December 15, 20168 yr NCAA women’s volleyball championship to give Columbus economy a boost By Marla Matzer Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - 5:54 AM Thousands of fans will be cheering inside Nationwide Arena on Thursday and Saturday as the nation’s top women’s college teams compete in the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball championship semifinals and final. Outside of the arena, area merchants also will be doing plenty of cheering as participants and fans of that event, and the concurrent American Volleyball Coaches Association annual convention, will bring an estimated $10 million in spending to town. ... This influx comes during a typically slow season for hotel operators. Columbus-area hotels could potentially have their best December in memory thanks to the 11,000 room nights booked by the participants alone in the two events. ( . . . ) As a volleyball venue, Columbus has stiff competition: Omaha is a volleyball powerhouse and Indianapolis built its convention and visitor empire largely on amateur sports. But Columbus and its convention center has hosted more volleyball tournaments than any other city. The possibility of breaking NCAA ticket-sales records and the fact that games this week will be broadcast on ESPN2 are testament to both the growing stature of Columbus in volleyball and the dramatic growth of volleyball overall. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/12/14/1-ncaa-womens-volleyball-championship-will-give-columbus-a-boost.html
January 27, 20178 yr Busy hotels bring record $44.5 million 'bed tax' to Columbus, Franklin County By Marla Matzer Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: January 4, 2017 - 12:16 PM They said it was going to be a tough year to beat, but they were wrong. Columbus' 10 percent tax on hotel stays generated a record $44.5 million in 2016, up 4.3 percent over 2015. The increase came despite an ongoing $125 million expansion and renovation at the Greater Columbus Convention Center that has made some meeting space temporarily unavailable -- dampening demand for hotel rooms nearby. The gain comes following a strong year for lodging activity in 2015, which tourism leaders cautioned would be difficult to top. That year saw a boost in demand for hotel rooms from the NHL All-Star Game in January. The just-ended year of 2016 finished strong, which is unusual because December typically is a slow month for hotels. The women's NCAA Division I volleyball championship and the American Volleyball Coaches Association annual convention booked a combined 11,000 room nights for participants, not counting friends and fans who made their own travel arrangements. The revenue generated by the "bed tax," as it's commonly called, is roughly evenly divided between the city of Columbus and Franklin County. The county's share goes to the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, which oversees the convention center. The city's portion of the 10 percent tax is divided among several entities. The convention and visitor's bureau, Experience Columbus, gets just under 2.4 percent; the Greater Columbus Arts Council is allocated nearly 1.7 percent; and the city's Emergency Human Service Fund and Housing Trust Corporation get close to a half-percent each. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2017/01/04/bed-tax-generates-record-44-5-million-in-franklin-county.html
January 27, 20178 yr ^ Editorial based on the above news article: (Nice aerial photo showing the Convention Center, Downtown Hilton, Nationwide Arena and part of the Arena District also included at the link) http://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20170110/editorial-visitors-help-city-break-record
January 27, 20178 yr Experience Columbus not shy about touting Columbus' visitor award By Marla Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: January 20, 2017 - 7:09 AM Columbus has a trophy saying it's tops in the Midwest for visitor satisfaction, and local tourism officials plan to make sure everyone - particularly potential visitors and meeting planners - knows it. Experience Columbus already has placed copies of the award, presented by the research firm J.D. Power, at its visitors centers in the Arena District, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and at Easton Town Center. In the coming weeks, one of the awards also is expected to go on display at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. ( . . . ) Tourism officials for years have said that lack of awareness is the biggest hurdle for Columbus in attracting new meetings and events. Once here, they say, meeting planners and organization officials are quickly sold on the city's merits. The J.D. Power award gives the city an endorsement akin to a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. In the J.D. Power survey, formally known as the 2016 Destination Experience Satisfaction Study, Columbus ranked seventh among the 50 U.S. cities. The research firm used hotel bookings determined the top 50 cities. Las Vegas topped the national list, followed by Austin and Orlando. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170120/experience-columbus-not-shy-about-touting-columbus-visitor-award
February 10, 20178 yr Nice little WashPo article on Columbus. Columbus I have a terrible confession: I never saw Ohio’s capitol. A weekend in Columbus and not even a glimpse of the rotunda. But I have a very good excuse. I was lost in a 32-room bookstore. Well, that’s not entirely true. I was also preoccupied with selecting a writing utensil from a lifestyle store founded by a guy with a beard and an office-supply obsession. And drinking hand-poured coffee from a cafe named after a Belle and Sebastian song. And sizing up turquoise bulldog bookends from a shop in an emerging neighborhood. And watching a diner stuff a skyscraper-tall burger into his mouth. And drinking more coffee, this time made of Fair Trade-certified beans from Guatemala. And I’m not even a coffee person; I drink tea, except when I am in Columbus. Columbus kept me busy and surprised. Though I knew the facts — it ranks as the third-most fashion-forward city in the country and has a lower median age than the rest of the nation — I didn’t fully understand the burble of creativity and innovation till I found myself face-to-backside with