ARLINGTON CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

ARLINGTON STOPPED CHASING GROUP BUSINESS. IT STARTED WINNING IT.

 

 

landscape image that include stadium and lake
50%

Copy rate on RFPs

150+

RFP Showcase bids per year

44%

Of RFPs are from new planners

INTRODUCTION

Situated conveniently between Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington has long been recognized for its iconic sports venues and vibrant entertainment scene. However, in recent years, the city has undergone a dramatic transformation, emerging as a dynamic meetings and conventions destination on par with the region’s top-tier markets. Leading this evolution is the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

With the opening of the expansive Arlington Convention Center and two connected Loews hotels, Arlington has made a bold leap, expanding its capacity to host major citywide events. But physical growth was just one piece of the puzzle. To capitalize on these new opportunities and reach untapped markets, the CVB turned to Cvent’s industry-leading technology suite. Through targeted digital advertising, powerful prospecting tools, and robust business intelligence, Arlington is now outpacing the competition—and the data proves it.

CHALLENGE

Breaking through in a competitive, evolving market

Historically, Arlington faced significant limitations in the size and scale of events it could accommodate. The city was “capped at about 300 rooms on peak—750 people, maybe a thousand, if we had the right setup,” recalls Chad Enloe, Senior Vice President of Sales for the CVB, however, with the 2024 opening of the new Loews Arlington Hotel, the combined campus now offers nearly 1,200 rooms and over 300,000 square feet of meeting space. 

This expansion created a new set of challenges:

Collage of venues in Arlington, Texas
  • Awareness and Visibility: Many planners were unaware that Arlington could now support large conventions, and the city wasn’t always on the shortlist for major events.

  • Competition: The DFW metroplex and the wider Texas region are among the most competitive meeting markets in the nation, with powerhouse cities like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio vying for the same business. The ongoing redevelopment of the Dallas Convention Center and the presence of several “big box” hotels in the area mean Arlington must aggressively differentiate itself and prove its value to both planners and stakeholders. “We want to be right there and be visible and compelling to that planner so that when they look at maybe what would’ve been a decision to place something in Dallas or Fort Worth, they actually stop and are compelled and motivated to look at Arlington.”

     

  • Changing Buyer Behavior: Event planners are increasingly relying on digital tools for sourcing, expect rapid responses, and seek destinations that can demonstrate their value. According to the Cvent Northstar Meeting Industry PULSE Survey, planners rate venue visibility and digital presence as critical factors. Over 70% are actively booking or sourcing, even as some anticipate a dip in attendance. Planners demand proof, not promises. They’re looking for destinations that can demonstrate results through measurable metrics—such as attendance, engagement, economic impact, and sustainability.

SOLUTIONS

Leveraging Cvent’s technology suite to accelerate growth

1. Diamond Advertising for Maximum Visibility

Arlington invested in a Three Diamond listing, significantly increasing its visibility on the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN). This strategic move ensures that when planners search for venues in the Dallas-Fort Worth area—or even more broadly—Arlington appears high in the search results, often before competitors.

Diamond listings are designed to:

  • Elevate venues in search results, even if planners aren’t searching for Arlington by name
  • Showcase compelling content, photos, and offers directly to high-intent planners
  • Tap into Cvent’s global network of over 145,000 sourcing planners 
picture of the Arlington convention center exterior
Attendees are walking in the hall of a convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

2. Targeted Digital Advertising and Trade Show Strategy

Arlington’s CVB and its hotel partners doubled down on participating in key trade shows like Cvent CONNECT—using a large, custom booth to create a turnkey sales operation. This approach, combined with Cvent’s digital ad bundles, helped Arlington drive new leads that converted into thousands of room nights. “Some of those groups that we booked from past years are still on the books and will be coming up in 2027,” says Enloe. 

3. Adopting Planner Navigator for Smarter Prospecting

The CVB’s sales team uses Cvent’s Planner Navigator to:

  • Identify and connect with planners who haven’t yet considered Arlington
  • Research and prepare targeted outreach before major trade shows, ensuring high-value meetings on the show floor
  • Prospect more efficiently, focusing on planners whose event needs now align with Arlington’s expanded capabilities

Planner Navigator for us is really effective. It’s real-time customers sourcing through the platform... you’re not having to chase down who’s relevant.

