Demand rises for unique meeting locations

As the owner of BizConnect Hampton Roads, Laura Henderson is always looking for unique sites to hold workshops and networking coffees.

“I try to do events at interesting, fun places,” Henderson says. “That helps my organization and the [host] business. You get over 100 people in there, and probably 50% to 70% have never been there before.”

Interesting and fun could aptly describe BizConnect’s recent event at the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, where a glass blowing demonstration enthralled guests. Several attendees signed up for future glass-blowing workshops at the newly renovated Norfolk gallery, and one business owner booked the studio for a team-building event.

“I wanted to try something different, and I’m glad I did,” Henderson says.

She is one of a growing number of meeting planners who are bypassing large hotel chains, conference centers and other traditional venues for more distinctive locales like art galleries, music halls, restaurants, sports stadiums and arenas, historical sites and wineries. According to Cvent’s 2025 Planner Sourcing Report, 49% of North American event professionals are booking unique sites for their events, compared to 17% in 2023. Seeking to create memorable yet cost-efficient experiences that will impress guests, they are discovering that many non-traditional sites offer package deals, built-in activities and other amenities.

It’s all about creating “wow moments,” says Yvonne Butters, Cvent’s director of meetings and events. “They don’t want just ballrooms. They want experiences. There’s a strong desire to create something that people will take away with them.”

Live glass-blowing demonstrations fit that criteria, adds Colleen Higginbotham, the Chrysler’s deputy director for visitor experience. “People see art being made. That makes it a memorable event and provides a program that an event planner doesn’t have to come up with.”

Butters believes the trend toward unique meeting venues will continue: “As planners build out their annual event programs, they see a need to elevate the design and attendees’ experience,” she explains.

In response, many unique venues are increasing their advertising budgets to reach planners striving to elevate their meetings beyond PowerPoint presentations. Cvent notes a 24% increase in advertising spending for unique sites in North America from January to August compared with the same period in 2024. Venues such as wineries and restaurants have increased their advertising by 74%, while entertainment sites, like music halls, are spending 73% more on advertising.

Celeste BrShawn Garrison, the Chrysler’s special events manager, says the museum, which hosts about 30 corporate events annually, has increased marketing on social media and other digital sites. The Chrysler also holds after-hours tours for meeting planners.

“Folks can come in and form their image of what they’re looking to have at an event,” Garrison says.

Making memories

Surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains, Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke specializes in wow moments. Instead of morning mixers around a coffee urn, corporate retreat participants take walks along 22 miles of trails or do yoga and stretching exercises.

“It’s all about value and wellness,” says Lyndsi Hale, the lodge’s vice president of sales and operations. “They want to push their folks to think outside the box.”

A group of female corporate executives from around the country chose the lodge over sites in Cancun, Denver, New York City, San Francisco and Maine for their annual retreat in September. They stayed in cabins and cottages, dined from a farm-to-table menu, canoed and kayaked on the New River, unleashed their creativity during “paint and sip” sessions and assembled in meeting rooms bathed in natural light. “They said it was a more fruitful retreat because they were able to relax in a comfortable environment at a slower pace,” Hale says.

After several days breathing the fresh mountain air, she says there is a noticeable change in meeting participants: “When they leave, they look like a completely different person. Their shoulders are so much lower, and the tone of their voice is different.”

Large hotels still benefit from convention business, but planners are increasingly using unique spaces in tandem with those facilities, says Chuck Salem, CEO of Unique Venues, a website showcasing non-traditional sites in the U.S. and Canada for corporate meetings and events.

“Some planners need a convention center for their meetings but use off-site unique facilities for events away from the convention center,” he says. “That can build up a lot of excitement.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn led more planners to consider distinctive locations because of their affordability, he adds. “Universities with their large arenas and stadiums were the big winners because they had huge spaces where people could social distance,” Salem explains.

Unique Venues’ website includes colleges and universities, historical and cultural sites and sports arenas.

“A lot of these venues have a core mission other than events that generates revenues, or they’re nonprofits, so they’re not charging exorbitant rates,” Smith notes. “If a university opens its doors to events, what it’s really doing is helping to keep costs down for students. The core mission of museums is to cater to patrons, so the extra money helps keep museums fresh.”

While NASCAR is the main driver at the Richmond Raceway, corporate events — ranging from strategy sessions with less than two dozen attendees to gatherings in the thousands — are on the rise, says Lori Collier Waran, the raceway’s president.

That’s largely propelled by the post-pandemic push for companies to reunite their teams in meaningful activities, she adds.

“Businesses are eager to create shared experiences that inspire collaboration, innovation and culture building,” Waran says.

People attending meetings at the raceway can take behind-the-scenes NASCAR tours, ride in a pace car and stand on the finish line.

“These moments turn a standard corporate gathering into an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience that sparks creativity, camaraderie and lasting memories,” Waran says.

She adds that distinctive experiences combined with the raceway’s 80-year history keep the facility top of mind for meeting organizers. “We’re fortunate that word of mouth is one of our strongest drivers,” Waran says.

As Unique Venues’ Salem puts it, “That which is unique is inherently memorable.”