Detroit’s COBO Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226
313-877-8777
fax 313-877-8577

is a masterpiece of construction.

The Cobo Convention Center sits in the heart of a downtown that has undergone a tremendous transformation over the years. Cobo Center prides itself on its flexibility to host a wide variety of conferences, conventions and fairs.

Flanked by a fabulous international riverfront, Cobo Center is positioned in close proximity to several restaurants, bars and pubs, as well as six new hotels including three Las Vegas-style casinos. Our elegant banquet rooms and over 80 meeting rooms totaling 178,446 square feet equip Cobo Center to accommodate capacities from 30 to 10,000. Cobo Center also boasts one of the largest contiguous exhibit floor space in North America.

These are exciting times the Cobo Convention Center. The center will soon undergo a $278 million upgrade that will transform Cobo into the state-of-the-art facility that your organization will enjoy for years to come. This investment was made possible through a partnership that includes the City of Detroit, the state of Michigan, and the counties of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb. It is a great example of Michigan’s southeast region coming together to serve Cobo’s clients.

No matter what your conference/convention/corporate retreat/meeting/trade show/reunion needs might be, Cobo Center can supply them.

After hours, your attendees can find almost anything they want to do with in a short driving distance.  Detroit is a beautiful city, and there is much more here than the auto industry!

Look what you will find right within this venue in March!  Why not add YOUR conference to our list:

The beautiful Austin Convention Center is a busy place, and there’s a good reason for that.

The Austin Convention Center is a busy place because it has such awesome facilities for any kind of convention, conference, trade show, corporate retreat, reunion, reception, along with plenty of handy parking, more-than-enough electrical outlets, reliable internet access, and, and, and, well, what else could anyone need for a meetup?

In fact, RIGHT NOW, the Austin Convention Center is hosting the huge and diverse South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) and is being featured on Twitter, etc, possibly more than any other keyword this weekend.           

Just understanding the complexity of this particular conference will help you understand the diversity of the Austin Convention Center; it is quite capable of handling thousands of techies, musicians, bands, bloggers, podcasters, speakers, and hands-on “stuff” of every conceivable kind, without batting an eyelash.  I’ve heard, too, that “things” are going quite smoothly in Austin, which is also an excellent advertisement for the conference center.

If you are interested in having your next conference/convention/retreat/trade show, etc, in a beautiful city with an enviable climate, in a venue that will turn itself inside out to accommodate your any and every need, you might want to consider the Austin Convention Center.

Here’s how to contact the Austin Convention Center:

Austin Convention Center Department

Mark Tester, Director
Monica Hammond, Assistant Director – Convention Center Operations
Darin Upchurch, Assistant Director – Finance / Palmer Events Center
Paul Barnes, Assistant Director – Sales, Marketing and Event Services
Michele Gizelbach, Chief Financial Manager
Lisa Kidder, Director of Sales
Alycia Sparkman, Event and Exhibitor Services Manager
Joe Gonzalez, IT Services Manager
Terri McBride, Public Information Specialist / Media Relations
Van Jobe, Manager – Guest Services and Purchasing

Palmer Events Center

Darin Upchurch, Assistant Director
Rusty Nabors, Sales and Events Manager

Employment Opportunities

Physical Address

Austin Convention Center
500 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX 78701
Ph: 512.404.4000
FAX: 512.404.4416

Palmer Events Center
900 Barton Springs
Austin, TX 78704
Ph: 512.404.4500
FAX: 512.404.4422
www.palmereventscenter.com

Mailing Address Austin Convention Center, Palmer Events Center
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767

If you schedule your next conference/convention/trade show/reunion/retreat underneath the largest unsupported dome in the world, (except for the Astrodome) your attendees would never forget the experience!

Just ask Diane Sawyer, who summed up the West Baden Springs Hotel thusly:  “It’s so amazing!  Everyone in the country has to come and see this hotel!”

West Baden, Indiana, is a small town with a huge attraction: the famous West Baden Springs Hotel, known as the 8th Wonder of the World.  Seriously.

