Dublin
While Dublin may be well known within Ohio and beyond as a haven of Irish culture, from Irish dancing to Irish manor house meals for private events, it also has accommodation and entertainment options and state-of-the-art facilities. The Columbus suburb has become an ever-more-desirable destination for local companies.
Spring marked the addition of Dublin’s 15th hotel, the 100-room, all-suite Residence Inn Columbus Dublin from Marriott. The new property oozes clean lines and modern design throughout its studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites and its Shamrock Room boardroom. Though it does not have much meeting space, it is in the middle of Dublin’s Metro Place hub of hotels, shopping and meeting space, which includes a little over 800 hotels rooms.
“It’s an easy hub where you can just get off the highway and stay,” said Amanda Mikkelson, group sales manager at the Dublin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “And right across the street is the OCLC Conference Center,” Dublin’s main conference venue, with 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Metro Place area includes the Crowne Plaza Columbus-Dublin, which recently completed a renovation of its 215 rooms and 13,000 square feet of meeting space; a 284-suite Embassy Suites; a 106-suite Sonesta ES Suites; and a 100-room Hilton Garden Inn.
Gahanna
Gahanna takes its position as the “Herb Capital of Ohio” seriously. This city is home not only to the Ohio Herb Education Center but also to a network of herb gardens. In 2012, the city launched an herbal trail of gardens, restaurants and even pubs that serve a special local herb-infused beer brew to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its nickname.
While it may seem primarily a draw for independent leisure travelers, the Gahanna Convention and Visitors Bureau developed the herbal trail specifically with business and leisure groups in mind. “We want to offer something that is not just a facility,” said Mary Szymkowiak, the CVB’s communication and tourism manager. “We want people to be able to both experience the city and make time for a little R-and-R while they’re here.”
To that end, the CVB has teamed up with local farms that are not typically open to the public to offer exclusive locations for meetings. A 60-acre organic farm that grows herbs for central Ohio’s top chef can open up its renovated barn for meetings and dinners, and a green-certified farm run by the Dominican Sisters of Peace has locations for meetings and catered meals, as well as walking trails.
In Gahanna’s central creek district, the Creekside Conference and Events Center, perched several stories above the creekside for sweeping views, includes 9,000 square feet of customizable space and on-site catering that is loved by locals. Meetings at the center can also take advantage of the restaurant’s options in the creek district for a dine-around — herb-themed, of course.
Butler County
Located halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton, just close enough to scoot over for a visit to the zoo or an evening reception, Butler County’s location just off I-75 makes it a natural choice for meeting planners. Recent developments have turned it into an even more potent pick.
“Because of the gradual merging of Cincinnati and Dayton, as these two cities have expanded, we have been fortunate to have companies like P&G and GE base operations in Butler County,” said Mark Hecquet, executive director of the Butler County Visitors Bureau.
To keep up with the need of local corporations for accommodations and meeting spaces, in the coming year, a slew of new hotels and attractions, many appearing for the first time in Ohio, are set to open.
One of the first AC Hotels by Marriott in the United States will open at Butler County’s new mixed-use luxury shopping, entertainment and residential district, Liberty Center, later this fall with 3,000 square feet of meeting space and 130 rooms. TopGolf, a golf and entertainment center brand with a high-tech twist and activities for golfers and nongolfers alike, will also soon open its first Ohio location, a three-story, 64,000-square-foot center, in West Chester in Butler County.
In addition to new properties going up, Butler County also has a Courtyard by Marriott in Hamilton, with 7,000 square feet of meeting space; the Cincinnati Marriott North, with 295 rooms and 14,000 square feet of meeting space; and the Hilton Garden Inn Cincinnati/West Chester, which opened last year, with 125 rooms and 3,500 square feet of meeting space.
Jungle Jim’s, a unique grocery store brand that positions itself more as a foodie theme park with six acres of food shopping and attractions, is also a staple of Butler County events with its attached 15,000-square-foot event center and options for team-building activities like scavenger hunts and “Iron Chef”-style competitions.
“Our county hasn’t had the ability to be really aggressive with meeting business, but now we have all these new products coming online,” said Hecquet. But while the supply of new, high-tech, fresh venues now outweighs demand from a meeting perspective, there is already high pressure on accommodations from the leisure side in the summer due to a nearby theme park and some competition in the fall and spring due to the sports market.