Chad Enloe
Senior Vice President of Sales

4. Business Intelligence for Data-Driven Strategy

With the recent adoption of Cvent’s Business Intelligence package, Arlington is gaining deeper insights into:

  • Market trends and competitor performance
  • Lead response times, conversion rates, and reasons for lost business
  • Emerging markets and buyer behavior patterns

This data empowers the CVB to make smarter decisions, improve conversion rates, and demonstrate ROI to city stakeholders.

A woman is working on a laptop while holding a pen and having a mobile in her right hand.

RESULTS

Transformative growth and tangible impact

Arlington’s investment in Cvent technology has led to measurable success:

photos of hotel and convention center
  • Room Night Growth: Convention room nights have grown fourfold in less than four years. “From three, four years ago, we’ve grown that number four times. A lot of that has to do with the new facility, but also the awareness we’ve grown through Cvent.”
  • Increased Involvement of the CVB: The CVB is now copied on 50% of RFPs that come through Cvent—up from previous years—with a clear goal to increase that further as awareness grows.

  • Elevated Market Position: Arlington has climbed to #29 in Cvent’s Top Meeting Destination rankings, a significant jump that places it alongside much larger markets. “We’ve steadily gone up the rankings… that’s a byproduct of what we’re doing, along with planners recognizing and discovering Arlington.”

     

  • Economic Impact: Beyond bookings, the CVB tracks metrics like market share, demand pacing, and citywide economic impact. “What we do creates economic impact far beyond a consumed hotel room night. It’s putting people to work… when our hotels are full, when our convention center’s full, when our stadiums are full, there’s lots of people working, making a living.”
  • Trade Show ROI: Participation in Cvent CONNECT, combined with data-driven prospecting, resulted in several thousand booked room nights and a pipeline of future events lasting years out. 

BEST PRACTICES

 

A meeting team monitor with a purple and blue icon on a black background.
  • Invest in digital visibility (Diamond Plus, targeted advertising) to reach new planners and markets.
Filter image with a blue triangle and a grey line, creating a funnel-like shape on a black background.
  • Leverage prospecting tools like Planner Navigator for efficient, high-impact outreach.
A blue square with a white line and blue arrow pointing upwards on a black background.
  • Use business intelligence to track, report, and improve conversion rates and economic impact.
A pixelated blue symbol of a dollar sign with a checkmark on a black background.
  • Align physical growth with a data-driven marketing and sales strategy to maximize ROI.
The earth is depicted in a pixelated, retro-style with blue and gray shades.
  • Focus not just on bookings, but on broader economic and community benefits.
Products used:

LOCATION

Arlington, Texas

HOTELS

72

CHALLENGES

  • Capacity had historically been capped, limiting Arlington to smaller groups, which kept the city off the radar for large conventions.
  • Planner awareness was low; many didn’t realize Arlington could now support large-scale events, so the destination often wasn’t included in sourcing shortlists.
  • Regional competition was intense, with major Texas cities all vying for the same group business in an increasingly data-driven environment.

SOLUTIONS

  • A variety of advertising on the Cvent Supplier Network significantly increased Arlington’s search visibility, especially for planners sourcing broadly in similar markets.
  • Targeted digital ads and trade show strategy helped the CVB and hotel partners generate qualified leads and convert them into multi‑year room night commitments.
  • Planner Navigator and Business Intelligence gave the sales team tools to identify high‑value planners, analyze performance, understand lost business, and refine strategy using real data.

RESULTS

  • Convention room nights quadrupled over four years, reflecting both the expanded physical footprint and smarter digital go‑to‑market execution.
  • RFP volume, value, and conversion improved, with the CVB now copied on about half of incoming RFPs and steadily climbing in Cvent’s destination rankings to #29 in 2025.
  • Economic impact expanded meaningfully, supporting jobs across hotels, venues, and local services, and reinforcing tourism as a key driver of Arlington’s broader community prosperity.
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