Irving Texas Is Ready To Host Your Group

Located right in the middle of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the fourth largest metro area in the country, Irving combines all the amenities you expect from a large urban area with the charm of a smaller community that feels like home. No matter when your meeting is coming to Texas, Irving has something special for everyone, from lakeside dining to state-of-the-art facilities. Check out below some of the top reasons to host your next group or meeting in Irving Texas!

This is a sponsored post by Visit Irving Texas as part of our HopSkip Industry Partner Spotlight.  If your organization or hotel property would like to be featured in an upcoming HopSkip industry Spotlight please reach out to us here.

TEXAS-SIZED ACCOMMODATIONS

No matter what size your group is, Irving has you covered. From luxury resorts to economy offerings, Irving provides rooming options to fit your needs. You’ll find everything from private suites and amphitheaters to magnificent ballrooms and formal boardrooms. From the expansive 275,000-square-foot Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas to dozens of hotels with ample meeting space, there is no shortage of room to host your group.

CONVENTION-CENTRIC VISITORS DISTRICT

Thanks to an infusion of fresh ideas and crowd-pleasing amenities, Irving has quickly become one of Texas’s premiere travel destinations. Large-scale developments continue to add charm and sophistication to this fantastic meeting spot.

Toyota Music Factory, for example, is one of the most expansive and comprehensive entertainment venues in the country. The $173-million entertainment complex is DFW's newest and boldest entertainment venue. Boasting an incredible array of bars and restaurants and playing host to the best national and international touring music acts, the Toyota Music Factory experience is completely unique and sure to please everyone in your group. Toyota Music Factory represents the second phase of Irving’s vision for a distinctive visitors district.

STUNNING CONVENTION FACILITY

The Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas represents the innovative future of meetings and events. With almost 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, the building’s unique architecture, vertical design, and interior finishes create a new niche in the marketplace. Ideally situated on 40 acres in the heart of Irving’s Las Colinas Urban Center, the Irving Convention Center is just one phase of a mixed-use entertainment district that includes a 350-room Westin Convention Center Hotel and the $173 Million entertainment complex, the Toyota Music Factory, which is anchored by an 8,000-seat indoor/outdoor amphitheater operated by Live Nation. 

With its futuristic design and high-end finishes, the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas is functional, aesthetically appealing, cutting-edge, eco-friendly, and inviting. Your attendees will relish spending a few days in this gorgeous space. The facility represents a departure from the traditional, institutional big-box convention centers of other cities, and was designed to create interesting places to interact with colleagues and clients.

The center is divided into three main levels with the 50,000-square-foot, column-free exhibition hall on the first floor. The mezzanine level, located just above the first floor, features a relaxing cafe and outdoor covered terrace with access from both inside and outside the facility. The meeting and junior ballroom level provides 20,000 square feet of meeting space in up to 20 different breakout rooms, each averaging about 1,000 square feet.

IRVING HOTELS

Irving is the perfect launching pad to explore the endlessly exciting Dallas/Fort Worth area. Whether you're in town for a quick business trip or plan to explore the area while vacationing, Irving hotels provide convenient and comfortable lodgings for every type of traveler.

Home to over 80 hotels with more than 12,000 rooms, Irving hotels range from high-end resorts to budget-friendly favorites. Whether you like top-of-the-line lodging or a no-frills experience, Irving has the perfect hotel for you.

Irving Hotels Near the Airport

If you’re looking for close proximity to the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport, there are plenty of excellent options to choose from. Budget-friendly choices include reputable chains like Best Western Irving Inn & Suites at DFW Airport, which includes a convenient and free airport shuttle along with spacious rooms.

Other options include the DFW Airport Marriott, the closest Irving hotel to the airport. They provide comfortable rooms, plush beds, and great food in their on-site restaurant, Urban Spur. They also have a well-equipped fitness center and two pools.

Irving Hotels Near the Irving Convention Center

For close proximity to the stunning Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, there are a handful of hotels that will help you stay close to all the convention action and dining. Holiday Inn Express Convention Center offers comfortable and affordable accommodations with essential amenities, like a delicious breakfast and Wi-Fi. 

The Dallas Marriott Las Colinas, overlooking stunning Lake Carolyn, is a short jaunt to the Irving Convention Center and provides everything travelers have come to expect from the Marriott name. Plus, you’ll wake up with a lakeview, ready to tackle your conference.

Las Colinas Hotels

Beyond the immediate convention center area, staying in Las Colinas has its advantages. A stunning master-planned community in Irving, Las Colinas is a fun place to spend some time. From charming residential areas to bustling business centers, Las Colinas is an ideal urban center home to dozens of wonderful hotels and excellent amenities.

