Houston

Why Houston for Your Next Meeting or Event?

Everything actually is bigger in Texas, including its infrastructure for meetings. Houston is a major center for energy, aerospace, medicine and international business, with supporting venue options giving groups plenty of reasons to choose the country’s fourth-largest city.

Downtown’s George R. Brown Convention Center anchors a convention district packed with hotels, restaurants, entertainment and major sports venues, while NRG Park adds another option for large-scale gatherings. And Houston’s venue mix extends well beyond traditional meeting spaces, with museums, cultural institutions and plenty of distinctly Houston settings available for events.

Outside the meeting room, groups can get a closer look at the past and future of space exploration, cruise along Buffalo Bayou, explore the Museum District or dig into a dining scene that truly reflects the city’s international makeup.

Source a Houston Hotel

Transportation in and Around the Area

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): About 23 miles north of downtown Houston, IAH is the city’s primary international gateway, with nonstop service to more than 180 destinations.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU): Hobby Airport, about 11 miles southeast of downtown, offers domestic and international service, with Southwest Airlines accounting for much of its flight network.
• METRO 500 Downtown Direct: The express bus provides direct connections between downtown Houston and both IAH and Hobby Airport. At IAH, passengers board at Terminal E; downtown stops include the George R. Brown Convention Center. Service costs $4.50 each way, and includes luggage storage and free Wi-Fi.
• METRO Buses: Local bus service provides connections throughout the Houston area. Route 102 Bush IAH Express serves IAH in addition to the Downtown Direct service.
• METRORail: The light-rail network connects downtown with such destinations as the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center and NRG Park.
• Taxis and ride services: Taxis, Uber, Lyft and other ground transportation options are available at both Houston airports.

The George R. Brown Convention Center sits at the heart of Houston’s downtown convention district, with the Toyota Center, Daikin Park, Discovery Green and two major convention hotels nearby. The current facility offers 1.2 million square feet of usable space, including 88 meeting rooms.

For groups looking beyond the convention-center campus, however, Houston’s meetings landscape ranges from large resorts and stadium complexes to museums, historic buildings and more unconventional gathering places.

Meeting Hotels

• Hilton Americas-Houston: The 1,207-room hotel offers 114,377 square feet of its own event space across 38 meeting rooms. The property connects directly to the George R. Brown Convention Center via skywalk and Discovery Green is next door.
• Marriott Marquis Houston: The city’s second convention center hotel, this 1,000-room property has 152,914 square feet of event space across 52 rooms. A skybridge connects the hotel directly to the convention center. And it has a rooftop lazy river shaped like Texas.
• Hyatt Regency Houston Downtown: The 955-room hotel has more than 71,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including the 16,000-square-foot Imperial Ballroom. The property is in downtown Houston’s business and entertainment district.
• Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria: In Houston’s Uptown district, this 448-room hotel puts groups close to the Galleria’s shops and restaurants, with downtown about 7 miles away.
• The Westin Galleria Houston: The 469-room Uptown hotel is connected directly to the Galleria, giving attendees easy access to the shopping center’s stores and restaurants.
• JW Marriott Houston Downtown: Housed in the historic Samuel F. Carter skyscraper, the 328-room hotel offers more than 13,500 square feet of meeting space across six event rooms and sits near the Main Street light-rail line. A new Studio Tower is adding 56 guest rooms and additional event spaces.
• Hotel ZaZa Houston Museum District: Surrounded by about 20 world-class art and science venues, this 315-room hotel offers an eclectic collection of event space totaling 16,623 square feet, from ballrooms with city views to smaller boardrooms and private-dining spaces.

Venues

• NRG/Reliant Park: The more than 350-acre complex includes NRG Stadium, NRG Center and NRG Arena, with more than 2 million net square feet of exhibition and meeting space across the campus. NRG Center alone offers 706,213 square feet of exhibit space.
• Space Center Houston: The official visitor center of the NASA Johnson Space Center offers more than 250,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space for events. Options range from a 5,000-square-foot event building overlooking Independence Plaza to the 120,000-square-foot Main Plaza, where groups can gather surrounded by spacecraft and other artifacts.
• The Corinthian Houston: Set in a neoclassical former bank building downtown, the Corinthian centers on a dramatic Grand Hall with soaring columns and a mezzanine overlooking the main event space.
• The Astorian: This 14,000-square-foot private loft in the Heights features an industrial-chic take on 1920s Art Deco design, with soaring ceilings, large windows and views of the downtown skyline.
• The Parador: Set in the Museum District, this 1928 Texas Historical Landmark blends Mediterranean architecture with Byzantine details. Its spaces include the domed Duomo and a 3,000-square-foot Cloister Room with access to a private courtyard.
• Houston Zoo: Groups can choose from 15 event venues, ranging from spaces overlooking animal habitats to the new Reflections Event Hall and Terrace. Larger options include the Masihara Pavilion for up to 400 guests and the Reflection Pool for up to 500.
  

Museums and Exhibits

Go behind the scenes of human spaceflight at the Space Center Houston, where groups can explore historic spacecraft, exhibits and NASA-related experiences. The center accommodates group visits as well as private events, giving planners options for both daytime excursions and evening programs.

Descend into the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, an 87,500-square-foot former drinking-water reservoir built in 1926 and repurposed for tours, performances and art installations. Private, docent-led history tours are available for groups of up to 30.

Spend an afternoon in the Museum District, where groups can explore institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Cockrell Butterfly Center.

Waterfront Activities

See Houston from the water aboard one of Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s pontoon boats. Options range from nature-focused outings to guided history tours and private cruises through the heart of the city.

Time an evening cruise for one of the city’s more unusual natural spectacles: the emergence of Mexican free-tailed bats from beneath the Waugh Drive Bridge. Buffalo Bayou Partnership offers seasonal bat cruises, typically on select evenings from April through September.

Build in some downtime at Discovery Green, the 12-acre park next to the George R. Brown Convention Center. The green space includes a lake, public art, an amphitheater and event lawns.

Unique Attractions

Get a little weird at Meow Wolf Houston’s Radio Tave, the immersive art attraction built around a surreal, interdimensional radio station. The Fifth Ward attraction offers group bookings and event options, with its installations blending work from Texas artists with the larger Meow Wolf universe.

Extend a Radio Tave outing with a stop at Cowboix Hevvven, Meow Wolf Houston’s immersive “cosmic saloon,” which serves food and drinks inside the attraction.

Put attendees to work in the kitchen at urbanCHEF, where hands-on culinary programs take place in two large kitchens with an adjoining dining room and patio.

Take a guided walk beneath Houston through the city’s network of underground tunnels, where passageways connect office towers with restaurants, shops and other businesses.

Turn team building into a competition at Great Big Game Show Houston. Groups get to face off in hosted challenges inspired by television game shows.