Meetings and Events Houston | Choosing the Perfect Space

Choosing the Perfect Space

Article By: Adam Castaneda of III: Volume 2 - Issue 1

As the past two issues of this resource guide have shown, Houston is bursting with thriving and regularly used meeting facilities, ensuring that event planners have a wide range of options in choosing a location. In this issue, our mission was to cover as many bases as possible, not only highlighting Houston’s well-known marquee centers, but to also showcase facilities that may not be immediately associated with corporate events.

Based on feedback from a wide range of BMPs, it’s clear the softening economy has provided them with opportunities to look at event facilities in new ways, including expanding their repertoire of meeting sites. They’re also broadening their network of vendors and resources, which has helped them plan innovative corporate events on a tighter budget.

To assist in these efforts, the following pages of this timely edition of Meetings & Events Houston provide comprehensive listings of every kind of meeting venue imaginable. From ballrooms to entertainment centers, from downtown’s theater district to the Galleria area, all of the Houston region is represented.

This article highlights just a few of the many possibilities when starting to scout for locations. We hope this section of the guide makes your job a little easier and, more importantly, we hope it inspires planners to explore Houston’s extensive array of meeting facilities.

Marquee Facilities
Over the past two decades, the George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center has been a fixture of the Houston corporate event and tradeshow industry. The convention center features over 1.2 million square-feet of adjustable meeting and exhibition space, making it the largest venue of its kind in central Houston. Trade show associations needing a large amount of space inside the loop should note GRB’s seven exhibit halls that cumulatively consist of 862,000 square-feet of meeting space.

In total, the convention center boasts an impressive 117 meeting rooms, each different in size and seating arrangement, ensuring planners can find the perfect match without having to worry about not having enough space or having too much of it to fully utilize. Along with 17 show offices, eight boardrooms and four conference rooms, highlight meeting rooms include the George Bush Grand Ballroom, which offers 31,500 square-feet of divisible space and an arena that features telescopic theater seating that can accommodate 6,000 people.

The diversity of meeting space makes the GRB a great location for tradeshow satellite events. Just outside of the main exhibit halls, there is 99,000 square-feet of registration space along with a variety of enclosed classrooms, making it possible for your marquee program and satellite events to take place simultaneously.
The arena is perfect for live performances, sporting events and corporate meetings featuring large-scale presentations. A unique feature of the GRB facility is its ability to host outdoor functions through the use of four outer balconies that are each 3,000 square-feet.

To encourage the use of green meetings, the GRB has just added a solar panel to its roof in an attempt to cut the costs of energy. Already a proponent of the environment through its water conservation methods and use of compostable food and beverage containers, the project is one of the largest installations of its kind in the region. The solar panels are expected to increase the percentage of energy the GRB receives from green power, which already stands at an impressive 25 percent.

In addition to its diverse selection of meeting space, the convention center also takes care of event service amenities, including audiovisual setup, booth cleaning, Smart City Networks telecommunications technology, housekeeping duties and the use of a business center that provides copying, shipping and graphic software. The center is also able to accommodate meal-based programs through Aramark, the convention center’s exclusive in-house caterer. It’s important to note that outside food vendors are not allowed.

Downtown isn’t the only place to hold metropolitan-level meetings and events. Houston’s satellite cities feature several well-regarded event facilities with equally flexible meeting space. Among them are the Pasadena Convention Center and the Humble Civic Center and Arena Complex, both profiled in later pages of this section.

With six venues located throughout the city, Regus – Houston, Texas provides meeting space in professional business settings. Each facility is designed to maximize the productivity of your corporate event while costing up to 20 percent less than what a meeting planner would have to pay at a convention hotel. Regus also allows BMPs to work on a flexible schedule by having the option to reserve rooms by the hour, half-day or full-day. If none of those configurations works for you, Regus is more than happy to work with planners on an individual basis to put together the best package for every event.

The six Houston facilities feature a wide variety of meeting rooms, each built to accommodate the demands of specific functions and their respective seating arrangements available. Meeting space types include conference, training, data and interview rooms as well as areas equipped for video and audio conferencing. Most of the rooms are currently being developed to accommodate web conferencing as well.

Function-Specific Meeting Facilities
If you’d prefer something different from the corporate atmosphere and “official-ness” of a large convention center, there are many Houston meeting facilities that can be utilized for business functions, even if that’s not what they’re particularly known for.

Paraiso Maravilla in the Galleria area has recently become a major player on the Houston event scene. Inspired by the architecture of the Mediterranean villas of Italy and Spain, the facility can easily be used for sophisticated corporate banquets and formal dinners. Billed as the “elegant alternative,” the ornate furnishings of Paraiso Maravilla bring with it a built-in theme that’s perfect for an evening of adult dress-up.

Complete with gardens, a grand entryway and hand-carved stone walls, this majestic facility can hold up to 300 guests for a seated function. The Monet Room features marble floors and an impressive fireplace. The Palm Court is the gem of Paraiso Maravilla as this inner courtyard, replete with an impressive balcony, gives the facility its signature grandeur.

The facility’s preferred catering list includes such esteemed names as Bennie Ferrell Catering, Bailey Connor Catering and Campbell’s Catering, making sure that all of your cuisine needs are taken care of no matter what the demands. (It should be noted that the use of caterers not on the facility’s preferred list automatically incurs a $500 fee.) A variety of bar packages are also available, with menus featuring an assortment of beers, wines and champagnes. Equipment is included in the price of each package and in-house labor is available to staff the bar.

Want to book a facility that’s tinged with drama without a single piece of decoration? The Houston Theater District allows BMPs to host corporate meetings on the stages of some of the most renowned performing arts venues in the world. The Alley Theatre, Jones Hall, the Wortham Center and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts are all able to accommodate presentation-based events with set theater-tiered seating. Incorporating the theater district into your corporate agenda not only benefits BMPs, but also raises awareness of Houston’s performing arts organizations, which greatly benefit from any exposure they receive.

Houston is in no short supply of general meeting facilities. Venues with a specific bent on teambuilding, however, are few and far between. For a day filled with fun, great food and team spirit, Dave & Buster’s provides corporate-level meeting spaces with a college-age atmosphere. Dave & Buster’s has formed a selection of activities proven to build team unity and camaraderie including Ultimate Quest, a scavenger hunt inside the venue, and Mission Task Force, a 007-inspired activity. The Midway allows meeting planners to organize live entertainment for an even more exciting adults’ night out. Billiards and bowling equipment are also available for more traditional forms of recreation.

The Showroom is equipped with audiovisual equipment as well as a stage and podium. The meeting space can accommodate a variety of functions, including theater- and banquet-style events. The Party Room is a smaller space that’s perfect for a buffet or an exclusive cocktail party. Meeting planners are free to coordinate each space to there personal liking, ensuring that not only will guests have fun, but will also benefit from a productive corporate program.

The meeting facility options in Houston are endless. The listings in this section feature a wide range of possible event facilities, from the ones already mentioned, to sports stadiums and community centers. Don’t be afraid to experiment with locations. Get in touch with as many event coordinators as possible and ask for a tour of their facility. Seeing the facility firsthand and having a discussion about its corporate meeting potential may change your mind and, eventually, lead to a memorable and much appreciated event.