a man made of oven roasting tins. Based on my experience, I expect the newest stylista accessory will soon be a Columbus pride T-shirt. I will have to make room in my drawer, moving my Austin and Nashville apparel to the side. Full article below: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/lifestyle/vacation-ideas/things-to-do-in-columbus/ "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 13, 20178 yr And another... Young and vibrant Columbus, Ohio, is a hotspot for millennials You might think of Columbus, Ohio, as just another boring seat of state government in flyover country, as uninteresting and flat as its Capitol without a dome. (**ColDay note** This coming from Dallas, which is in the heart of flyover country?) You would be wrong. Columbus has become a hipster hangout, young and vibrant with a sizable population of millennials, tons of fun bars, restaurants, craft breweries and coffee roasters, a burgeoning arts scene, a huge fashion and design industry, and expanding acres of green space for biking, running or just soaking up the sun. More below: http://www.dallasnews.com/life/travel/2017/02/10/young-vibrant-columbus-ohio-hotspot-millennials "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 6, 20177 yr The creators of Columbus Food Adventures (started in 2010) and Columbus Brew Adventures (started in 2013) are introducing four new city tours: Columbus Central City Tour – an introduction to Downtown Columbus and its surrounding neighborhoods Columbus Past, Present & Future Tour – an exploration of how current development will shape the future trajectory of the city Columbus Architecture Tour – a guide to the city’s varied architecture, exploring private homes to prominent buildings German Village Walking Tour – a stroll through the historic neighborhood exploring its German origins More about these tours at their website: https://www.columbuscityadventures.com/ And from these articles: http://www.themetropreneur.com/columbus/tour-industry-in-columbus-grows-with-columbus-city-adventures/ http://www.columbusunderground.com/columbus-city-adventures-will-explore-citys-history-architecture-and-development-ls1
September 22, 20177 yr Columbus hosts motorcycle expo that it hopes will move here By Dan Gearino, The Columbus Dispatch Updated: September 22, 2017 at 6:24 AM Columbus is the center of the motorcycle world for the next few days, the city having landed a trade show expected to attract 20,000. It’s one that Columbus officials hope will make its home here. American International Motorcycle Expo, or AIMExpo, had been held in Orlando since the event’s inception in 2013. ... And now, Columbus has an opportunity to become the expo’s long-term home. For 2018, organizers have booked space in Las Vegas, but they have tentative plans to return to Columbus in 2019 and after. (. . . ) The expo began Thursday morning with speeches from the top executives at Harley-Davidson and Polaris Industries. Friday will see a continuation of product launches, test drives and training events for the industry, and are closed to the public. The event will welcome the public on Saturday and Sunday, with tickets starting at $16 for a one-day pass, or $14 if purchased online at www.aimexpousa.com. The event takes up nearly all of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, along with outdoor space nearby, where licensed motorcycle riders can take test drives. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170921/columbus-hosts-motorcycle-expo-that-it-hopes-will-move-here
October 6, 20177 yr ^ Didya think that national motorcycle expo was big? The Girl Scouts are bigger! ? 10,000 expected in Columbus for national Girl Scout convention This weekend, Columbus is rolling out the green carpet for the Girl Scouts of the USA. The LeVeque Tower, AEP building and COSI are being illuminated in green to welcome the 10,000 expected to attend the first National Council Session — the scouts’ every-three-years national convention — to be held in Columbus. The event, called G.I.R.L. 2017, runs Friday through Sunday in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The event is estimated to generate $8.2 million in direct visitor spending. That’s about the same as the annual AmericanHort horticulture event and more than twice the $3.3 million generated by the recent AIMExpo Columbus motorsports trade show. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171006/10000-expected-in-columbus-for-national-girl-scout-convention
October 6, 20177 yr An article, video and photo slideshow about the national Girl Scout convention from Columbus Business First: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/10/05/photosgirl-scouts-event-to-bring-10-000-people.html
November 13, 20177 yr On Sunday, the downtown Nationwide Arena hosted back-to-back women's basketball games featuring four highly ranked teams - #1 UCONN vs. #10 Stanford and also #9 Louisville vs. #5 Ohio State. These games served as a sort of dry run and promotion for the upcoming NCAA Women’s 2018 Final Four that will be held over Easter weekend in March at Nationwide Arena in Columbus: More about what is being called the Countdown to Columbus: http://www.dispatch.com/business/20171110/on-sunday-columbus-plays-host-to-warmup-to-ncaa-womens-final-four-in-spring
January 8, 20187 yr A look ahead at 2018 convention business from the Dispatch: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180102/columbus-scheduled-to-host-more-conventions-visitors-in-2018 Here are some of the largest conventions scheduled for 2018 highlighted in the article: Start date; Organization; Peak Rooms/Total Contracted Rooms* - March 22 - NCAA/Women’s Final Four basketball -- 1,080/6,405 - May 12 - United Methodist Women -- 2,365/7,488 - June 17 - American Dental Hygienists Association -- 1,001/4,337 - June 23 - Full Gospel Baptist Church -- 1,565/6,033 - July 24 - National Urban League -- 1,809/8,481 - Aug. 8 - American Trucking Association -- 1,007/5,547 - Sept. 15 - Lions Club International (USA/Canada) -- 1,529/6,203 - Oct. 21 - American Psychiatric Nurses Association -- 1,200/4,520 - Oct. 29 - American Angus Association -- 1,085/4,107 (*Peak rooms — greatest number of contracted rooms on a single night. Spectator events such as the Women’s Final Four will bring many more visitors who book rooms independently.)
