeting and classroom spaces and a glass-enclosed gathering hall. Sculpture and walking trails link it with downtown.

The Momentary, which champions contemporary art in everyday life, is a satellite of Crystal Bridges. It, too, has a great backstory, since it was originally a cheese factory. The 63,000-square-foot facility has abundant spaces indoors and outdoors for meeting uses.

Art of a completely different kind is the focus of the Museum of Native American History, which has more than 10,000 artifacts from many cultures dating back 14,000 years. The artistry of the makers of hunting implements, decorative pottery and intricate beadwork is obvious.

Fun science is the Amazeum’s calling card. You can stage a corporate retreat or a team-building event amid 50,000 square feet of hands-on science exhibits. Among them are a cave; a cloud theater, wonderful for a few minutes of relaxation; a “touchable tornado”; and the Hershey’s Lab, where you can conduct chocolate experiments.

Consumers know Sam Walton, but aviation fans know Louise Thaden, the Bentonville native and pioneering aviator and the first woman to win a National Air Race. The active general aviation airport, called Thaden Field, is a visually appealing location for a meeting event. Watch the airplanes come and go, and enjoy food from the all-day cafe named — what else — Louise.

After-Meeting Destinations It would be a shame not to explore the outdoor beauty of northwest Arkansas after a Bentonville meeting. The Razorback Greenway offers 37 miles of trails for hikers and bicyclists. Rental bikes are in many towns, including Bentonville. Meeting attendees also can enjoy the Victorian architecture of Eureka Springs or escape underground in commercial caverns such as Mystic Cavern and Crystal Dome Cavern at Harrison.

33

HOTEL

Lakeside in West Virginia

I

BY KRISTY ALPERT

t should come as no surprise that some of the most memorable and productive meetings in West Virginia take place at the Stonewall Resort — the hotel’s own history is rooted in collaboration and strategic partnerships.

Set among 1,900 acres of state park grounds, the Stonewall Resort was the first in the nation to be developed, constructed, financed and operated by a private developer in partnership with the state. The project first began shaping up in the 1980s when the U.S. Corps of Engineers completed a dam to control flooding of the West Fork River and Skin Creek. The dam formed Stonewall Jackson Lake, West Virginia’s second-largest lake, which would soon become the centerpiece for the Corps’ final project, the Stonewall Resort State Park. The state park opened in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the first guests checked in to the charming Adirondack-style lodge.

The Stonewall Resort now comprises a main lodge with 191 guest rooms and suites, as well as a series of lakeside cottages and lake houses that can host two to 12 guests. The entire resort wraps around the Stonewall Jackson Lake, and lakeside living extends into all aspects of the wooded retreat. Rooms range from hotel-style lodging to entire houses furnished with full kitchens and fireplaces.

High-speed internet access is standard throughout the grounds, as are the tranquil views of the surrounding woods and waters. Gatherings can take place throughout the expansive property, where 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space is suitable for both small meetings and large events. Board meetings take place alongside a roaring fire in the Oak Boardroom, and banquet guests mingle beneath delicate chandeliers in the Stonewall Ballroom.

Meeting groups that gather at the resort are met with the latest technologies and outdoor equipment to make their time in the beautiful hills of West Virginia as productive and fun as possible. Whether it’s a weekend retreat or a long-overdue reunion with friends, the on-site meeting planners help make sure guests depart feeling refreshed, relaxed and reenergized, ensuring their time on property is memorable.

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Photos courtesy Stonewall Resort

A STONEWALL RESORT BOARDROOM

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

M E E T I N G S PAC E S

STONEWALL RESORT OFFERS MEETING PLANNERS AN ADIRONDACKSTYLE LODGE INSIDE A SCENIC WEST VIRGINIA STATE PARK.

There are 14 flexible conference rooms spread throughout the lobby level and the terrace level of the Stonewall Resort. The lobby level is where guests can find the largest event spaces of the resort, all overlooking Stonewall Jackson Lake: the Stonewall Ballroom holds up to 300 guests, the Oak Boardroom and the Birch Room hold up to 120 guests, and four separate boardroom-style rooms hold up to 30 guests each. The terrace level is home to the private Maple Room, which holds up to 60 guests, and the Pecan Room, which holds up to 120 guests, as well as three separate boardroom-style rooms that hold up to 12 guests each.