Its history is fascinating: the dome has been a monastery, a college, a ruin, and now a newly-restored piece of Americana with a background unlike and far more interesting than any other hotel/conference center you’ll ever encounter.

West Baden Springs Hotel

Address: 8670 WSR 56, West Baden
Phone: 812-936-9300

Extraordinary National Historic Landmark Hotel built in 1902 with a one-of-a-kind domed atrium spanning 200 feet and often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Rooms rise six tiers around the dome and balcony rooms provide a panoramic view of the atrium. Restaurants, shopping, pools, golf, stables and full service spa.

The garden that the monks created has been restored, and is one of the most beautiful and romantic places in which to stroll that you’ll ever see.

My husband’s grandfather helped to tile the roof; the dome was so dangerous to climb around on that little pieces of scaffolding were nailed all over the dome, every few feet.  I went to a prom under the dome, more years ago than I’m likely to admit to any of you.

Your attendees will probably spend all of their free time just walking around this place, gawking and admiring and taking pictures of both the inside and outside of the dome and its grounds.

Golf?  Yes.  Spas?  Several.  Forget to pack something?  There are several retail outlets in the dome.

Huge conference/convention/trade show rooms and smaller meeting rooms available.

Vanderbilts, Astors, and Rockefellers have stayed here.   The Cubs, White Sox, Reds, and other major league baseball teams used to come here for spring training.  It’s been whispered that the famous local mineral water in West Baden might have had something to do with the Chicago Cubs’ World Series win that year!

PBS did a documentary about the West Baden Hotel’s restoration; if you order it and let your people watch it, you’ll all be convinced that this is the hotel for your next conference!!

Why don’t you plan to hold your next convention/conference/trade show/corporate retreat in scenic southern Indiana, at the West Baden Springs Hotel?

Don’t forget to bring your camera.

P.S.  Free high speed internet!

The historic French Lick Resort and Casino in southern Indiana is one of the most classically beautiful and genuinely unique conference centers in the world!

Its history is fascinating:  John Dillinger had his own suite here at one time.  FDR did, too, and in fact came here regularly to enjoy the Pluto Water Spas!  (Google it; it’s amazing!)

People come here for many reasons: the golf courses, the casinos, and frankly, just to stay in the hotel and gawk.

Gawk at what?  The sights, both in and out of the building.

You’ll find, at the French Lick Resort and Casino, fantastic catering, restaurants, bars, spas, golf, swimming, formal gardens, and  ballrooms, among other things.

Did I say “golf?”  I should have said “PGA Championship!”

Don’t let the vintage look fool you:  your conference/convention/getaway/reception/trade show will have access to the most modern, up-to-date facilities imaginable.

Take a walk around historic French Lick itself.  Pretty much any person you meet will have interesting tales to share about the town’s origins, it’s past (WOW!) and the present, which is a recreation of much of that past.

The hotel is also just a stone’s throw from the historic West Baden Dome, which will be a post in and of itself.

Take the train ride.  Drive down to Patoka Lake.

Your attendees will beg to come back again for next year’s function.

P.S.  Dry-land midwestern French Lick is in Indiana, and Indiana law states that no casino can exist here unless it’s floating on water, hence all the riverboat casinos in the vicinity.  However, the French Lick Resort and Casino got around that law, quite legally.  Come on down and see for yourself.  It’s really awesome.

Check out the tiled floors.

Burlington, Vermont’s beautiful Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center is the perfect place for your trade show, conference, convention, meeting, reunion, wedding, or any kind of get-together, be it large or small.

The largest hotel and convention center in the state, the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is right in the middle of downtown, and well within walking distance, or short driving distance, from pretty much anything an attendee would need or want to see.

If you fly in, the hotel has its own shuttle system, as well.

In the winter, you’ll find some of the finest skiing in the world right here at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center.  Remember when it snowed in the movie “White Christmas?”  That was Vermont!

