Meetings Today LIVE! National traveled to San Antonio April 28-May 1 for a hosted-buyer event that showcased one of the most culturally diverse—and just plain fun—destinations in the Lone Star State.
From host property JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa for an opening reception, educational sessions, one-on-one appointments and a site tour to site tours and F&B activations at properties such as La Cantera Resort & Spa, Hyatt Hill Country and Omni La Mansion—and visits to The Alamo, River Walk and other iconic San Antonio lures—MT LIVE! was as alluring as that famed Yellow Rose of Texas, as San Antonio is known in song.
Read on for a recap of the event, and don't miss the slideshow at the end featuring fun photos from throughout!
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Opening Reception
After splitting into three groups to tour the expansive grounds of the JW San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, attendees gathered at one of the resort’s many event lawns for the opening night reception.
If you could capture the smell of Texas, it would be what the group experienced, with a massive array of wood-fired barbecue grills wafting the scent of the smoldering oak wood that perfectly seasoned the steak, lamb and assorted vegetables.
Attendees networked with themselves as well “Cowboy” the longhorn steer, and enjoyed the old-school country sounds of the Natalie Rose Band filling the air with favorites by Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and other.
Highlights From Day One
After touring the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and the opening reception the night before, the first full day of Meetings Today LIVE! National began with an educational session focusing on leveraging AI tools for meeting planning, led by one of the foremost education leaders in the industry, MPI Academy’s Jessie States, and sponsored by Explore Branson.
Next, the group gathered for one-on-one appointments at the JW Marriott, with buyers meeting sellers to discuss in-person event opportunities in destinations and venues throughout North America.
Because getting out and seeing meetings properties is a priority at all Meetings Today LIVE! events, after the one-on-ones were done planners and suppliers boarded motorcoaches to tour the Hill Country’s La Cantera Resort & Spa.
Here, the group discovered how this Hill Country resort melds city amenities with a luxe atmosphere amidst the rolling hills. The 496-room property offers nearly 115,000 square feet of meeting space along with multiple pool areas that are primed for event activations, and today, for a creative lunch featuring duck legs, fried quail sliders and other treats, all tempered by a little Moet champagne.
The evening event was held at Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, which recently completed major renovations to both its 502 guest rooms as well as its 85,000 square feet of indoor meeting space.
Next up on the renovation timetable is a massive reconfiguring of its lobby bar to create a real sense of community at the entrance, and a new lagoon area that will boast a 5,500-square-foot event barn.
Sophisticated but with an authentic Texas feel throughout, the 300-acre Hyatt property was originally a 600-acre working ranch, and still carries reminders of its iconic past. The resort ended our evening with a lavish dinner featuring entertainment by a mariachi band along with a hearty meal before we said our goodnights.
Final Full Day
The final full day of Meetings Today LIVE! always features some signature moments, with the San Antonio program delivering the iconic attractions of the Alamo City.
But before our trip into town from the Hill Country, we started with an inspirational keynote from National Speakers Association CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) Hall of Fame speaker Marilyn Sherman, who leveraged key moments in her life to motivate attendees how to “Live Life in the Front Row.” Many attendees, planner and supplier alike, remarked how Sherman’s address was one of the best they’ve ever heard, and Sherman participated in the entire Meetings Today LIVE! program—start to finish—to interact with attendees as we traveled around the destination.
Following Sherman’s keynote, attendees gathered for more planner/supplier one-on-one appointments before boarding motorcoaches for a trip into San Antonio proper, with Visit San Antonio taking the reins to organize the excursion.
The first stop was for a tour of dual properties Omni La Mansión del Rio and Mokara Hotel & Spa. (La Mansión is located across San Antonio’s famed River Walk from sister property Mokara Hotel & Spa.)
La Mansión, which had its beginnings in 1853 as the St. Mary’s Institute, was the first luxury hotel on the River Walk when it opened its doors in 1968. Its 338 guest rooms (with 112 of them offering a river view) underwent a full guest room renovation in April 2020. The hotel, which offers nearly 20,000 square feet of meeting space, has the distinction of being one of only 10 in the U.S. to earn the coveted AAA Four-Diamond Award every year since 1977.
Crossing the River Walk, we toured sister property Mokara—itself the only Forbes-rated spa hotel in the city. The 99-room contemporary property offers 3,600 square feet of meeting space, with the ability for meeting groups to walk right out on the River Walk during meeting breaks.
We ventured back over the river for a lunch at La Mansión’s Four Brothers restaurant, where a sprawling buffet celebrated San Antonio’s signature annual event, Fiesta.
After lunch, the group boarded barges for a sightseeing cruise down the River Walk’s San Antonio River before disembarking for a short walk to the city’s most iconic attraction, The Alamo.
Here, we were treated to a personal tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, including a demonstration by actors in period costume firing muskets and rifles. One of the most interesting aspects of the tour was the museum-quality collection of Alamo artifacts on display from Alamo aficionado Phil Collins, drummer and singer for rock group Genesis.
After The Alamo, we got back on the river barges for a longer tour of the River Walk before ending our day with a dinner at Range, one of six San Antonio restaurants owned by entrepreneurial restaurateur Jason Dady, who joined with Visit San Antonio Vice President of Association and Tradeshow Sales Tyler Orwig for a group welcome and cocktails before we all sat down for a meal.
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