The Midwest has always been a popular spot for meetings industry gatherings, with Meeting Professionals International’s 2025 WEC coming to St. Louis this June. Chicago is a main chapter hub for every industry association, and Minneapolis is home to the headquarters of several of the major incentive houses.
Hotel investment in the region is booming, particularly in major cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis, as well as secondary and tertiary markets like Omaha and Des Moines.
Explore 135 exceptional new properties hand-picked for meeting and incentive planners
Here are five important new/newly renovated group properties and venues in the Midwest, and take a look at our just-released report on 135 hotels for meetings and incentive travel here.
1. Baird Center (Expansion)
Milwaukee, WI
Reopened in May 2024, following a $456 million expansion, Baird Center in Milwaukee now totals 1.3 million square feet, 52 breakout rooms, 300,000 square feet of exhibition space, and a rooftop ballroom. The center includes inclusive amenities like gender-neutral restrooms, sensory rooms, and Mamava pods.
2. Duke Energy Convention Center (Renovation)
Cincinnati, OH
Duke Energy Convention Center is undergoing a $240 million renovation and is expected to reopen in January 2026. The renovation will modernize existing event spaces, improve building systems, add a rooftop terrace, and provide additional outdoor space flowing to the new Elm Street Convention Plaza. A new headquarters hotel is planned, adding 800 hotel rooms to the almost 3,500 currently available, also offering 80,000 square feet of meeting space.
3. JW Marriott Water Square
Detroit, MI
JW Marriott Water Square is a new hotel development in downtown Detroit, situated at the former Joe Louis Arena site. The 25-story hotel will feature 600 guest rooms, an estimated 50,000 square feet of meeting space, and will be connected directly to the Huntington Place Convention Center via a skybridge. Construction began in 2024 and is expected to be completed in early 2027 on what will be downtown Detroit’s second largest hotel.
4. Shinola Hotel Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
Shinola Hotel Indianapolis is estimated to open in late 2027. The $300 million redevelopment will be 13 stories high and feature 170 guest rooms, a retail store, dining options, and meeting space three blocks from the Indiana Convention Center. The mixed-use development will offer a rentable 4,000-square-foot music venue and a pedestrian skywalk connecting Pennsylvania Street to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
5. Signia by Hilton Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
Expected to open in the fall of 2026, this 38-story hotel will bring 800 additional rooms to downtown Indianapolis, which will then have 5,500+ rooms connected by enclosed skywalks to the The Indianapolis Convention Center. The center itself is undergoing its sixth expansion, adding 143,500 square feet of space, including a 50,000-square-foot ballroom.