As far as large meetings go:

Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center offers an impressive 30,000 square feet of flexible function space—including the 8,000-square-foot Emerald Grand Ballroom and the 12,500 square-foot Lake Champlain Exhibition Hall, for larger events and trade shows. Pre-function areas with expansive windows providing magnificent mountain views. Located primarily on two levels, the hotel’s flexible meeting space allows large groups to flow quickly from one venue to another so attendees can maximize their time.

For catered events, Executive Certified Master Chef Arnd Sievers’ fresh and unique creations rival the best in the world. Showcasing the finest in Vermont ingredients, and exhibiting the experience that has brought him international hotel awards, Master Chef Sievers and his culinary team create dishes that meet our clientele’s exceptional standards.

You don’t have to do it alone: our convention service managers will work closely with you to design your ideal event or conference. With on-site assistance on audiovisual and lighting issues, and Internet access in all meeting rooms, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is located at 870 Williston Road, Burlington, Vermont 05403. Phone:  802-865-6600

• Contact the Hotel

The Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center is a Starwood Hotel.

If you are looking for a conference center, convention center, or trade show location that is paradise, inside the building and out – especially out – look no further than the Ramada Plaza on Nag’s Head Beach.

Nag’s Head, North Carolina, is part of the breathtakingly beautiful Outer Banks, home of the planet’s loveliest beaches.  Some of the most famous lighthouses of our time are here, along with much of our country’s pirate history.  That’s right:  I said PIRATE.  Ocracoke Island, also part of Nags Head, was home to the notorous Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. 

The Ramada Plaza itself is a place of comfort, convenience, and plenty of room for whatever function you are planning, be it a reunion, party, reception, retreat, wedding, conference, convention, or trade show – of almost any size, too.  Small?  Medium?  Large?  Extra Large?  the Nag’s Head Beach Ramada Plaza can accommodate your every need.

Just look at that view from this conference room!

All of this can be found at the Ramade Plaza Nags Head Beach Hotel, 1701 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Kill Devil HIlls/Nags Head, NC 27948

Contact information: Phone: 252-441-2151    FAX:  252-441-1830

E-mail:  info@ramadainnnagshead.com

After your meetings, dinners, etc. are over, your attendees can step out of the hotel onto the beach, and experience the wonder that is the Outer Banks. There are many historic places within a short drive from the hotel, too. The Lost Colony of Roanoke and Kill Devil Hills (where the Wright Brothers flew that first airplane) are two of many fascinating places to visit.  Drive a little south onto the ferry at the southern tip of the islands, and your car and you will be on your way to Ocracoke Island, where you can eat at the famous Howard’s Pub, visit the British Cemetary, and explore the pirate museum, among other things.

The beautiful Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers is the perfect venue for your conference, convention, trade show, or any other collection of people!

I was there only last year at the huge BlogHer conference, and the meeting rooms were large, lovely, and equipped with comfortable chairs and tables.  Most important of all, in this day and age of technology, each room had plenty of outlets!

This venue also has WiFi throughout – both in the conference and restaurant areas AND in the hotel rooms.

This brings me to another point:  A conference venue is always best when the building is also a hotel!  It’s awkward and expensive if your attendees have to hail a cab to get from their hotel to the conference venue.

The Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers is right in the middle of downtown Chicago: handy to everything!

301 East North Water Street Chicago, IL 60611
Main 312-464-1000 Fax 312-464-9140

Click here for a virtual tour of the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

Nashville, Indiana is a former artists’ colony that has become the autumn haven for conferences, conventions, trade shows, reunions, retreats, meetings, and just plain shopping for people from all over the nation.  It’s open year-round, of course, but the fall is the prime season here.  This picture doesn’t begin to show the beauty of this place; it’s too breath-taking to be captured on film.  Or disc, as the case may be.

Nashville is the county seat of scenic Brown County, Indiana.  It’s nestled in the heart of the majestic Hoosier National Forest, and I defy any other place on earth to lay claim to being more lovely than this place!