March 1, 20187 yr March is set to be an extremely busy month for large conventions and events in Columbus. The biggest event (by number of visitors) is the annual "Arnold" that starts today and runs thru the weekend downtown and an the fairgrounds. Followed by three weekends of the annual state high school champions - Wrestling, Girls Basketball & Boys Basketball at The Schott. The month ends with NCAA Women's Final Four being held at Nationwide Arena. Below is a graphic on these March events and others from http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180301/hotels-benefit-from-arnold-womens-final-four-other-events:
March 1, 20187 yr March is set to be an extremely busy month for large conventions and events in Columbus. The biggest event (by number of visitors) is the annual "Arnold" that starts today and runs thru the weekend downtown and an the fairgrounds. Followed by three weekends of the annual state high school champions - Wrestling, Girls Basketball & Boys Basketball at The Schott. The month ends with NCAA Women's Final Four being held at Nationwide Arena. Below is a graphic on these March events and others from http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180301/hotels-benefit-from-arnold-womens-final-four-other-events: I have a hard time believing the Women's Final Four will only attract 16,000 visitors. The arena holds 19,000, and there will be four different teams there. Assuming OSU isn't in the Final Four, I don't see how there aren't more than 16,000 visitors.
March 1, 20187 yr (This news has also been posted in the Convention Center construction thread, but given its convention/tourism angle I thought it should be noted in this thread as well): The current Hilton Hotel that opened in 2012 at 401 N. High Street has 532 rooms. But tourism officials have stressed that for Columbus to become a major player in drawing national events like the DNC & RNC conventions, it needed to have a hotel large enough (1000 rooms) to accommodate visitors. The Dispatch is reporting that a new 468-room hotel, dubbed “Hilton 2.0”, will be built across High Street from the existing Hilton at the Convention Center. Although the two hotels would be separate structures, they would be connected by the existing overhead walkway built for the existing Hilton, and would function as one 1000-room hotel. According to the below linked article, the 'Hilton 2.0' would cost between $162 million and $190 million and would also add an 18,000-square-foot ballroom and 42,000 square feet of meeting and conference rooms. The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority is calling for a ground-breaking later this year and an opening in the third quarter of 2021: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180301/downtown-hilton-expansion-to-help-area-attract-national-events
March 1, 20187 yr I have a hard time believing the Women's Final Four will only attract 16,000 visitors. The arena holds 19,000, and there will be four different teams there. Assuming OSU isn't in the Final Four, I don't see how there aren't more than 16,000 visitors. It does seem like it should be more. Maybe we'll see a higher number reported in future articles.
March 2, 20187 yr http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180301/columbus-staying-away-from-2020-political-convention-bids Local convention and tourism officials said they will not be bidding on the upcoming 2020 DNC or RNC conventions. They didn't state it in the above linked article, but one would think that being in the middle of the 'Hilton 2.0' construction next to the Convention Center during 2020 would be the reason why. Officials did say they would consider bidding for the 2024 conventions.