C AT E R I N G The culinary team at the Stonewall Resort likes to describe its menus as “Appalachian-fusion cuisine,” which often includes familiar menu items with a tasty twist, like smoked cheddar mac and cheese, or bourbon molasses pork loin. Three on-site restaurants offer menus throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A team of talented and trained chefs assemble buffets, plated dinners and break food options for meeting guests with finesse and creativity, often sourcing locally for ingredients used to nourish guests during their time in West Virginia. Alcohol is available.

EXTRAS

HOTEL FACTS LOCATION

Roanoke, West Virginia

SIZE

191 guest rooms and suites

MEETING SPACE

More than 20,000 square feet

ACCESS

Interstate 79

CONTACT INFO

304-269-7400 stonewallresort.com

November 2021

Modern technologies are accented by natural lighting in many of the meeting spaces at the Stonewall Resort, where comfortable and engaging furnishings help guests settle in for a good time or cozy up for creative brainstorming meetings. The on-site and eager meeting planners at the Stonewall Resort are armed with an extensive catalog of signature team-building activities that range from Glow Golf on the Arnold Palmer-designed Palmer Course to a charity Bike Building Workshop. Culinary competitions heat things up between board meetings and offer groups the chance to collaborate on a delicious feast to be enjoyed once the competition has come to a close.

BEFORE AND AFTER The Stonewall Resort’s fantastic location among one of West Virginia’s most stunning state parks allows for endless opportunities for recreation before and after events. Guests can take to the more than 20 hiking or biking trails throughout the 1,900-acre state park or board the resort’s Little Sorrel touring boat to soak in the fall foliage or spring blossoms. The resort is home to a full-service spa, a fitness center and an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course. The resort also offers the Stonewall Outfitters Pass, which offers access to the on-site kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, paddleboats, aqua cycles, disc golf gear and more.

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MEETING ATTENDEES CAN ENJOY GOLF, PAMPERING AND WATERFRONT VIEWS AT THE GRAND GENEVA RESORT AND SPA IN LAKE GENEVA.

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Lake Geneva Just a short distance from Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa is on the banks of Geneva Lake.

The 1,300-acre resort is an outdoor recreation mecca with hiking, mountain biking, skiing, horseback riding, tennis, motorized scooter rentals and championship golf. Meeting planners interested in hosting events

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Courtesy Grand Geneva Resort and Spa

BY PAULA AVEN GLADYCH

olf enthusiasts have their pick of choice Wisconsin golf resorts that not only take advantage of the state’s gorgeous natural surroundings, but also offer full-service meeting facilities for groups of all sizes.

Whether it’s an intimate corporate golf outing or a full conference planned with golf in mind, here are several first-class Wisconsin golf resorts from which to choose.

GRAND GENEVA RESORT AND SPA

On Par in Wisconsin

there have their pick of 62,000 square feet of meeting space, including the resort’s 13,700-square-foot Forum Convention Center, another 12,000-square-foot conference center, several ballrooms, breakout rooms and six executive boardrooms.

The property also has a rustic ski chalet with exposed beams and a view of the Mountain Top, Lake Geneva’s ski mountain — with 20 downhill ski runs for all ages — and outdoor function spaces for both small and large events.

The property can host conferences for up to 1,500 people and weddings with as many as 400 guests. Groups can play golf on two 18-hole courses: The Brute course, with 7,000 yards, which features massive sand traps and prominent water features, or The Highlands, a par-72 Scottish Linksstyle course with 68 bunkers and huge rolling greens that average over 8,000 square feet. It was originally designed

by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus and was transformed in 1996 by Bob Cupp. Groups can organize a private golf outing for up to 144 players per course.

The resort offers an extensive menu of team-building activities, including build-a-bike, sled-building, charity races and scavenger hunts. There’s also culinary team-build-

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ing activities such as Pizza Production and Chili Creations. Grand Geneva has 610 guest accommodations, including 29 private villas and the Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark, which features a 50,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor water park. grandgeneva.com

WILDERNESS HOTEL AND GOLF RESORT

WILDERNESS HOTEL AND GOLF RESORT

Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Dells is known as the unofficial water park capital of the world, and the Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort does its part to add to that designation with four indoor and four outdoor water parks from which to choose. It is also a premier golf destination.

