Attendance: 200-250 | Date: Final weekend in August; not flexible
The annual Arkansas Economic Developers & Chamber Executives Conference was held in August in Rogers, at the Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas. Candice Lawrence, executive director of AEDCE, planned the conference, and shared some of the considerations she had to make when selecting a venue.
Lawrence says in Arkansas, it’s relatively easy to select a venue for a larger event – only a handful in any given region can support that big of a crowd, especially over multiple days, with different needs throughout the event.
“I look at the numbers I’m going to bring, and in a particular town, I look at which places are going to be able to offer that to me,” she says.
Last year’s conference was held in Rogers, where multiple venues can support a group of 200 or more. The 2026 event will be held in Jonesboro, where fewer venues are available for a conference of that size. Ten months out, Lawrence had already booked the venue: the Embassy Suites by Hilton at the Red Wolf Convention Center.
“I need it to hold 200-250 for a general session where everyone has to be seated,” she explains, “and then I need two more breakout rooms and a separate ballroom that’s set up for an awards luncheon and breakfast. So I need two huge spaces, and two that fit 75 people each.”
For a large conference, an attached hotel at the convention center is a big plus, Lawrence says.
“We like the hotel to be part of the convention space because I have welcome receptions, hospitality suite offerings with libations after evening events, and liability-wise, I don’t want to serve a glass of wine or anything like that and have to worry about my participants going off-site,” she says.
For off-site activities, Lawrence recommends hiring outside transportation for conference guests to avoid any liability issues.
Lawrence says venues that are flexible about allowing event planners to bring in their chosen vendors, instead of utilizing venue staff and services exclusively, are preferable.
“I had a conference once (at a venue) with food restrictions. Now, this is a very special issue to me, because I have dietary restrictions. I want to be inclusive,” Lawrence says. “Some facilities will work with you, some will say you can’t bring in any outside food, they don’t offer (specialty menus) and sorry about your luck.
“It’s getting much better as these (diets) become more trendy, though for some it’s medically necessary,” she adds.
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