March 12, 20187 yr Local leaders gathered Friday to discuss the impact the National Urban League will have on Columbus when the organization hosts its annual conference at the Convention Center on August 1-4. The Columbus Urban League is hosting the event with sponsorships from American Electric Power, Cardinal Health, L Brands Foundation, Nationwide and Toyota. The conference is expected to attract more than 20,000 attendees: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/03/09/urban-leagues-national-conference-to-bring.html
March 23, 20187 yr How will a single convention bring Columbus $500M over 10 years? Unfortunately the full answer is behind the Business First paywall. But the gist (excerpted below) is that an estimated 20 percent of this convention's attendees end up booking a meeting in the host city within the next five years - and uses data from previous host cities of Atlanta (2013) and Nashville (2014) as proof: How will a single convention bring Columbus $500M over 10 years? How does one convention result in $500 million in business after it leaves town? The American Society of Association Executives, coming to the Greater Columbus Convention Center on August 10-13, 2019, says it can bring in that amount in visitor spending over the course of 10 years. That's because it's an association of leaders of businesses and other associations from around the country. Those members who go to the annual meeting and enjoy the atmosphere of the host city will in turn hold their own future meetings there. An estimated 20 percent of attendees end up booking a meeting in the host city in the next five years, the society says. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/03/20/how-will-a-single-convention-bring-columbus-500m.html
March 26, 20187 yr The 2018 Women's Final Four will be at Nationwide Arena this weekend: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180325/ncaa-womens-final-four-four-day-party-plus-basketball-games -- 80,000 people are expected to descend on the Arena District during the four days of games and activities. The two national semifinal games are at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and the final is at 6 p.m. April 1. -- Tourney Town is a fan festival that runs Thursday through Sunday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. It includes basketball contests, a youth clinic and interactive games. There will also be a Women’s Final Four three-on-three tournament from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Convention Center. -- The Women’s Final Four Bounce starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at McFerson Commons Park across from the arena. Kids 18 or younger will dribble in a parade through the Arena District to Tourney Town. -- Four Arena District bars and restaurants — the R Bar, Boston Restaurant & Sports Bar, Gordon Biersch and the Three-Legged Mare — each will serve as the host bar for fans of one of the four teams. -- Hotels also have been assigned teams to act as tournament central for that team’s fan base. UCONN at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel. Notre Dame at the Downtown Sheraton. Louisville at the Westin Great Southern. Mississippi State at the OSU Marriott.
March 26, 20187 yr I have a hard time believing the Women's Final Four will only attract 16,000 visitors. The arena holds 19,000, and there will be four different teams there. Assuming OSU isn't in the Final Four, I don't see how there aren't more than 16,000 visitors. It does seem like it should be more. Maybe we'll see a higher number reported in future articles. From http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180325/ncaa-womens-final-four-four-day-party-plus-basketball-games Nationwide Arena’s capacity for basketball is 19,804. ... Of the 80,000 people the four-day event is expected to attract, 30,000 will come from outside Central Ohio.
March 26, 20187 yr I have a hard time believing the Women's Final Four will only attract 16,000 visitors. The arena holds 19,000, and there will be four different teams there. Assuming OSU isn't in the Final Four, I don't see how there aren't more than 16,000 visitors. It does seem like it should be more. Maybe we'll see a higher number reported in future articles. From http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180325/ncaa-womens-final-four-four-day-party-plus-basketball-games Nationwide Arena’s capacity for basketball is 19,804. ... Of the 80,000 people the four-day event is expected to attract, 30,000 will come from outside Central Ohio. That seems like a much more reasonable number.
March 29, 20187 yr Time-lapse video of Nationwide Arena being converted from hockey to basketball and the Women's Final Four court being installed: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/03/27/check-out-the-official-womens-final-four-court.html
April 2, 20187 yr Okay, I know we've been posting about the Women's Final Four over in the Columbus Events thread: https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,17502.msg904832.html#msg904832 But this 10TV piece nicely recaps the Women's Final Four weekend in Columbus and looks at it from a tourism/visitor perspective that is appropriate for this thread: https://www.10tv.com/article/columbus-shows-its-strength-hosting-womens-final-four
August 3, 20186 yr The National Urban League had been holding its 2018 national conference in Columbus since August 1. The four-day conference that runs though August 4 is expected to draw 20,000 visitors: https://www.cul.org/event/2018-national-urban-league-conference/ https://www.10tv.com/article/columbus-hosts-annual-urban-league-conference-focused-digital-revolution https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/national-urban-league-conference-is-in-columbus-focusing-on-digital-revolution
