Editor’s Note: Travmar, which produces intelligence for event planners, is based in Minnesota, but the seeds for the company were planted in the Northeast.
John Horchner left Manhattan and the Hearst Corp. for Providence, Rhode Island, and his startup, The New England Meeting Planning Guide. Similar regional sourcebooks were created for meeting planners around the U.S., and Travmar was born.
In the mid-1990s, Travmar made its mark in the digital world with MeetingSource.com, the first meeting and convention website in the country. ResponseRewards.com and WeddingSource.com followed soon afterward. The company relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota.
This year—quite appropriately given the global you-know-what—Travmar launched DigMeetings.com to help clients move to digital events using WordPress and Zoom teleconferencing. But the company still kept a keen watch over brick-and-mortar conference and convention centers across the nation.
For Travmar’s list of the “Top 25 Convention Cities For 2020,” walkability, affordability, safety, exciting tourism options and city assets were all considered.
Looking at the 166 cities ranked nationwide, judges noted that smaller, so-called “second-tier” cities gained ground this year because of more attractive hotel rates, something they note that may linger due to COVID-19 concerns.
For example, affordable room rates and above-average scores in most other areas like safety propelled Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Boise, Idaho; and Tampa, Florida. Pittsburgh’s city parks also helped it excel, as did St. Paul, Minnesota’s, Madison, Wisconsin’s and Portland, Oregon’s, according to Travmar, whose top convention cities of 2020 follow.
Pacific
San Diego, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Jose, California
Southwest
Las Vegas, Nevada
Denver, Colorado
Grapevine, Texas
Southeast
Tampa, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Mid-Atlantic
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Northwest
Portland, Oregon
Boise, Idaho
Seattle, Washington
Northeast
Portland, Maine
Hartford, Connecticut
Midwest
Grand Rapids, Michigan
St. Paul, Minnesota
Columbus, Ohio
In ranking U.S. convention centers, Travmar noted that many are positioning themselves to be better than ever once we “return to normal.”
Hotel room affordability, accessibility as well as what the destination has to offer in the way of tourism infrastructure were factors in the rankings of the best of the best of 2020 that follow.
Northeast
Javits Convention Center
New York, New York
Northwest
Washington State Convention Center
Seattle, Washington
Southwest
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
Pacific
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, California
Mid-Atlantic
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Midwest
TCF Center
Detroit, Michigan
Southeast
Tampa Convention Center
Tampa, Florida
Don’t see your city or favorite convention center? Find the full lists at Travmar.com.
