Chicago Meetings Industry Update
First, we want to give a special thank you to the shows hosted in Chicago in May, including RISKWORLD 2025, the 2025 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, the 61st ASCO Annual Meeting 2025, and more. Thank you for choosing Chicago to host your meetings and events!
Another very special congratulations to our ten 2025-2026 Choose Chicago Foundation Scholarship winners – a new record for our programs to support the educational and career development of aspiring leaders in our industry for a total of $50,000 awarded.
Choose Chicago celebrated the official start of summer with encouraging data released by experts across the industry. The impact from the confluence of Beyoncé’s three concerts at Soldier Field and the presence of the National Restaurant Association Show resulted in a record-breaking weekend for Chicago’s hospitality industry, with 46,450 hotel rooms filled on Saturday, May 17th and nearly 280,000 hotel rooms filled May 11th – May 17th, generating $84.7 million in hotel revenue, $14.7 million in hotel taxes, and an average occupancy rate of 85%. This represents one of the strongest weeks in Chicago’s history in terms of hotel room demand. Memorial Day Weekend followed, with over 45 million Americans traveling over that holiday period—an all-time record—with Chicago identified as one of the top domestic destinations.
What’s new in Chicago?
From the lakeshore to the Gold Coast, there are exciting updates making waves in the city.
Victory Cruise Lines is back on the Great Lakes with both Victory I and the newly christened Victory II. The only cruise line to dock at Navy Pier, it offers all-inclusive sailings with 33 departures from Chicago and other major cities in 2025.
The Talbott Hotel in the Gold Coast completed a $20 million renovation and joined Marriott Bonvoy’s Autograph Collection. Updates include refreshed guest rooms, a reimagined lobby, and upgraded event spaces, including the modernized Reed Room and a new fitness center.
Electric Shuffle Chicago is officially open in River North, bringing high-tech shuffleboard, craft cocktails, and group-friendly event space for up to 250 guests — perfect for team building or post-meeting fun.
Aside from these industry updates, there are positive things happening in Chicago all the time! To hear about the great stuff happening in our city, subscribe to our Why Chicago Roundup newsletter that brings the best of Chicago’s local news to the top of your inbox.
Current/Upcoming Events
May 30 – June 1: Windy City Hot Dog Fest
May 30 – June 1: Lincoln Park Greek Fest
May 31 – June 28: Chicago Dance Month
All June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month
June 5-8: Chicago Blues Fest (Millennium Park & Ramova Theater)
June 6-8: Ribfest chicago
June 11- Aug 16: Grant Park Music Festival
June 11: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off anniversary (2025 is 39th)
June 12-15: Puerto Rican Festival Chicago 2025
June 14-18: U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2025
June 19-22: Black Yacht Weekend
June 20-22: Summer Smash
June 21-22: Chicago Pride Fest
June 26: Millennium Park Summer Music Series begins
June 27-29: Chicago Taco & Tequila Fest
June 28-29: Kehren Center for the Arts Foundation: The Black Aura: A Weekend of Liberation & the Arts
June 29: 54th annual Chicago Pride Parade