August 23, 20186 yr Tourism officials headed to Chicago to promote Columbus By Marla Matzer Rose, The Columbus Dispatch Posted: August 18, 2018 - 5:00 AM Experience Columbus officials will travel to Chicago over the next few days to attend the annual meeting of the American Society of Association Executives. The group, whose members belong to other organizations that plan meetings around the country, will come to Columbus for the first time in 2019. It’s considered a big win for Columbus that could bring more than half a billion dollars in visitor spending to Columbus over the next several years. Next year, more than 5,000 attendees will fill hotel rooms around Downtown Columbus, generating more than $16 million in direct visitor spending. But there’s much more to be gained. The association executives’ annual meeting is known as the Super Bowl of meetings because, if a city is found to have a lot going for it, it could land meetings and conventions that will fill halls and hotel rooms for years to come. Within just five years, Columbus could reap an estimated $500 million in future association-meeting business booked by ASAE members who like what they see in a city that hadn’t made an impression before. The list of those traveling to Chicago includes Mayor Andrew J. Ginther; Columbus Councilman Shannon Hardin; all three Franklin County commissioners; Tom Katzenmeyer of the Greater Columbus Arts Council; Steve Lyons of the Columbus Partnership; Doug Ulman of Pelotonia; and Chris Coffin, general manager of the Hilton Columbus Downtown. Most will be on hand when Columbus hosts the Chicago event’s final-day luncheon and officially is “passed the baton” as next year’s ASAE meeting host. MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20180818/tourism-officials-headed-to-chicago-to-promote-columbus
September 20, 20186 yr -- 41.1 million day and overnight leisure visits were logged in Columbus in 2017, Brian Ross, CEO of Experience Columbus said. That represents an increase of 3 percent – or 1.2 million visits – from 2016. -- Visitors also spent $7 billion while they stayed in Columbus, an 8.8 percent increase from 2015. http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180919/columbus-welcomed-record-number-of-visitors-in-2017 https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/09/19/visitors-spent-7b-in-columbus-last-year.html
March 26, 20196 yr Nice little write-up from the NYT: An Awakening in Columbus... The capital of Ohio, one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, lives largely in the future tense: There’s a palpable energy when walking through yuppie-centric Short North, drinking with strangers around a bonfire in the still-bohemian Olde Towne East, or strolling along the new riverfront. Unlike many former industrial hubsin the Midwest, Columbus feels like a city on the move. More below: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/travel/williamsburg-virginia-and-columbus-ohio-52-places.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 22, 20196 yr https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190419/five-new-hotels-will-bring-1600-new-rooms-to-downtown-and-short-north The first of five new hotels close to the Greater Columbus Convention Center will open this July. The five will add more than 1,600 rooms Downtown and in the Short North over the next few years, bringing a range of overnight options from boutique college-themed rooms to the largest hotel in the state. The five hotels are: Graduate Columbus, AC Hotel by Marriott, Hilton Columbus Downtown, Moxy Columbus Short North and Canopy by Hilton. The five hotels illustrate a lodging boom throughout Central Ohio. The Columbus area has 1,545 hotel rooms under construction, according to the commercial real-estate firm CBRE. (That figure does not include the 1,000-room Hilton, which hasn’t started yet.) Construction will begin on 1,715 hotel rooms within the next year and 1,859 rooms are planned after that. The area now has 28,803 rooms.
April 22, 20196 yr Here are the five hotels close to the Convention Center that were hi-lighted in the Dispatch article: 1) Moxy Columbus Short North - 800 N. High Street - 116 rooms The Moxy Columbus Short North hotel is scheduled to open in September. The 116 rooms will be on the sixth through ninth floors of the building, with the 10th floor featuring a rooftop bar. The remainder of the building is offices and ground-floor retail. Below are two views from the sixth floor rooftop of the Moxy Short North - where the hotel rooms start. This view looks north up High Street toward the Ohio State University. Across the street are an older residential building (The Greystone) and a newer residential building (The Dakota) plus a series of newer mixed-use buildings further north built recently. The large glass tower in the distance is OSU's new James Cancer Hospital completed in 2015: This view looks south down High Street toward downtown. The new 711 N. High office building is to the right in this photo. The former Bollinger Tower low-income housing complex is to the left in this photo being converted into the Graduate Columbus hotel. Somewhat visible beyond this is the 10-story, 135-room Le Meridien Columbus luxury hotel built at 620 N. High Street as part of The Joseph mixed-use development in 2015: 2) Graduate Columbus - 750 N. High Street - 171 rooms Graduate Columbus is renovating the former Bollinger Tower low-income complex. As part of the renovation from Bollinger to Graduate, the smaller upper story windows are being expanded. Here's a photo of this in mid-conversion. Graduate Columbus is also building a front addition on the former plaza facing High Street - adding 2,500 square feet of ground floor retail space and 4,000 square feet of meeting space on the second floor. The lobby will have Poindexter, the hotel’s cafe and will also connect to a new Shack Shake burger restaurant on the ground floor: Graduate Hotels are known for their campus-area hotels and operate 14 hotels throughout the country. Although this one is located about a mile south of the OSU campus, it will still feature a college theme. The lobby’s chandeliers will be made of silver instruments, paying homage to OSU’s marching band TBDBITL. The 171-room hotel is scheduled to open this fall: 3) AC Hotel - 511 Park Street - 160 