With the Austin Convention Center closed from April 2025 to early 2029 for a $1.6-billion ground-up rebuild and expansion, the mega-event SXSW has adapted its format in order to stay in Austin for its 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions that won’t have the center as its hub.
The reimagined format will be unveiled when the 2026 festival opens on March 12. SXSW will be a seven-day event, shorter than past editions, and utilize a "pop-up village" approach across various venues and neighborhoods in Austin.
For other large meetings and conventions, some of Austin’s hotels have gotten creative in order to accommodate them over the next three years.
For instance, an initiative known as the Austin University Hotel Collection is anchored by the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, featuring 297 guest rooms and 85,000 square feet of meeting space. A recent $30 million renovation added a ballroom and refreshed both meeting spaces and public spaces. It’s the largest of five hotels in and around the University of Texas campus that make up this collection, which offers a total of 900 guest rooms and 114,000 square feet of meeting space.
The collection has created a website for business-event planners at https://www.cvent.com/microsites/austin-university-hotel-collection that “acts as a tool to navigate the ‘new Austin’ landscape, highlighting a high-density area of attractions and diverse hotel tiers,” according to a media release. The five hotels are located within walking distance of each other as well as Moody Center, a 15,000-seat sports and entertainment arena opened in April 2022 on the university campus; the Texas Capitol; multiple museums; and many restaurants and bars.
“As Austin adjusts to the SXSW format shift and the convention center closure, this collection of hotel partners has united to act as a ‘city within a city,’ offering a unique blend of boutique charm and expansive meeting footprints,” the release noted.
Another Option
In addition, three other hotels close to the convention center formed the Austin Red River Collection as an alternative for citywide events.
Set within five blocks of each other, the Fairmont Austin, Hilton Austin, and Hotel Van Zandt coordinate bookings so that citywide groups have access to sufficient meeting and event space, guest rooms, and food and beverage options. Through ARRC, planners have access to 2,168 hotel rooms and 245,000 square feet of meeting and event space, as well as multiple restaurants and banquet options, nightlife and live-music venues, and health and wellness facilities.
The Fairmont has 140,000 square feet of the collection’s total event space, including four ballrooms; the Hilton has 95,000 square feet, including two ballrooms; and the Hotel Van Zandt has 13,000 square feet. The distance between the Fairmont and the Hilton is two blocks; between the Hilton and the Van Zandt, three blocks; and between the Fairmont and the Van Zandt, five blocks.
The Austin Red River Collection “is a response to the challenges our city faces during the convention center’s redevelopment, and it’s a testament to our community-focused commitment to elevating the group-travel landscape,” said Chris Guse, general manager of Hotel Van Zandt.
