Buffalo blends business and leisure so subtly, attendees may think they’re on vacation.
This city of nearly 275,000 on the western side of New York is a waterfront gem with a buzzing arts, culture and culinary scene, which makes it a dream for travelers. For meeting and event planners, that appeal is bolstered by its versatile convention center, abundant hotel rooms and easy access.
The 2025 Small Market Meetings Conference will take place in Buffalo, September 16–18 at the 396-room Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel and Conference Center.
Here’s what planners can expect to learn when they converge on the city this year.
Welcome to Buffalo
The Small Market Meetings Conference will allow meeting planners an up-close view of the city, complete with sightseeing tours that showcase its top attractions, which frequently double as meeting and event space.
“This was a very intentional initiative for Visit Buffalo Niagara to host Small Market Meetings,” said Visit Buffalo Niagara president and CEO Patrick Kaler. “We see this as a great opportunity to showcase an unknown or untapped city for meeting planners to consider.”
In the wake of updates to both its convention center and its renowned art museum, the city’s offerings for planners have only grown in recent years. Even more renovations and expansions are on the way for some of its hotels.
The Buffalo Niagara International Airport’s proximity is another perk for planners considering it as a meeting destination.
“We like to showcase how easy our destination is, that it has a great airport that’s only 15 minutes from the downtown core,” Kaler said. “It’s a very manageable city, very walkable and easy to get around, and a good value compared with other larger cities.”
And though Buffalo can be famously snowy, meeting planners shouldn’t worry about holding events there. In a city like Buffalo, snow is easily handled for winter events. Spring, summer and fall bring lovely weather with opportunities for outdoor recreation and events.
Major Meeting Spaces
The Buffalo Convention Center completed a $6 million renovation in late 2023. The upgrades included cosmetic features, like new signage and customizable lighting panels, as well as functional upgrades, like heated sidewalks and a reconfigured entryway for improved pedestrian traffic flow.
The newly improved convention center contains 110,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 64,000-square-foot exhibit hall, divisible into two spaces; a 12,000 square-foot ballroom; and 21 breakout spaces.
“We have a new, modern, contemporary façade on the outside that’s provided a whole new welcoming experience,” Kaler said. “Plus, we renovated the entire lobby area and have made that more functional for meeting planners.”
The convention center is connected to the Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel via skywalk for easy attendee access during the city’s colder weather. The Hyatt Regency offers more than 23,000 square feet of meeting space of its own and will be undergoing room renovations in late 2025.
The city features several other hotels within walking distance of the convention center. The Marriott Harbor has 205 rooms, while the Embassy Suites has 182. Both have about 6,000 square feet of meeting space. In total, more than 800 rooms can be found within a three-block radius of the center.
Several of Buffalo’s boutique hotels are great for smaller meetings or events.
“One is the Mansion on Delaware, which is a smaller property but very nice for board meetings,” Kaler said. “Then we have the Richardson Hotel, which was formerly the Hotel Henry, a hotel complex that’s a former asylum, repurposed to be a boutique hotel.”
The city’s inventory of meeting hotels will increase in 2026 with the opening of the Statler Hotel, a historic property with event space that’s slated to add more than 200 hotel rooms right across the street from the convention center.
Unique Off-Site Venues
Some of Buffalo’s premier attractions double as one-of-a-kind event spaces for off-sites. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is a great example. Expanded during a two-year period, the museum opened again in June 2023. The $200 million renovation allows the museum more space to display its impressive collection, which includes works from masters like Picasso, Monet and Renoir, among many others.
“The AKG has one of the top 20 contemporary art collections in the world,” Kaler said. “They’ve increased the space, and it’s a great place to have opening receptions or closing night functions.”
Another one of the city’s most popular attractions is the Martin House, designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Its pavilion is a great place to host smaller events.
For something a little less conventional, planners can take their programs to an up-and-coming neighborhood that consists of repurposed grain silos. The industrial-chic Riverworks transformed the silos from ruins to a trendy hub for recreation and gathering along the river. It’s the site of casual hangouts and organized events and markets.
“It’s a great place year-round but especially in the summer,” Kaler said. “They have several different areas on that complex that can do opening receptions. There are lots of built-in activities, so it’s very easy for meeting planners to use the space.”
These built-in activities include urban ziplining, kayaking, rock climbing up a grain silo and enjoying the on-site brewery. There are also places throughout that can be used as event spaces, such as patios overlooking the river and the city.
Plenty of other venues for interesting off-sites can be found throughout the city, including Babeville, a Gothic Revival-style church in the city’s theater district that features a basement bar and an open-floor hall perfect for performances or receptions.
Meanwhile, the Ellicott Square Building, built in 1896, was once the world’s largest office building. Today, it’s been repurposed as a public space, and the central court lobby, which features a glass roof, can be rented for events.
After the Meeting
Buffalo will excel when an event’s program leaves some downtime for attendees or their plus-ones.
Many people are unaware that Buffalo is the origin of buffalo chicken wings, but the city is known for these savory, spicy appetizers. Anyone curious to find the best wings in Buffalo can follow the Buffalo Wing Trail and decide for themselves. They’ll find classic sweet and savory flavors, as well as some truly unique sauces — raspberry chipotle wings, anyone?
Buffalo boasts plenty of other interesting delicacies. In addition to the wings, there are six other culinary trails in the city. But when it’s time for a meal on their own, delegates shouldn’t skip Buffalo’s high-end restaurants, including two that were James Beard Award finalists in 2024: Southern Junction, a barbecue-Indian fusion restaurant, and Waxlight Bar a Vin, a wine-focused restaurant.
Another one of Buffalo’s biggest draws is its proximity to the natural wonder Niagara Falls. Attendees can see the falls, stand in its path in the Cave of the Winds or take a boat ride up to the bottom of the falls onboard Maid of the Mist.
“Niagara Falls is 20 minutes away, so that’s a great opportunity for sightseeing pre- or post-experiences, and spousal tours as well during a convention,” Kaler said.
But perhaps one of the things attendees will enjoy most about Buffalo is the friendliness of its community.
“Buffalo’s known to be the city of good neighbors, so it’s a very welcoming community,” Kaler said. “One of the great things about Buffalo is when you hold your meeting here, you feel like you own the city. We can light up the city in the brand colors of an association. We work with local businesses and let them know you’re coming.”
