Atlanta Conference

The end of the year is quickly approaching and many of us are simply worn out. Companies nationwide are trying to get the most out of their employees while they're in the office, meaning most of the employees are worn out by the time they get home. Why not treat the team to some fun activities to celebrate the year's end? Consider some alternative Atlanta venues that will not only boast employees' spirits but also awaken their inner child.

Atlanta is the perfect destination to rejuvenate your staff. Dave & Buster's is a great Atlanta special event venue where your guests can eat, drink and play. Complete with arcade games, billiards and a main dining room, there is definitely something here for everyone to enjoy.

The Atlanta restaurant gladly welcomes large groups in spaces such as the small party room for intimate events or even the entire 70,000-square-foot special event facility, depending on your needs. The showroom is a happy medium for those mid-sized Atlanta events, and it includes audio-visual equipment.

For those that have a need for speed, consider booking Andretti Indoor Karting & Games. These aren't your carnival bumper cars—your racing fee comes with helmet, race car driver jumpsuit and a once-in-a-lifetime race car experience. Andretti has two professional style tracks, pool tables, a 30-foot rock climbing wall, high ropes course and arcade games. It isn't all play and no work, of course, as Atlanta conference rooms are on-site as well. The Grand Prix Suite offers 4,200 square feet of special event space including tables, seating and audio-visual equipment.

For more information about these and other Atlanta special event facilities, visit the Cvent Supplier Network.

"I had a great time." "I learned so much." "I wonder what they will have planned next year." These are the responses that should be heard after your next annual company meeting. Take your clients from the dreaded and mundane conferences to an educational retreat that will exceed their expectations.

The city of Atlanta is an awesome host city for your next company meeting, offering both indoor and outdoor special event facilities within city limits. For indoor meetings, consider the Atlanta conference center, The Loudermilk Center, complete with 17 multipurpose meeting rooms encompassing 15,000 square feet, in addition to a ballroom, an executive boardroom and an amphitheater.

Outdoor exercises and excursions can be held at some landmark Atlanta attractions such as Centennial Olympic Park and Piedmont Park, both of which are home to various concerts, festivals and, eventually, your next seminar or meeting.

Chateau Elan has the luxury of both well-equipped, modern Atlanta meeting space and a picturesque setting. With over 3,000 acres of business and pleasure space, this resort is the premier choice for planners who want variety.

In between the lectures, annual report reviews and breakout sessions, great events should also have a time for team building exercises in the agenda. Retire the ol’ "ice breakers" and "catch me when I fall into the crowd" drills in favor of new and innovative sessions that will keep employees learning.

No idea where to begin? That’s alright. Companies such as Atlanta Team Building Training & Events have expert facilitators on hand who are ready to cultivate a plan tailored to your client's corporate culture. From adventurous rope climbing to team survival workshops, the employees will leave you Atlanta events with a rejuvenated sense of camaraderie.

For more great options for your company retreats, make sure to visit Cvent's Atlanta venue guide.

Opening its doors in November 2005, Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium is the world’s largest aquarium. With approximately eight millions gallons of water and 500 diverse animal species, the Georgia Aquarium is a two-for-one deal for your guests.

A blend of aquatic sights and flavors, this is a unique Atlanta venue for anything from a wedding reception for 100 guests to an annual corporate function for 2,000 employees. Incorporating 16,400 square feet of function space into its intricate architecture in the Oceans Ballroom, there is more than enough "sea" room to create your next special event.

On-site catering at the aquarium is provided by international chef extraordinaire Wolfgang Puck. Assembling entrees to entice all of the senses, the catering team has an extensive menu from which to select: Taste the Adventure invites guests to sample between surf & turf, including oysters and clams on the half shell and chicken and sausage etouffee with white rice. The Tuscan dinner buffet takes your guests to the shores of Italy in a matter of spoonfuls. This includes Sauteed Cavolo Nero (sauteed pancetta) and Homemade Strozzapreti Pasta (slow-braised wild boar).

The Georgia Aquarium is not only a visual spectacle for tourists but also your premier downtown Atlanta venue of choice.

View more information about the Georgia Aquarium on the Cvent Supplier Network

Atlanta meeting planners looking to treat their event guests to a day outside the city will be happy to find new hotels in both Athens and Macon, Georgia, both of which are located about 90 minutes outside the city.

The stylish boutique hotel Hotel Indigo Athens University Area in downtown Athens recently opened as the brand's first LEED Gold property. Just five blocks from the University of Georgia, this Athens hotel features 130 guest rooms and 12 suites, each of which offer a clean, contemporary retreat with luxurious bedding, hardwood floors and high-def televisions. The hotel boasts two meeting rooms offering a total of 7,456 square feet of meeting space.

Meanwhile, in Macon, the recently-renovated Macon Marriott City Center has debuted with upscale amenities, 220 guest rooms and suites, and over 5,000 square feet of meeting space. Host an event in the spacious Magnolia room for up to 430 guests, who can then enjoy dinner at the on-site Vintage Restaurant or relax in the indoor pool.

