Austin Hotels Collaborate to Support Meetings During Convention Center Rebuild

October 22nd, 2024 at 5:18 AM EDT

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Hotels are joining forces to accommodate large groups during the closure of the Austin Convention Center.

On April 1, 2025, the Austin Convention Center will close for four years as it undergoes a $1.6 billion redevelopment. However, the city will not be closed for meetings, as hotels and conference centers are stepping in to help. Leaders there emphasize that the city will be open for meetings while the convention center is offline.

Four years is a long time for a city to be without its main convention center, but Austin had little choice. Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Austin, said the city was losing 50% of the leads it received due to a lack of space at the center.

“Austin is the 11th largest city in the U.S., but currently, we have the 59th largest convention center,” said Noonan. “This new center will allow us to be more competitive within the state and with our major national competitors.”

Austin has experience hosting gatherings that use multiple hotels and venues. South by Southwest has taken over the city every March since 1987, drawing thousands of attendees.

“We’re uniquely positioned in that strategy because we have been doing this for years,” said Delgado.

With the convention not expected to reopen until 2029, several hotels have partnered in what Visit Austin calls “collections” to offer planners a simplified multi-property approach to hosting events in the city.

Here are four options for planners considering Austin while its convention center is closed.

University Collection

The AT&T Hotel and Conference Center is at the center of the University Collection, part of the University of Texas at Austin’s campus. The hotel is undergoing its own $30 million renovation next spring and summer, the low season in Texas. The 297-room hotel will remain open during this $30 million renovation, modernizing its 85,000+ square feet of meeting space and 53 meeting rooms. A new junior ballroom is also being added.

“A hotel with this much conference space usually has many more rooms than 297,” said Josh Delgado, director of sales and marketing at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center.

The property is partnering with seven other hotels, all within walking distance of each other and ranging in size from 340 to 90 rooms, to accommodate large groups.

Austin Red River Collection

Another hotel collaboration in the city is the Austin Red River Collection, which includes the 1,048-room Fairmont Austin, 801-room Hilton Austin, and 319-room Hotel Van Zandt. That’s 2,168 hotel rooms and 245,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

These are three luxury hotels in the Red River Cultural District, a three-bock area with some of the city’s most popular bars and music venues. 

White Lodging

White Lodging also publicizes that its 12 Austin hotels can accommodate large groups. Its largest property is the 1,102-room JW Marriott, a short walk from its 613-room Austin Marriott Downtown.

In total, White Lodging has more than 4,000 guest rooms and more than 220,000 square feet of meeting space in Austin. White Lodging is also adding another hotel to its portfolio, the 258-room Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection.

2nd Street Campus

Properties in the 2nd Street area of Austin have also joined together. They include ACL Live, W Austin, Austin Proper Hotel, and the JW Marriott. 

In preparation for the convention center’s closing, ACL Live at The Moody Theater is expanding and enclosing an open pavilion for breakouts and small meetings. In addition, the attached W Hotel is undergoing a complete renovation.

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