The Wild Rock Golf Club at the Wilderness has an 18-hole championship golf course that can accommodate 144 players and The Woods ninehole short course. Not everyone can take to the links like Tiger Woods, so the resort offers group golf clinics to give beginning golfers needed tips and recommendations. Dedicated meeting planners and tournament coordinators are on staff to help manage the group’s golf outing, dining arrangements, overnight accommodations and meeting room reservations.

The Wilderness Hotel’s Glacier Canyon Conference Center hosts the bulk of the resort’s meeting facilities. The center has 56,000 square feet of conference space that can host groups of up to 1,600 people theater-style or 1,200 for a banquet in the 14,823-square-foot Sandstone Ballroom. The 8,812-square-foot Wilderness Ballroom can host groups of up to 844 theater-style or 500 for a banquet. The clubhouse at Wild Rock has a banquet room that can seat up to 160 guests in a reception setting, with two decks and a covered patio where guests can mingle and watch golfers on the practice green.

If the group needs separate rooms for its general meeting, meals and breakout sessions, the center can comfortably host groups of up to 400 people. The Wilderness has 1,182 guest rooms between its main lodge, condos, cabins and villas. Most meeting attendees stay at Glacier Canyon Lodge, which is attached to the conference center.

The property is an entertainment hub, so meeting planners don’t have to worry about attendees who don’t golf. There is a zip line, gokarts, the Take Flight flying theater experience and a spa. wildernessresort.com

Courtesy Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort

ONE OF TWO GOLF COURSES AT DEVIL’S HEAD RESORT IN MERRIMAC

DEVIL’S HEAD RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTER

Merrimac Devil’s Head Resort is a full-service ski and golf resort just two and a half hours from Chicago in the Baraboo Bluffs in south-central Wisconsin. The resort sits on a 1,200-acre nature preserve in Sauk County, just south of the Wisconsin Dells, and is within minutes of Devil’s Lake State Park, Lake Wisconsin and Parfrey’s Glen, which offers hiking paths through a glacier-carved ravine that reaches a depth of 100 feet.

The resort has two 18-hole championship golf courses — Glacier and Prairie Glen — that are built up on a sea hill and are unique in the Midwest because of their many elevation changes. Each course can host groups of 144 players. If meeting attendees don’t play golf, there are plenty of fun things to do on property or nearby. The resort has two pools, a hot tub, tennis courts, a fitness center and four Courtesy Devil’s Head Resort

November 2021

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Meetieng Guid AN ELEGANT EVENT AT PAR 4 RESORT

restaurants. Devil’s Head Mountain has 300 acres of skiable terrain with 30 ski trails for all levels of skier and a 500-foot elevation gain.

It also offers cross-country skiing in the winter with a three-and-ahalf-mile trail that starts from hole No. 1 of the Glacier golf course.

Devil’s Head is close to some of the area’s most visited attractions, including the Circus World Museum, Wollersheim Winery Distillery Bistro, which offers tours and tastings, outlet shopping and Ho Chunk Gaming.

Meeting planners that want to plan a conference or a meeting at Devil’s Head can book space at the resort’s 20,000-square-foot convention center, which can accommodate groups of 20 to 600 people. The center overlooks the entire ski hill and serves as the ski resort cafeteria during the winter months. There are 250 hotel rooms at the resort, as well as three-bedroom condos with kitchens on the edge of the golf course. devilsheadresort.com

PAR 4 RESORT

Waupaca The Par 4 Resort is in Wisconsin’s Chain O’ Lakes area, with 22 connected spring-fed lakes. Glaciers carved deep ravines and left behind rolling hills, sandy plains and swift-moving rivers. Hartman Creek State Park offers many recreational opportunities, including biking, boating, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding and swimming. Nearby Clear Water Harbor offers 1.5-hour narrated public and private boat cruises on the 60-foot paddle-wheeler Chief Waupaca or the Lady of the Lakes yacht.

By Ashlee Snell, courtesy Par 4 Resort

CONNECT. COLLABORATE. CELEBRATE.

