Destination Spotlight: Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio, is like that family-owned, neighborhood restaurant that you can’t help raving about. Still, every time you do, you worry you’re letting the cat out of the bag. What if too many people find out and the lines get too long and the service suffers?

It might be too late. Between the newly renovated Battelle Grand multi-functional room in the Greater Columbus Convention Center and news of the $140 million Hilton Convention Hotel planned for completion by fall of 2012, the Midwestern city is already on the meetings map.

The city’s special touches for groups and meeting attendees come in the form of “experiences.” Experience Columbus, the city’s CVB, has partnered with hand-picked community businesses to package hands-on, interactive activities, which planners can mix and match to satisfy groups of any size, age and interest. They range from hands-on seminars with the Columbus Zoo to culinary delights at the North Market.

Meeting Facilities:

Battelle Grand

• Greater Columbus Convention Center: 410,000 square feet of exhibit space, three ballrooms and 65 meeting rooms

• Nationwide Arena: 18,000-seat arena

• Ohio Expo Center: 1 million square feet, 360-acre multi-use complex

• Veterans Memorial: 110,000 square feet of exhibit space