Chattanooga combines breathtaking views and bountiful natural wonders with the kind of meeting amenities you’d find in larger destinations. The city’s CVB will help planners organize and stage their meetings, reunions and events and then find entertainment for everybody in all of the hours they have left in the city.
Located on the Tennessee River, Chattanooga is in the southeastern part of Tennessee near the Georgia line. The city is surrounded by gorgeous scenic areas. From historic Lookout Mountain or Rock City Gardens, visitors can see several states on a clear day.
But the city is modern, too, and eager to host meetings.
“No. 1 is our accessibility,” said Ed Dolliver, vice president of sales for the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. “There are major interstates here with proximity to Atlanta and Nashville. We’re nestled right between them. Affordability is a big. With demand being up in the meetings business, pricing follows along those lines; yet we’re still a relatively affordable destination.” Dolliver said Chattanooga is ranked 28th on a recently published list of top-50 affordable cities for meetings.
The Chattanooga CVB provides a dedicated convention services manager for meetings, offers registration assistance and works closely with planners to find hotels, attractions and whatever else is needed to make gatherings sparkle. “For us, it’s always about the voice of the customer,” said Dolliver, who added that his CVB gets a 98 percent satisfaction rating on post-meeting surveys.
Chattanooga has a convenient, compact, walkable downtown serviced by a free electric shuttle that whisks meeting attendees to hotels, restaurants and attractions. The downtown area has 2,200 hotel rooms. In five minutes, meeting attendees can escape the city and be rock climbing, hiking, kayaking or other outdoor activities.
Chattanooga has also recently earned a new nickname: Gig City. The CVB says that the city has the fastest Internet service in America: 1 gigabit per second, or 200 times the national average speed. The publicly owned electric power company installed it as part of the city’s growing smart grid system.
Distinctive Hotels
Chattanooga offers remarkable, even memorable hotels; some with convenient meeting facilities. The Chattanoogan is a modern, urban hotel. The Read House Historic Inn and Suites opened in 1926 and combines old charm with modern amenities. Chattanooga Choo Choo Historic Hotel is in an old train station where guests can bed down in a railcar. Other hotel options include rooms onboard a docked riverboat or on a mountaintop overlooking the city. Chattanooga offers 10,500 hotel rooms citywide.
Entertaining You
The Tennessee Aquarium has separate buildings featuring freshwater and salt-water creatures and environments. Exhibits follow the journey of a drop of water from a mountain to the sea, with fascinating saltwater fish and marine animals from sharks to jellies. There’s an Imax 3-D theater on-site.
The Chattanooga Ducks, a fleet of authentic World War II amphibious landing craft on wheels, offers downtown tours that plunge into the river for sightseeing along the waterfront.
Chattanooga’s entertainment district is centered at Broad and Market streets near the river. Delegates can walk to restaurants and bars from hotels or take the free shuttle.
Green Meeting Center
The Chattanooga Convention Center is designated “green” and boasts 180,000 square feet of space, of which 110,000 can be devoted to exhibits. There are 30 meeting rooms in this column-free facility, and delegates will enjoy the many windows that bring in natural light to brighten their work activities. Everything is on one level.
The Chattanooga Convention Center has its own chef and is the first center in the United States to incorporate a farm-to-table meals program. The Chattanooga Marriott Downtown is adjacent to the convention center and is the prime hotel for groups using the center.
Look Out Below
Chattanooga’s Bluff View Art District is a cool, creative neighborhood of culinary, visual and landscape art. Lucky residents are dubbed “cliff dwellers.” During free time, meeting attendees can drop into restaurants, a coffeehouse, art galleries, the plaza and gardens, all offering views of the river. From the stony cliffs, the city is spread out below and wrapped around the Tennessee River and the Walnut Street Bridge.
Famed Lookout Mountain also draws thousands of visitors, as do the city’s zoo, art museums and riverboat cruises. In summer, there are Chattanooga Lookouts baseball games.
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Location:
Southeast corner of Tennessee near Georgia line
Access:
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, I-24, I-59, I-75
Meeting Space:
Chattanooga Convention Center, several major downtown hotels
Hotel Rooms:
10,500 citywide, 2,200 downtown
Off-Site Venues:
Tennessee Aquarium, Lookout Mountain, Bluff View Art District
Contact Info:
800-964-8600