Nashville, and Brown County in general, have many inns from which to choose for your conference. Whether you’re planning something for several hundred, several dozen, or just several, Brown County has the perfect venue for your function.  You can count on having the most modern, up-to-date facilities and technology at your disposal, even if you have chosen a venue that appears to be on the rustic side!

In your attendees’ free time, there are shops and sights the likes of which they’ll never find anywhere else: works of art, musical instruments made by hand, pottery, museums, galleries, studios, bakeries, glassware, furniture – even the kitchen (or bathroom) sink – all unique to Brown County.

When your employees or attendees find out that their convention, conference, or trade show, is being held in Brown County, Indiana, you can bet you’ll have fabulous attendance!

The Brown County Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, 10 North Van Buren Street, Nashville, IN 47448, can be reached by calling 1-800-753-3255.

For more information about group resources, check out the Brown County CVB website.

Be sure to put your camera in your briefcase before you leave your house.

The Greater Richmond Convention Center, located at 403 N. 3rd St, Richmond, VA 23219, is only minutes away from the airport, and right in the heart of downtown.

Event planners, click here for information.

And, from the convention center’s website, here is what it has to say about what you might find at the Greater Richmond Convention Center:

The Greater Richmond Convention Center is Virginia’s largest exposition and meeting facility. The Center brings hundreds of thousands of visitors into the metropolitan area each year.

Whether it’s large or small – simple or multi-faceted, our customer service and attention to detail will ensure that your event will surpass your every expectation.

Today (Friday) through Sunday, in fact, if you go to the Greater Richmond Convention Center, you will find a wine-tasting convention with wine tasting from 65 state wineries, food and cheese sampling, free crystal wine glass, chef demonstrations, and more!

Chicago’s Navy Pier is a fabulous convention center, mall, carnival, theater, riverfront, and you name it.  One thing it is not is a hotel, but there are many fine hotels within walking distance of the Pier.

From the Navy Pier website, here are its handy FAQ:

Frequently Asked Questions about Event Planning

6. Where do buses stage at Navy Pier?
There is no staging at Navy Pier. Our marshalling yard is located 31st Parking Lot (one block west of Lake Shore Drive. As an alternative, buses can stage on Elston Avenue between Potomac Avenue and LeMoyne Street.
Additional locations:

• 1200 South Canal Street (except Sundays) – parking available only on the east side of
  Canal Street, south of Roosevelt Road
• 420 South Franklin Street
• Clybourn Avenue at Division Street
• McCormick Place Marshalling Yard
  Click here for Motorcoach information.
  
  7. What are the height restrictions for the East and West Garages?
  The West garage is 6ft. 3 in., and East garage is 7ft. 9in.

  8. Where can I park when I drive to Navy Pier?
  Navy Pier’s on-site parking garages accommodate 1,740 vehicles. Please click here Parking, for detailed information on Navy Pier garages and prices.

  9. Where can I get a taxi?
  There is a taxi line formed throughout the day at the front of the Pier. There are cab phones available at Entrance 1 and 2.
  
  10. How do I get to Navy Pier?
  Click here for information about “Getting Here!”

  11. I have an event in Festival Hall or the Grand Ballroom, where should I be dropped off?
  Once you have arrived to Navy Pier, there is only one road leading you toward the East End, proceed down the North Dock to Entrance 2, which is the farthest drop off point at Navy Pier.
  
  12. If I wanted to buy Pier Park tickets in conjunction with my event, who do I need to speak to?
  Your Sales or Event Manager will gladly assist you in securing group tickets for Pier Park.

  13. Does the trolley service run all year long?
  Yes. Trolley hours vary based on time of year or events held at Navy Pier. Please click here to view current hours.

  14. How do I report or claim lost property?
  Click here to complete the claim form. We will contact you within 48 hours during the standard business work week (Monday through Friday).

  15. Is there a general information number for Navy Pier?
  Our general number is 312-595-PIER or 1-800-595-PIER.
  
  16. Where is the food court?
  Located at the front of the Pier in the Family Pavilion.

There are many different venues within the Navy Pier.