Everything's bigger in Texas -- but small meetings are welcome, too. That's the message coming from JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, nestled in the scenic Texas Hill Country, north of San Antonio. While the vast property offers a total 265,000 square feet of meeting space (not to mention 36 holes of golf, a 30-treatment-room spa, and a six-acre waterpark), at the end of February it launched a new program aimed at those looking for a smaller experience.
The Griffin Meeting Experience provides any group occupying 10 to 300 rooms with a dedicated meetings specialist who books room space and handles amenities for VIPs, guest-room reservations, and F&B planning. The program also provides customized room keys, rooms blocked together, and a complimentary hospitality suite for group members to visit on arrival.
"Our goal with the Griffin Meeting Experience is to provide a VIP experience to small groups," says Dave Duncan, director of sales and marketing for the resort. "Once they are with us, they are able to enjoy a very cohesive experience. Everything they need to work as well as to relax is right here."
San Antonio itself offers plenty of meeting attractions. The biggest news is the fast-progressing transformation of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, which last year topped off its $325-million expansion three months ahead of schedule. Once completed in February 2016, the new center will boast more than half a million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, 270,000 square feet of new exhibit space, and a ballroom of more than 54,000 square feet.
Once exhibit space on the center's western side is demolished, the nearby Hemisfair Park will be expanded, providing a new outdoor space for groups. The center remains open throughout the transformation, and 2014 was its best year ever, with 327 events with over 770,000 attendees.
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This article appears in the April 2015 issue of Successful Meetings.