rooms Moving into downtown, the AC Hotel at 511 Park Street, will include 160 rooms on eight floors and is targeting an early 2021 opening. The first AC Hotel in Columbus opened in 2017 at Dublin’s Bridge Park. The hotel will open across the street from Downtown’s North Market: Because of this hotel's location across from the North Market, it was required to save portions of the historic buildings on the site. Below is a photo of the current AC Hotel construction site at Park & Spruce with salvaged structures awaiting the new construction behind them: 4) Hilton Columbus Downtown - 402 N. High Street - 1000 rooms Towering over all the new hotels will be the 27-story Hilton Columbus Downtown planned for 402 N. High St., next to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. With 1,000 rooms and 75,000 square feet of meeting space, the Hilton will be the largest hotel in Ohio. The new Hilton will connect to a smaller 14-story, 532-room Hilton built across the street in 2012. This new 27-story Hilton is being built on a wedge-shaped parcel next to the Convention Center and will span over a lower level road and railroad track that passes under High Street. Work is expected to begin on the $220 million hotel this summer, with a targeted opening date in 2022: 5) Canopy by Hilton - 77 E. Nationwide Blvd - 167 rooms The first of the five new hotels to open will be Canopy by Hilton - scheduled to welcome its first guests in July . The 12-story, 167-room hotel will have two outdoor patios, a lobby-level restaurant and bar, and a rooftop bar and restaurant on the 12th floor. It is located across Nationwide Boulevard from the oldest portion of the Convention Center: The pink and green underlayment shown in the above photo is currently being finished off with gray panels and will look like the rendering below:
May 14, 20196 yr Sports events help bump Columbus hotel stays Helped by the NCAA basketball tournament and the Arnold Classic, Columbus hotel occupancy grew 1.9% during the first three months of this year, according to a State of the Industry Report from Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. The report, released in conjunction with National Travel and Tourism Week, says that from January to March 2019, Columbus hosted a total of 96 conventions, trade shows and sporting events. ( . . . ) Among the quarter’s highlights: the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds and the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Elite Eight. ... Other first quarter highlights included the American Academy of Audiology, which drew 4,000 attendees to its 2019 Conference; the Reading Recovery Council of North America, which brought 2,100 attendees to its 2019 Annual Conference; the National Association for Campus Activities’ 2019 National Convention, which drew 3,000 attendees; and the Arnold Sports Festival & Fitness Weekend, which drew 200,000 attendees. Upcoming conventions include “the influential American Society of Association Executives’ Annual Meeting and Exposition, which will draw thousands of decision makers who could bring up to $500 million worth of future meetings to Columbus,” Brian Ross, Experience Columbus president and CEO said. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190510/sports-events-help-bump-columbus-hotel-stays
June 5, 20196 yr This is an older article (March 20) but I just came across it over at reddit. Plus I posted a Dispatch article about Columbus landing the 2019 American Society of Association Executives annual meeting last year in this thread. This ASAE annual meeting hosts more than 5,000 meeting planners and executives - and if your city makes a favorable impression on them - they will be more likely to book events in your city in the future: John Legend, Brad Paisley to entertain high-profile Columbus visitors this summer Experience Columbus is planning on pulling out all the stops for attendees at this year's American Society of Association Executives annual meeting. The visitors bureau announced at its own annual meeting Wednesday that it has secured music stars John Legend and Brad Paisley to perform for the attendees at two separate events during the August convention. In a news release announcing the performances, Experience Columbus called the arrival of ASAE a "defining moment" for the city. The convention has the chance to bring $500 million over 10 years to the city, because an estimated 20 percent of ASAE attendees in turn end up booking their own meetings in the host city after attending. The convention will be held August 10-13 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. ... The ASAE Foundation's fundraiser event "The Classic" will be held on the floor of Nationwide Arena on Aug. 12 - during which Ohio-native John Legend will be the headlining performer. ... To make sure attendees stay in Columbus through the convention's last night, Experience Columbus has booked Brad Paisley, a country singer who has starred in a series of commercials for Columbus-based Nationwide Insurance, to perform Aug. 13 at Express Live. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/03/20/john-legend-brad-paisley-to-entertain-high-profile.html
August 12, 20195 yr Officials pitch Columbus as convention destination as ‘Super Bowl of Meetings’ kicks off The “Super Bowl of Meetings” has officially kicked off. The American Society of Association Executives, being held for the first time in Columbus, opened its three-day annual meeting Sunday morning with a mix of education, entertainment and recognition, plus a pitch on why Columbus makes a great host for meetings and conventions. Landing the meeting is a big deal for local government, business and tourism leaders. The executives and meeting professionals attending this year’s event will spend a combined 17,000 nights in hotels and more than $16 million in the city. But the bigger payoff figures to be down the road. These executives and meeting professionals are among those who plan the meetings for their associations, meaning that local leaders are betting that many of those here for ASAE will think of Columbus when they plan their future meeting or convention. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/business/20190811/officials-pitch-columbus-as-convention-destination-as-super-bowl-of-meetings-kicks-off
