January | Insider's Guide | By D. Fran Morley
San Antonio
A Fast-Growing City With International Appeal
By D. Fran Morley The second largest city in Texas, San Antonio’s reputation as a great meetings destination is about to be kicked up a notch, according to Steve Clanton, director of sales for the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). “Gaylord Entertainment’s plans to purchase and expand the Westin La Cantera Resort are going to change the face of what we’re doing. We already have a very healthy meeting market with tremendous association business, but this is huge for us.”
According to Gaylord Entertainment officials, the company purchased the resort for $252.5 million and is planning a three-year, $250 million expansion that would triple the resort’s current 508-room inventory and add 160,000 square feet of event and meeting space to the existing 39,000 square feet. “La Cantera is already a premier attraction for both leisure tourists and convention customers, and the hotel has tremendous potential for growth as the substantial amount of land surrounding the hotel will afford us the opportunity to enhance the resort through additional long-termed development,” said Colin V. Reed, Gaylord Entertainment chairman/CEO. “San Antonio is a top 10 convention destination, and we will be entering the area with the premier property in the market.” La Cantera is adjacent to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, about 15 miles north of downtown.
With its long history, a blend of European, Native American and Mexican cultures, and many historic sites, including the Alamo and other Spanish missions, San Antonio is a unique city, Clanton said. “People are surprised that San Antonio is such a big city, and we are, but our downtown doesn’t sprawl. Our major meeting facilities, many hotels, restaurants and historic attractions are very easy to walk to. We have a lot going on, but we’re a relaxed destination with a good variety of lodging options, including historic hotels, nice boutique hotels, and chain hotels. Even our chain hotels don’t look like they do in other cities. All new construction or renovation along the Riverwalk has to mirror the city’s existing architecture, so everything looks like it belongs here.”
San Antonio is a city that infuses culture into its meeting experiences, local officials say. |
Ellen Ferrell, director of meeting and travel services for the National Cotton Council of America, noted four things that her organization especially likes about San Antonio, a city they’ve held events in many times. “We love that there is a great variety of hotels in all price points, that they are all within walking distance of the convention center, and that it is so easy to get around San Antonio without having to rent a car. Also, everyone at the CVB is great to work with. They’ve always been very helpful.” The organization’s Beltwide Cotton Conference, which attracts about 3,000 attendees, returns to San Antonio in 2009.
For the general session and breakout meetings, the cotton conference utilized space at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center but also held meetings at the Marriott Rivercenter, which has 1,001 guest rooms and 60,000 square feet of meeting space, and at the nearby Marriott Riverwalk, which has 512 guest rooms and 12,000 square feet of event space.
About 12,000 of San Antonio’s current 35,000 hotel rooms are in downtown near the Riverwalk and several meeting facilities or attractions. Nearby facilities include the convention center, the 160,000-square-foot Alamodome, and the Municipal Auditorium, which is a restored historic building that seats up to 4,884 for stage shows or 1,200 for banquets.
San Antonio is continually adding to its hotel inventory, Clanton said. “The 1,000-room Grand Hyatt Convention Center Hotel opens in February adjacent to the convention center. The Grand Hyatt will have nearly 80,000 square feet of event space, including a 32,700-square-foot grand ballroom, and it will be a nice addition to the 440,000 square feet of exhibit space, the ballrooms, and the meeting rooms at the convention center,” Clanton said.
Also downtown, the 131-room Hyatt Place at the Riverwalk opened this year after a total renovation. Formerly an AmeriSuites, the hotel now features a host of Hyatt Place amenities, including high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access throughout and the Bistro Café, with made-to-order food available around the clock.
Atlanta-based Logility Inc., a company that provides supply-chain solutions for various corporations, chose the 265-room Hotel Contessa for its annual 2008 conference, held in May 2007. The hotel offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space and, according to Brett Boreing, director of sales and marketing, the 2-year-old hotel opened a rooftop-level spa in 2007. “Our spa offers five treatment rooms, two manicure stations, two pedicure stations and specializes in the Aveda experience.”
The Hyatt Regency San Antonio is located directly on the Riverwalk two blocks from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and overlooks The Alamo. It offers 21 meeting rooms. Included in the hotel’s 40,000 square feet of meeting space is the Regency Ballroom, which can accommodate more than 1,600, theater style, and more than 1,000, banquet style.
The San Antonio Riverwalk Drury Plaza Hotel opened in February 2007 and has a new addition opening in March 2008, bringing the hotel’s guest room count to 366, according to Sharon Benavides, sales manager. The new addition has an indoor pool and is connected to the historic 1920s bank building that houses the main part of the hotel, including 11,000 square feet of event space.
Key Info · Sales Tax: 8.75 percent
· Hotel Tax: 16.75 percent
· Convention Facilities: The newly expanded, 1.3 million-square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is located on the Riverwalk and offers 440,000 square feet of contiguous meeting space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, 113,000 square feet of meeting room space, and a 2,521-seat theater for the performing arts. Located five miles from the convention center, the Alamodome can accommodate assemblies and trade shows or smaller events with the aid of the curtain wall system. |
Planners will enjoy the complete transformation of a San Antonio classic, said Marina Bogrand, director of sales and marketing for the El Tropicano Holiday Inn Riverwalk Hotel. The first hotel ever built on the Riverwalk, El Tropicano completed a multimillion-dollar, full-property restoration in July 2007. “Our guests say that it’s like walking into an Acapulco resort. There’s gleaming white marble, bright splashes of color, Mexican art and artifacts, and live toucans in the lobby.” The 308-room hotel has 37,000 square feet of event space.
The St. Anthony, A Wyndham Historic Hotel, is undergoing a multiphase, multimillion-dollar restoration in anticipation of its 100th anniversary in 2009. “We’re not changing the look or feel of the hotel, which is very opulent and elegant, but we will be putting in new carpet, new paint and other touches to all of our guest rooms, meeting space and public areas,” said John Rowe, director of sales and marketing. The 352-room hotel has 30,000 square feet of event space, including the rooftop Starlight Terrace. A Four-Diamond winner, the hotel can host up to 300 for banquets.
Other hotels with meeting space include the 213-room Hotel Valencia, which offers 7,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 500-room Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort with 33,000 square feet of meeting space.
