Mississippi Gulf Coast: A Hidden Gem with Plenty for Groups

Many planners are shocked to learn just how much the Mississippi Gulf Coast has to offer. This includes 62 miles of beach, an array of watersports, and a 400,000-square-foot convention center overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The local seafood is impressive. Championship golf courses designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tom Fazio, as well as resort casinos, add to the offerings. Its distinctive landscape of Spanish moss and live oaks is the backdrop for 11 casinos offering 24-hour gaming and world-class entertainment. Best of all, the Mississippi Gulf Coast boasts all of the amenities of a major city at a fraction of the cost.

Jennifer Norsworthy Meyer, director of agency services for insurance company Louisiana Farm Bureau, will attest to that. She recently planned a district meeting for 100 agents from her company that was held at the 1,740-room Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, MS. "Room rates in Biloxi are really reasonable. For this particular meeting, we got a rate of $69 a night," she says. "We have been using the Beau Rivage for the past five years and have never paid more than $109 a night -- and the rate is usually between $88 and $99. It offers a really good price performance, plus the rooms are really nice, the hotel is well kept, and the staff is excellent."

Kevin Murphy, executive director of the U.S. Deputy Wardens Association -- an organization for correctional professionals -- and board member of the Southern States Correctional Association, has planned five meetings in Biloxi, utilizing a number of the Gulf Coast's top resorts, including the Isle of Capri, Palace Casino Resort, Harrah's Gulf Coast, Hollywood Casino, and Beau Rivage.

Not only is the area an ideal site for his meetings, but the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional CVB has won him over as well. "It is the best convention bureau I've ever dealt with anywhere in the country," says Murphy. "By far, no other bureau has even come close."

Most attendees bring their spouses and families to the Wardens meeting, which starts on Sunday and ends on Friday. There has never been a lack of activities to keep the groups busy, Murphy says.

"We've had shrimp boils, barbecues, and events in Beauvoir, the retirement home of Jefferson Davis," says Murphy. "The coast and casinos are also a draw."

This is a destination that is well equipped to handle meetings. There are approximately 13,000 hotel rooms in the area, as well as the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, which offers more than 400,000 square feet of meeting space; the Beau Rivage with 50,000 square feet for meetings; the IP Casino Resort Spa with more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space; and the completely renovated Golden Nugget Biloxi, with 23,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

New Event Spaces
The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum opened on Aug. 1, after its original site had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The new museum, with its mission to "preserve and interpret the maritime history and heritage of Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast," also has special event space. The setting brings local maritime history and heritage to life by replicating two 65-foot, two-masted Biloxi Schooners. With a wall of windows facing the bay, the museum was designed to resemble a "ship in a bottle."

Another new addition to Biloxi is the historic Whitehouse Hotel. The refurbished hotel has 76 rooms, a restaurant, and more than 1,900 square feet of meeting space.

In July, the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum opened the Ohr Pods, bringing the pottery of George Ohr, nicknamed the "Mad Potter of Biloxi," to the coast for permanent exhibition. The stainless-steel pods are an eye-catching feature of the museum's campus, which is open to hosting group events.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs has also recently expanded, making it easier to host off-site group events. Two outdoor courtyards were enclosed to make indoor galleries. The museum features the works of Walter Inglis Anderson, whose work depicts the plants, animals, and people of the Gulf Coast.

Another popular spot for off-site functions is the Biloxi Visitors Center on the beach, just three miles from the convention center. It is a two-and-a-half-story antebellum home complete with columns and a wrap-around porch. The front veranda overlooks the Gulf of Mexico and the Biloxi Lighthouse, which is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the United States.

The Beauvoir Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Home, the last home of the president of the Confederacy, has been restored and furnished with period furniture, and is also available for off-site events.

A great asset to meeting planners is the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau. It offers planners one-stop shopping and will help with site and accommodation selection, event promotion, special event and theme party planning, as well as complimentary on-site registration services and name badges.

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This article appears in the December 2014 issue of Successful Meetings.