Located along I-94, Brookfield is SE Wisconsin’s premier event location. With 150,000 sq ft of meeting space, 1,842 hotel rooms, and hundreds of restaurants & retailers, Brookfield will exceed your expectations. Featuring the Brookfield Conference Center.

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(262) 789-0220 • www.visitbrookfield.com

www.smallmarketmeetings.com

Groups can book a Sunday brunch tour, a local beer tasting or a fall colors cruise during which they can learn more about the history of the area.

The resort has an 18-hole Scottish links-style golf course at its Foxfire Golf Club that attracts many corporate and charity outings. There is an on-course beverage service, as well as a golf shop with shoes, shirts, clubs and souvenirs.

The resort has 5,000 square feet of meeting space. The Grand Ballroom is the largest space, able to accommodate groups of 350 people. The seasonal White House Tent can host groups of 225, and several smaller rooms can host groups of 30 to 180 people. Catering is available for all meals, including formal plated banquets and multiple-entree buffets. Discounted guest rooms are available at the Comfort Suites Par 4 Resort.

The resort plans to break ground on an expansion this winter that includes 6,000 square feet of banquet space and an additional 30 hotel rooms. Currently, the resort has 70 guest rooms. par4resort.com

LAKEWOODS RESORT

Cable The Lakewoods Resort has been a family-owned facility since 1907, attracting visitors who want to get away from the city and get out into nature. Located on Lake Namakagon in the 858,400-acre Chequamegon National Forest, the resort offers

explore

many water-based recreational activities like fishing, water skiing, sailing and boating. The town of Cable is nicknamed Trail Town USA, with trails for summer and winter sports including hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, dogsledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, all-terrain vehicle driving and wildlife viewing.

The resort’s 18-hole Forest Ridges Golf Course can accommodate over 300 people with staggered tee times. Most visiting groups plan shotgun golf tournaments where all four-person groups of players tee off at the same time from different holes. The clubhouse has a bar and grill, so groups can plan cookouts or picnics on the patio overlooking the golf course or stay after their game for a steak dinner, a pig roast, or a fish or shrimp boil.

The resort has seven meeting rooms with 10,000 square feet of space that can host groups of up to 300 people for a banquet or 400 people theater-style. Food is provided on-site either through catering or through two restaurants, one at the Golf clubhouse and one in the main lodge. Outdoors, the facility can host groups of 800 or more.

“You can get a meeting room anywhere. People come here for the other amenities available,” said P.C. Rasmussen, owner of the resort, which has a full-service marina, tennis courts, pickleball courts, sand volleyball, sand beaches, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.

Groups that host conferences at the property like to organize some of their breakout sessions outside or host cookouts for lunch. The resort has a patio space right on the water that is great for outdoor events. lakewoodsresort.com

Join Us at the Newly Renovated

LA CROSSE .com

Located in the historic downtown riverfront district, the La Crosse Center boasts the space, experience, and services to perfectly fit your needs. The La Crosse Center hosts a variety of events, such as:

Conventions

Concerts

Meetings

Sporting Events

Tradeshow s

Weddings

A convenient walk from numerous parking options, hotels, dining and cultural opportunities, the La Crosse Center offers entertainment/nightlife you and your guests will not forget.

EXPERIENCE THE MAGNIFICENT November 2021

For more information, visit: lacrossecenter.com Address: 300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse, WI 54601 39 Phone: (608)789-7400

GUESTS ARRIVE FOR A CONCERT AT POPLAR HALL IN APPLETON, ONE OF WISCONSIN’S FOX CITIES.

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Fox Cities encompasses 19 communities along the Fox River and at the north end of Lake Winnebago, so boating is popular. Trails, boardwalks and bridges connect the cities, towns and waterways in the area.

Papermaking was king in the 1900s, with many mills using the river to generate electricity to power their machinery. The Hearthstone Historic House Museum is a remnant of that era, the first Victorian home in

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Courtesy Fox Cities CVB

BY PAULA AVEN GLADYCH

isconsin is known for its Northwoods and its many rivers and lakes. Meeting planners that would like to tap into some of Wisconsin’s best scenery and plentiful outdoor recreation opportunities should consider hosting their conferences in these smaller towns that offer first-class meeting spaces and lodging, plenty of attractions and a slower pace than the state’s nearby urban centers.