August 15, 20195 yr From the editor: ASAE convention was a shining moment for Columbus We won’t know the full impact for awhile but Columbus seemed to make all the right moves this week while the American Society of Association Executives was in town for its annual convention. Officials have been anticipating this “Super Bowl of conventions” for several years now and they pulled out all the stops to impress attendees, who will have a big say in where their respective organizations hold upcoming annual meetings. Experience Columbus pegged the final attendance at 5,476, including more than 4,400 who were making their first trip to the city. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/08/15/from-the-editor-asae-convention-was-a-shining.html
October 1, 20195 yr Never underestimate the love for BrewDog. Even Time magazine is touting it in https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2019/ Time names BrewDog’s Canal Winchester hotel among greatest places on Earth BrewDog’s DogHouse Hotel in Canal Winchester recently was named one of the best places to visit by Time magazine, which included it in the “To Stay” section of it’s annual list of the 100 Greatest Places on Earth. Time said it generated its list by polling editors, correspondents and industry experts. Beer lovers who stay at the hotel are never wont for something to drink, as each room features beer taps and coolers filled with cans of beer. One of those coolers is within arm’s reach of the shower(!). The hotel rooms are situated alongside the company’s massive Gender Road brewery and taproom, which also serves as the Scottish company’s U.S. headquarters. ... The hotel officially opened for business in August 2018 and has 32 rooms that wrap around BrewDog’s largest U.S. taproom. Some of the rooms also offer a bird’s eye view of BrewDog's brewery floor. MORE: https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190827/time-names-brewdogs-canal-winchester-hotel-among-greatest-places-on-earth
November 5, 20195 yr It looks like scoring the American Society of Association Executives is already starting to pay off. Columbus scores another big convention: Influential meeting planners to gather here in 2023 The Professional Convention Management Association has selected Columbus to host its Convening Leaders convention in 2023. The event is expected to bring 4,200 attendees to the city and generate about $6.2 million in direct visitor spending, including 14,650 hotel room nights. ... Ross said the city’s successful experience hosting ASAE led to PCMA’s decision. He said Columbus officials had to “build trust” in PCMA’s leadership that “Columbus could not only host, but provide a tremendous experience.” More here: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/11/05/columbus-scores-another-big-convention-influential.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline
November 5, 20195 yr 43 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said: It looks like scoring the American Society of Association Executives is already starting to pay off. Columbus scores another big convention: Influential meeting planners to gather here in 2023 The Professional Convention Management Association has selected Columbus to host its Convening Leaders convention in 2023. The event is expected to bring 4,200 attendees to the city and generate about $6.2 million in direct visitor spending, including 14,650 hotel room nights. ... Ross said the city’s successful experience hosting ASAE led to PCMA’s decision. He said Columbus officials had to “build trust” in PCMA’s leadership that “Columbus could not only host, but provide a tremendous experience.” More here: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/11/05/columbus-scores-another-big-convention-influential.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline This is a big get for the city! We should probably move this to the Columbus Conventions and Tourism thread though.
November 5, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, cbussoccer said: This is a big get for the city! We should probably move this to the Columbus Conventions and Tourism thread though. Yep. And this is some more great news on the conventions/tourism front.
November 5, 20195 yr Another write-up about Columbus from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Columbus, Ohio: A two-wheel tour where fun and giant cream puffs reign COLUMBUS, Ohio — A labyrinth of a bookstore. A cream puff the size of a Corolla. A breezy stroll along the river. A bustling indoor market. A conservatory featuring interplay with glass sculptures. Those are just some of the highlights of a recent visit to Columbus, Ohio, where I was in town for AIMExpo, a national motorcycle and powersports convention. The good folks at KTM North America were kind enough to lend me a 2019 790 Duke for an entire day, and that provided the perfect excuse to explore the city. (And, really, what better way is there than doing that via two wheels?) More here: https://www.post-gazette.com/life/travel/2019/11/04/Columbus-Ohio-tour-visit-tourism-motorcycling-German-Village-Scioto-River/stories/201910210001 Edited November 5, 20195 yr by TH3BUDDHA
December 6, 20195 yr Public Library Association picks Columbus for 2024 convention The Public Library Association has picked Columbus for its 2024 convention destination. The convention is expected to draw 8,700 people, who will spend an estimated $11 million during their four-day visit. More here: https://www.thisweeknews.com/business/20191204/public-library-association-picks-columbus-for-2024-convention
December 6, 20195 yr I saw that library convention news yesterday. Seems like the big planning convention is already paying off. Great news just a month after the last great news on conventions! The Hilton 2.0 already paying off as well.
