When it comes to planning group dinners or receptions, hotel restaurants used to be the fall-back option: convenient but not exciting. But in Portland, Ore. the tables have been turned. Some of the finest restaurants in the city — and in the Pacific Northwest — are located inside Portland’s downtown hotels.

This is good news for every planner who dreads finding a hot restaurant for private dining, and also for attendees who are tired at the end of their event day and would rather not deal with taxis, Ubers or Lyfts.

Several hotel brands and convention centers are jumping on the green bandwagon to help the environment and people in need through an array of sustainability and CSR initiatives. 

Rich in history, tradition and culture, Scotland is an easy-to-reach, yet often new destination for meeting attendees. The number of direct flights from the U.S. east coast has grown significantly over the past several years, and many major European cities offer connections to Scotland’s five international airports. 

If you’re meeting in autumn and looking for a spot that’s a beautiful as it is functional, consider one of these eight properties around the country where fiery shades of red, gold and orange take center stage this time of year.

Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

Looking for a different kind of venue for your incentive trip? Want an adult-only experience — no kids allowed? Sir Richard Branson’s latest venture, Virgin Voyages, offers ocean cruises that promise to reset expectations of what group experiences aboard ship should be like.

“Virgin aims to disrupt the traditional and reset to ultimately create a better experience or product for the consumer,” says Kayla Corbett, charters, incentives and future voyage sales manager for Virgin Voyages.

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is getting ready to grow. On Sept. 19, the  Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board of directors accepted a proposal announced by Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on Sept. 16 that includes expanding BCEC and selling Hynes Convention Center to fund the project.

Arlington, Texas is a city uniquely dedicated to sports. The city is home to AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park, the eSports Stadium Arlington & Expo Center and Texas Live!, a sports, dining and entertainment district that opened in August 2018. Live! By Loews — Arlington, TX, which opened its doors last month, is the newest hotel to open in the district, and expands both the city’s convention and meeting capacity.

CAESARS FORUM is set to open in Las Vegas in seven months, and Caesars Entertainment has already secured more than $300 million in business for the new, 550,000-square-foot conference facility. Officials announced that in the last 18 months, more than 125 contracts for meetings and events have been signed, 75 percent of which represent new business.

Set on the bank of the Chicago River, Sheraton Grand Chicago is an impressive sight. One of the larger meeting properties in the Windy City, the hotel’s 1,218 guest rooms and suites offer views of the river, Lake Michigan or the city skyline. 

Facility leadership and show floor trade partners of Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia have signed a five-year extension and amendment of its 10-year labor agreement. The contract builds on the competitive work rules and expanded exhibitor rights initially put in place in 2014.