FOX CITIES

Small Town Wisconsin

the world to use hydroelectric power. Visitors can see original Edison electroliers, light switches and wiring on their tour of the home.

Each community hosts festivals throughout the year, giving meeting planners something fun to plan their events around nearly every weekend. Top attractions include the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton, which brings in Broadway shows, and Fox Cities Stadium, home to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor league baseball team.

The Red Lion Hotel Paper Valley is the top meeting hotel in Fox Cities, with 300 guest rooms and 40,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. It is connected to the Fox Cities Exhibition Center, which opened in January 2018. The hotel has a grand ballroom and several breakout spaces and can host groups of up to 1,000 people. The exhibition center boasts 37,250 square feet of trade show space in three exhibition halls and 17,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space alongside Jones Park. Copper Leaf, a 90-room boutique hotel across the street, has meeting space for 100 people.

The DoubleTree by Hilton Neenah has 107 guest rooms and 8,558 square feet of event space. Unique venues include

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the Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve, with event spaces that can host groups of four to 250 guests, and Givens Farm, which offers a more rustic setting for smaller groups of under 100 people. foxcities.org

BROOKFIELD

A suburb of Milwaukee, Brookfield is about 20 minutes from General Mitchell International Airport. The area boasts 12 hotels with 1,850 guest rooms and the new Brookfield Conference Center, which opened in July 2020 with 54,000 square feet of meeting space. The city built the center to attract new business to the area and to better compete with larger, second-tier cities. The center has two ballrooms, one 18,000 square feet and the other 6,000 square feet. In addition, groups can plan events in the 8,000-square-foot Celebration Atrium or the center’s 9,000-square-foot outdoor Celebration Plaza.

The conference center is across from the Brookfield Square mall, with myriad dining and shopping options, and shares a parking lot with the 389-room Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, the largest full-service hotel in the city. The Sheraton has 21 event rooms with a total of 18,782 square feet. The largest space can hold 900 people. The Hilton Garden Inn, which opened in March 2020, has 168 guest rooms and is attached to the conference center by a glass-enclosed walkway. It also has a 1,700-square-foot meeting room.

Brookfield is close to the Milwaukee County Zoo, which is a popular off-site meeting venue for up to 500 guests, and is minutes away from American Family Field, where the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball.

Groups that want to try something a little different should plan an event at WhirlyBall, an entertainment venue in the mall that has bowling, laser tag, hyperbowling, pop-up games and two WhirlyBall courts. visitbrookfield.com

LA CROSSE

La Crosse is one of the biggest cities in the region that is on the Mississippi River, making it a desirable meeting destination. Groups planning an event in the area should make time to experience the river; Riverside Park, which sits at the confluence of three rivers; and the beautiful bluffs for which the area is known. At 600 feet in elevation, Grandad Bluff is the largest and most visited one in the area. On a clear day, guests who climb to the top get fantastic views of La Crosse, the Mississippi River, Iowa and Minnesota.

The La Crosse Center, the city’s main convention facility, is in the middle of a renovation. It added a brand-new state-of-the-art ballroom that can be split into three rooms, as well as additional meeting spaces. The ballroom has huge windows that overlook the river. A new rooftop terrace makes a great prefunction space, with a roll-out bar and wonderful views of the river and Pearl Street, which

Meetings meet Convenience

Times have changed the way we meet, but not the way we help you meet. Learn about our convenient location, directly off I-94, between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. We offer complimentary personalized services to help make your meeting a success. Additionally, our area offers:  More than 100,000 square feet of affordable, flexible meeting space  1,200+ guestrooms with complimentary parking  Plenty of after-hours dining and entertainment options for your attendees

Learn more at visitwaukesha.org/meetmore

November 2021

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THINK OUTSIDE THE BOARDROOM

is the heart of historic downtown La Crosse. The center also has a 6,500-seat arena with 21,000 square feet of floor space.

The Radisson Hotel La Crosse is adjacent to the La Crosse Center and within walking distance of Riverside Park. It has 165 guest rooms and 11,500 square feet of flexible meeting space for up to 500 guests. The Stony Creek Hotel La Crosse-Onalaska is another option with 157 guest rooms and a 7,000-square-foot ballroom.

