Meeting planner tips: 5 features of extraordinary convention hotels

Conventions bring colleagues together, promote shared learning, and advance industries and professionals. The right hotel selection can lead to happier, more engaged participants. For a flawless convention, meeting planners seek these five convention hotel must-haves.

Quality hotels understand that customer service is the key ingredient to a positive guest experience and effective events. When you reach out to the hotel’s meeting planner, get a sense for how willing s/he is to work with your needs and specifications. Are you receiving timely and courteous replies? Does the hotel have one point of contact for you, or will you be working with multiple people for event space and room blocks? Determine whether the hotel’s policies and approach are a good match for you and your participants.

Be prepared, and anticipate your group’s special needs. For example, if you’re hosting a concurrent trade show with the conference, does the hotel have the meeting space you need? Will you work with the hotel to provide electricity and Wi-Fi to each vendor, or will you need to contract with a trade show vendor—and are there options for every budget?

Convention participants take their meals and snacks seriously. A lackluster lunch will lead to negative post-convention survey responses. Keeping your food budget in mind, it’s best to review the menus and complete a taste test prior to booking the hotel for the convention.

If your convention agenda includes generous free time, a hotel located near the host city’s attractions, or public transportation, is optimal. This is helpful for the popular dine-around feature that allows small groups of convention attendees to walk to local restaurants to continue discussions. On the other hand, if your convention agenda is content-packed, from breakfast to dinner, proximity to the airport may be the more important factor.