View more information about hotels in Atlanta, Macon, Athens and more on the Cvent Supplier Network

Cvent will be attending DMAI’s 95th Annual Convention, held Tuesday, July 28, through Thursday, July 30, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. Held annually, DMAI’s show is expected to see over 1,000 destination marketing professionals. Last year’s conference in Las Vegas saw almost 1,300 attendees and over 100 exhibiting and sponsoring companies on a sold-out tradeshow floor.

With over 90 companies, this year’s expo has been limited to allow only the premier companies to showcase. Much like last year, the expo is well on its way to being a sold-out tradeshow floor. Cvent will be at booth 207 during the expo, which is held Wednesday and Thursday. 

Additionally, on Wednesday, July 29, Cvent executives will be hosting a private dinner at nearby Ray’s in the City. If you would like to come to the dinner or set up a private meeting during this tradeshow, please email Eric Eden, vice president of marketing, at eeden@cvent.com.

For more information on Cvent, please visit www.cvent.com.

Five major lodging markets—Phoenix, Arizona; New York; Detroit, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Miami, Florida—have seen sharp revenue per available room (RevPAR) declines, according to Smith Travel Research. Though most industry markets have experienced declines since the summer of 2008, these five areas have been notably affected.

Occupancy in Phoenix declined 16.8 percent and average rates here dropped 14.2 percent, according to STR's three-month numbers ending in February 2009. This caused a drop in RevPAR by almost 29 percent.

Decreased demand in Detroit led to a RevPAR drop of 23 percent. Low demand along with new-room growth contributed to New York's drop in RevPAR of almost 23 percent. In fact, in just the past three months, demand for New York hotel rooms dropped 8.5 percent.

Meanwhile demand in Atlanta dropped 13 percent in the last three months, the largest drop out of all five markets. Demand declined by just 2.9 percent in Miami, but new-room supply growth led to a decline in RevPAR of about 20 percent.

STR predicts that supply growth will be a big concern for four of the five markets in the future, particularly in Phoenix, where eight percent of existing supply is under construction. Despite New York's under-construction total, the conversion of hotel rooms into condos will make it easier for the hotels in the metro area to absorb the effect.

Primerica, a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc., just announced the cancellation of its biennial convention, scheduled to be held June at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center. The convention was expected to host 55,000 attendees and booked 5,000 hotel rooms a night for three days.

This cancellation is a big loss for Atlanta's $11.4 billion hospitality industry. The event was expected to bring $55 million to the city, which is already taking a hit from the down economy. According to Smith Travel Research, occupancy in Atlanta's metro area was down 11.3 percent in December.

Primerica spokesman Mark Supic said the meeting was canceled due to the poor economy.

We recently posted some tips on how meeting and event planners can cut back on ground transportation costs. Obviously eliminating the need for ground transportation is the most effective way to cut this spend area, but is it a reality in large cities? It will be in Atlanta, Georgia.

Schedule to open November 2009, the Automated People Mover (APM) at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will provide enhanced connectivity to air travelers looking to get around the city. This extension will travel between the passenger terminal at the airport and the new Consolidated Rental Car facility. At 1.5 miles in length, the APM will also have a stop at the Georgia International Convention Center. A round trip on the people mover will last about 10 minutes.

This one-of-a-kind connection will make it easier than ever for attendees of Atlanta events to get to and from the airport at no cost. The updated APM is just one of the many projects involved in the airport's $6.2 billion, 10-year Capital Improvement Program. Among the other projects are a new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal and a fifth runway.

Now that your interest is piqued for university and college meeting facilities, it's time to explore some top-notch options. Consider the following venues for your next Atlanta conference:

Georgia Tech Global Learning Center

Conveniently located in midtown Atlanta, the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center invites conferences, seminars and meetings of all kinds to its 32,000-square-foot facility. Whether you need a large theater (the center has five) or a small computer room (its labs have up to 20 student PCs each), the GLC is the place to find it.

Additional amenities such as the "BuzzBreak," a continuous food and beverage break service, are sure to keep any attendee happy. Premium audio-visual packages and a full-time event staff round out the center's first-class offerings for Atlanta events.

Emory Conference Center Hotel

Over 23,000 square feet of space. The largest amphitheater in the Southeast. A spacious Atlanta ballroom for up to 240 people. An on-site spa and two nearby 18-hole golf courses. Who ever said that school was boring? Certainly not the Emory Conference Hotel, where an astounding set of flexible spaces and luxurious amenities guarantee guests that this is a meeting they won't want to skip.

From the Dogwood Meeting Room to the Lullwater Ballroom to the Garden Courtyard, every space in this Atlanta event venue is enhanced by a friendly, amenable staff. One more notable benefit: the 198 well-appointed guest rooms, which make it a perfect meeting location for overnight guests.

Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center

Available for a wide range of events, including those for non-profit organizations and professional societies, the GTRI Conference Center features 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Giving a large presentation? Up to 220 guests can view it at the center's auditorium. Looking for a smaller space for a quarterly board meeting? Then the 1,000-square-foot executive boardroom is ideal.

Equipped with the latest in technology, this Atlanta conference center offers state-of-the-art amenities including LCD projectors, webcasting capabilities, wireless connections and more. Not surprisingly, the center's flexible facilities host over 300 events each year.

Clearly the buzz about universities and colleges as meeting spaces is well-deserved. So don't just read about them! Consider one of the above or research the many more out there on Cvent's Atlanta Venue Directory.