“It’s a new day in Chicago,” said Dustin Arnheim, chief sales officer at Choose Chicago.
Arnheim was recently promoted by the DMO. In his previous role, he served as senior vice president of sales and client services. Now, he’s looking to the future and growing the potential for global meetings in the city.
Arnheim sat down with Meetings Today for a Q&A during which he shared his optimistic outlook on city developments.
Meetings Today: What is at the core of your global sales strategy?
Dustin Arnheim: We're in a different time in 2026. The past three years, we were very much in recovery mode coming out of the pandemic. We’re very pleased to share that by January 2026, we eliminated our pace deficit, and we're actually ahead of the pace looking into future years, and so that means we're shifting from recovery to stabilization.
We still have great work that needs to be done to get us where we want to go as a destination, but as we transition, we need to shift our mindset and our sales strategy. What was working the last three years is not what's going to necessarily set us up for success in the future.
[Related: Choose Chicago to Grow Global Meetings with New VP of Sales]
At a high level, we are looking to balance our approach more. We will always be a tradeshow, large-scale convention destination, and we know that success comes with a balanced approach. So, internally, we're talking about, how can we show up to represent all meetings, all seasons, all sizes, and so you will see that come into action with new meetings, events, tradeshows and campaigns this year.
You reference global strategy, but one of the areas that we haven't historically focused on as much as we think we can is global meetings. We are a global destination, but we think the East Coast and the West Coast get all the attention. The passing of the Chicago Tourism Improvement District elevates our ability to compete on the not only national but global stage with some of our top competitors. I don't think there's been a time in recent history where there's been more momentum in Chicago.
What are you carrying over from your previous position and where do you see opportunities for growth?
As we were in the recovery, there was a lot of rolling up the sleeves and getting involved in policies, systems and so forth, but what I would like to see out of this role is more strategy; that is, setting us up for competitive advantages as we navigate the future, and quite honestly, a big part of it is going to be the Chicago Tourism Improvement District.
It is significant funding, but that funding is governed by a committee of hotel general managers, and so we have to establish that committee, the governance, and really build a business plan and a budget to support it.
[Related: Visit Milwaukee Promotes Sales and Marketing Professionals After Record Year]
Also, we want to move our organization forward, not only to the future, but really thought leadership. You're going to see that show up in our communication, not only externally to our event customers, but also how we're showing up in the industry as a whole with our stakeholders. We believe, at the core, the success of a DMO is not only coming up with a strategy, but it's the communication and progress toward execution.
What can business travelers expect from O'Hare's new concourse?
So, just like hotels talk about the bellman is the doorstep—the first arrival experience to the hotel—from a DMO perspective and a city perspective it’s your airport, especially in Chicago, where we've got two international airports. They are setting the stage for the arrival experience for our visitors, and we want it to be a world-class experience.
[Related: LACC’s Director of Events and Special Projects Shares Long-Term Strategy]
We already have the busiest airport in North America—phenomenal infrastructure—but we want them to be modernized, and that's what's happening. We have a $1.3 billion investment in creation of this new concourse. I’m happy to share some of the talking points—expanded gates, improved terminal experience—everywhere from just creating larger, more open, comfortable spaces to enhanced dining experiences.
The Obama Presidential Center is anticipated to open this summer. What does this new venue offer to planners?
It is projected to be the most-visited attraction in 2026 and 2027, and we hope for a very long time to come. We're super excited about this project, and it's meaningful in so many ways to our destination, but specifically for [meeting planners.] Not only is it going to potentially have that emotional tie, but it is an event venue.
There are some spaces within the main facility that can be utilized to host events. There's a sport court. What we're imagining is that customers are going to want to be part of this historic building and time, and so it's going to be such a great attraction.
Even for our large-scale, city-wide events, they may not be able to host the entire convention at Obama Presidential Center, but there’s the opportunity to do a pre or post executive board meeting there or opportunities to do receptions on the grounds of the center.
It's a super-iconic looking building, and again, what it represents for our community and the country at this time, I think it couldn’t be a better time for Chicago to be coming forward with this facility.
Read about more moves and appointments in the meetings industry