Hotel options in Las Colinas include budget-friendly options like Comfort Suites or Holiday Inn Las Colinas, or full-service and luxury hotels like the Omni Las Colinas Hotel, where you can explore the Mandalay Canals and Lake Carolyn. Hotels are conveniently located so you can enjoy all that Las Colinas has to offer: amazing restaurants, lake views, canal walks, shopping, entertainment, and more.

Las Colinas is also home to one of the top-rated resorts in Texas, the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas. Located on 400 plush acres between Dallas and Fort Worth, this resort is a cut above the rest. The property boasts 431 guest rooms and suites, two 18-hole golf courses, a modern sports club including tennis, swimming, racquetball, squash courts, jogging tracks, fitness center, and a world-class spa.

Waterfront Hotels

For a spectacular view overlooking Lake Carolyn and the Mandalay Canals, these hotels are also convenient to heart of Las Colinas' dining, shopping and entertainment venues. Within walking distance to the Toyota Music Factory, Irving Convention Center, and Water Street, these hotels also offer easy access to the Promenade surrounding Lake Carolyn.

MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT & EATS

Why Irving for meetings? Because when your team is done strategizing all day, Irving provides the very best entertainment, bars, and restaurants to help them unwind. 

The Toyota Music Factory alone offers a host of dining and entertainment options, including live music, blockbuster movies, festivals, and really good eats. The complex features an 8,000-seat indoor/outdoor concert hall, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, and over 20 restaurants that are perfect for off-site events and large groups.

The nearby Water Street development features new eateries along the shores of Lake Carolyn, bringing more charm and flavor to the visitors district and Mandalay Canal.

SAFETY AND SANITATION

VenueShield Hygiene Protocol

The Irving Convention Center is implementing ASM Global’s VenueShield environmental hygiene protocols and procedures, which provides the most advanced hygienic safeguards. These extensive measures will employ the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), food safety measures, air quality control, surface cleaning, physical/social distancing, temperature checks, hand sanitizers, reduced touchpoints, contactless transactions, daily monitoring systems, and more. The protocols and procedures implemented by the Irving Convention Center are outlined in the Safe Operating Plan. 

The following are some of the specific safety measures and sanitation protocols the Irving Convention Center has put in place:

• Use of powered misting disinfectant sprayers to disinfect rooms
• UV sterilization modules on escalator handrails
• Control building ingress and egress
• Hand sanitizing stations throughout the building
• Use of wayfinding signage and barrier belts to ensure safe social distancing
• Limit building and room capacities
• Arrange furniture and meeting and banquet arrangements to ensure social distancing
• Limit elevator occupancy and ensure social distancing on escalators
• Frequent sanitization of high-touch surfaces
• Implementation of food safety measures and unique banquet menu option
• Utilize acrylic barriers in front of concession areas, in the café, and throughout the facility
• Use of facemasks inside of the building
• Ensure outdoor, and patio areas are open and available for guests to use
• Employees will utilize PPE including facemasks and gloves
• Housekeeper training on heightened hygiene standards
• Thoroughly sanitize the building at the end of each day

GBAC STAR Facility Certification

The Irving Convention Center is in the process of becoming a GBAC STAR certified facility. This GBAC STAR Program is performance-based and sets out requirements for facilities to demonstrate that appropriate cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention work practices, protocols, procedures, and systems have been established and implemented. As a GBAC STAR certified facility, the Irving Convention Center is required to:

• Establish and maintain a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program to control and minimize the risk associated with infectious agents for employees, customers, clients, visitors, the community, and the environment
• Provide assurance and establish confidence that proper cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention work practices are in place and implemented
• Establish a framework for communication and raising awareness of best practices as they relate to cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention.

Employee Safety Protocols

In addition to the above safety and sanitation protocols above, Irving Convention Center and Visit Irving employees will be required to:

• Use PPE (face masks) when in common areas or interacting with clients and guests
• Perform temperature checks before each workday
• Staff with temperature, respiratory, or other symptoms of illness are required to stay home
• Staff members who have been exposed to COVID-19 must self-quarantine for 14 days
• Socially distance and limit interactions with other staff
• Frequently wash hands and sanitize workstations
• All employees receive COVID-19 safety and sanitation protocol training

This is a sponsored post by Visit Irving Texas as part of our HopSkip Industry Partner Spotlight.  If your organization or hotel property would like to be featured in an upcoming HopSkip industry Spotlight please reach out to us here.