Meetings Today - April 2018

Cleveland

There’s a truly stunning array of activities centered around wellness in the city, and planners can work their way from the conference outward, thanks to the staff of Discover Cleveland.

“Our convention services team has
worked with meeting planners to develop
coordinated runs, spa services and on-site
yoga instructors and fitness instructors for
morning sessions,” said Mike Burns, senior
vice president of conventions sales and
services for Discover Cleveland. “They have
also arranged on-site chair massages on
the tradeshow floor.”
He added that they are currently working
with one conference to offer a rock ’n’ roll-
themed yoga session on the grassy rooftop
area of the new convention center, which
overlooks the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland has in-
corporated healthy teambuilding into its
renovation, which wrapped last October.

The property added LINKS, which is a culinary-themed space just outside the hotel’s meeting rooms. Its working kitchen is designed for group cooking adventures and teambuilding events. Planners can request a class or demonstration of healthy recipes, either as a meeting session or an energizing break.

At the Cleveland Botanical Garden, groups can be gently active with a walk through the Restorative Garden, or check the schedule for one of the facility’s many activities, from tai chi practice to herbal workshops that teach participants how to grow and make their own natural beauty and body products.

Groups can get their blood pumping in
the Cleveland Metroparks, which features
nature centers, more than 100 hiking
trails and activities like ziplining, golfing,
biking or tobogganing during the winter
months. Small groups can stretch their
legs with a unique activity at the Cleveland
Metroparks Zoo: an overnight camping
adventure where they learn how to track an
Amur tiger through its habitat.

Water activities are also plentiful in the area, from kayaking and paddleboarding at the Rock & Dock Marina just behind the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to learning to sail at The Foundry, a center for rowing and sailing on the Cuyahoga River. Planners can also utilize The Foundry’s state-of-the-art rowing tanks for teambuilding activities, and the facility also offers meeting and event space.

Cincinnati

“In Cincinnati, it’s easy for meeting planners to coordinate time for health and well-

Activities that promote health and well-being have become an important part of meetings, and Ohio honors that trend with a wide variety of venues and events to keep attendees at their best. From salsa dancing in Cincinnati’s Fountain Square to hiking in Columbus or learning to sail in Cleveland, the Buckeye State knows how to make any group fit and relaxed.