February 4, 20205 yr 2019 was record-setting year for Columbus hotels “2019 was a tremendous year by all counts,” Brian Ross, Experience Columbus president and CEO, said in a news release. “We started by being named one of ’52 Places to Go in 2019’ by The New York Times and ended with having broken records in nearly every aspect of what we do. Plus, the announcement that the Hilton Columbus Downtown will become the state’s first 1,000-room hotel combined with having hosted what is being lauded as the ‘best ASAE ever’ has significantly boosted our city’s image and driven new business opportunities, including PCMA’s 2023 Convening Leaders Annual Meeting.” https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/2019-was-record-setting-year-for-columbus-hotels
February 5, 20205 yr ^ More about that from Business First: Here's how the Columbus hotel industry performed in 2019 Columbus' hotel and convention sales business boomed in 2019, according to new figures released by Experience Columbus. Bed tax revenues collected from hotels and motels in the city of Columbus, a chief measure of the tourism industry's performance, reached a record $49.7 million in 2019, a 3.8% increase over 2018. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/01/30/heres-how-the-columbus-hotel-industry-performed-in.html
February 27, 20205 yr Downtown Hyatt Regency gets an upgrade: See inside the renovated hotel The 40-year-old Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Columbus has a new, fresh look after a partial renovation, with more upgrades to come. Renovations to the 633-room hotel's main lobby, fitness center and the hotel's 18 guest suites were completed in 2019, and the remainder of the rooms will soon undergo a $20 million renovation. The room renovation is expected to start in January 2021 and last ten months, Hyatt Regency Operations Director Colleen Montagne told Columbus Business First. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/02/02/downtown-hyatt-regency-gets-an-upgrade-see-inside.html
February 27, 20205 yr Columbus ranked one of the best places in U.S. to attend a conference Columbus is one of the best places in the country to attend a conference, according to a new national ranking. Columbus ranked No. 9 in SmartAsset’s ranking of the 36 largest U.S. cities with at least 100 hotels. It was the only city in the Midwest in the personal finance company's top 10 list, with most of the rest being on the coasts. Columbus also appeared in the top 10 list the last time SmartAsset completed the ranking back in 2018, tying for the No. 10 spot that time. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/02/26/columbus-ranked-one-of-the-best-places-in-u-s-to.html
April 16, 20205 yr On 2/26/2020 at 7:59 PM, Columbo said: Columbus ranked one of the best places in U.S. to attend a conference Columbus is one of the best places in the country to attend a conference, according to a new national ranking. Columbus ranked No. 9 in SmartAsset’s ranking of the 36 largest U.S. cities with at least 100 hotels. It was the only city in the Midwest in the personal finance company's top 10 list, with most of the rest being on the coasts. Columbus also appeared in the top 10 list the last time SmartAsset completed the ranking back in 2018, tying for the No. 10 spot that time. MORE: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/02/26/columbus-ranked-one-of-the-best-places-in-u-s-to.html What a difference a pandemic makes. Below is a link to a recent article about the coronavirus impact on the convention and tourism industry. Unfortunately, the Business First article is for subscribers only. So, to summarize, the Experience Columbus CEO thinks the convention business won't get back to normal until "Maybe first quarter (of 2021) if we’re lucky". He also noted that when the pandemic first started, meeting and convention organizers started moving their events from June to October. But now, as the severity has heightened, "We're seeing them move into future years". When will the tourism industry bounce back from coronavirus' impact? Not anytime soon, Experience Columbus CEO says: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/04/08/when-will-the-tourism-industry-bounce-back-from.html
April 16, 20205 yr In the meantime, the Greater Columbus Convention Center has been converted to an overflow care facility to house up to 1,100 coronavirus patients. Similar preparations are being made at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati and a Case Western Reserve University facility near the Cleveland Clinic. The Ohio National Guard, in conjunction with local health-care providers Mount Carmel Health System, Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and the OhioHealth system, began building the facility last week. Mount Carmel will operate 300 beds in the space, while OSU and OhioHealth will each operate 400 beds. Nationwide Children’s Hospital will also be offered space, but officials from the hospital have said they likely won’t need the extra space. Columbus hospitals will closely monitor their capacity, and when it reaches a point that additional beds are needed, the plan will be put into action. https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2020/04/14/covid-19-field-hospital-ready-in-greater-columbus.html https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200414/new-lsquohospitalrsquo-at-convention-center-being-prepared-for-1100-coronavirus-patients
May 24, 20205 yr While COVID-19 shuts down the Convention Center to its normal use, it is being put to another alternative use: Traffic and eviction hearings moving to Greater Columbus Convention Center amid coronavirus pandemic As Franklin County Municipal Court officials began making plans to resume hearings during the pandemic, they were concerned about how to maintain social distancing in a courthouse that is often packed with lawyers, litigants and law enforcement personnel. Administrative Judge Ted Barrows decided that one way for people to spread out was to move some of the hearings to a location with more space. Beginning June 1, hearings in traffic and eviction cases will be held in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The court’s order calls for the cases to be held there through Aug. 31. “We were desperately looking for a larger space, off site, and the convention center folks told us they could accommodate anything we want,” Barrows said. The massive downtown convention center is sitting idle because the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the cancellation or postponement of the meetings and conventions that normally fill its exhibit halls and conference rooms. ( . . . ) The contract between the convention center and the court is still being negotiated, but the plan is for the hearings to be held in a suite of meeting rooms across from the main exhibit hall, with pedestrian access along North High Street near Vine Street. Parking will be available in the Vine Street garage beside the North Market and an underground garage located off Nationwide Boulevard just east of the Hyatt Hotel. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200522/traffic-and-eviction-hearings-moving-to-greater-columbus-convention-center-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
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