Unique venues include the La Crosse Queen paddle-wheeler, which takes groups on sightseeing, lunch or dinner cruises on the Mississippi River. explorelacrosse.com

WAUKESHA

Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center

Lighthouse Inn On Lake Michigan

Holiday Inn Manitowoc

Wisconsin Maritime Museum

Woodland Dunes Nature Center With over 1000 hotel rooms and a variety of unique and versatile meeting spaces, Manitowoc-Two Rivers is ready to help your group connect on the coast.

Your Host on the Coast RaeAnn Thomas 920.686.3077 rthomas@manitowoc.info www.manitowoc.info

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Waukesha is known for its charming and historic downtown, with eclectic shops and locally owned restaurants. It also is the birthplace of Les Paul, inventor of the electric guitar. Throughout downtown Waukesha, there are 15 10-foot-tall Gibson guitars that have been painted by local artists and more than a dozen wall murals that pay homage to Paul and the history of Waukesha. Pewaukee, Waukesha’s sister city across Interstate 94, is home to Pewaukee Lake, one of the best lakes for muskie fishing in south and central Wisconsin. Visitors can rent boats or paddleboards and take part in other water-based activities at the lake.

The Ingleside Hotel is the largest meeting facility in Waukesha, with 40,000 square feet of traditional indoor space and an outdoor pavilion and grounds that can be used for a variety of events. The hotel has 192 rooms and an attached water park. The Marriott Milwaukee West has 281 guest rooms and 10,000 square feet of meeting space that includes a ballroom and a private dining room. The Holiday Inn, built in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, has 119 guest rooms and 2,500 square feet of meeting space. Its sister property, Wildwood Lodge, has two smaller meeting rooms and 94 all-suite guest rooms.

The Waukesha County Museum is on the first floor of the city’s historic courthouse.

The upper level was turned into a meeting facility for up to 300 people. Nearby Old World Wisconsin is an outdoor living-history museum in the middle of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It has an 1890s octagonal barn that can be used for social events and meetings. visitwaukesha.org

MANITOWOC

Situated on Lake Michigan, Manitowoc has been a shipbuilding hub since the 1800s. Its maritime industry started with wooden sailing ships and fishing boats and then, during World War II, expanded into wartime marine vessels such as submarines, tankers and landing craft. Now the area is known for building spectacular yachts.

Groups that want to tap into the area’s nautical past can host an event at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. The Roof Deck offers 3,100 square feet of outdoor space with panoramic views of Lake Michigan and downtown Manitowoc, and the 1,800-square-foot Riverview Room can hold groups of up to 150 theater-style.

The Holiday Inn Manitowoc Hotel and Conference Center is the largest facility in town, with 204 guest rooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. The Baymont by Wyndham Manitowoc Lakefront has 109 rooms and can accommodate 180 banquet guests, and the Lighthouse Inn has 66 rooms and meeting space for up to 200 people.

The Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center is another popular conference space. Visitors can learn where their food comes from through interactive exhibits and even watch a cow giving birth in the birthing barn. A cafe divides the museum from the center’s conference space, which can host groups of up to 300 people. Meeting groups can tour the museum as part of their rental. manitowoc.info

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s r e o t o t d i n gs . . . t u o y l e v o l d n a s e u n e v l a n o i t i d a r t , s n H i sto ri c lo catio Photo courtesy of Janesville Woman’s Club

Janesville, Wisconsin’s Great Outside is the ideal destination to hold your next meeting, convention or retreat. In addition to a selection of venues, Janesville also offers a variety of hotels, restaurants and attractions, including many affordable options that provide you with great value. Janesville is easily accessible - right off of I-39/90. Call today to learn more about our complimentary services! janesvillecvb.com · (800) 487-2757 · 

Welcome Back to the Fox Cities F OX C I T I E S E X H I B I T I O N C E N T E R Built into the hillside of a park in downtown Appleton, our Exhibition Center sets a new standard for modern, beautiful, and flexible event spaces. Thoughtfully designed to highlight our region’s storied history, the Center’s 38,000-square foot interior is complemented by a 17,000-square foot outdoor plaza. The possibilities are endless! It’s the perfect place to stage your original event experience.

Contact Amy Rivera at arivera@foxcities.org to plan your original event.

FoxCities.org/originals