Dallas: A Thriving Business Hub with Top Airports, Hotels, and Dining
This Texan metropolis blends booming business, culture, and cuisine with top hotels, airports, and unique venues for business travelers
Dallas Skyline / Photo: Getty Images
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and that’s definitely the case in Dallas. Though it’s the state’s third-largest city, it’s actually the most populous metropolitan area, with more than eight million people spread across 400 square miles.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is home to 21 Fortune 500 companies, including American Airlines, AT&T, and Southwest Airlines, and it has a booming tech scene that’s drawing start-ups and bringing tons of new jobs. It’s also a major sports capital, where loyal fans cheer on the Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars, and Rangers with a packed calendar of games year-round.
Add in a thriving arts scene and one of the country’s most exciting food cultures, and Dallas offers business travelers plenty of reasons to explore beyond the agenda.
Airport
Centered between its two eponymous cities, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport welcomed more than 87.8 million people in 2024 on 743,203 flights, making it the world’s third-busiest airport.
Photo: Courtesy of David Syphers / Unsplash
It serves more than 260 destinations and offers flights to more nonstop domestic destinations (193) than any airport in the U.S. This is the main hub for American Airlines (AA), which has more than 850 daily departures. This year, the airline added flights to Venice, Italy, and Tampico, Mexico. A new AA terminal is currently under construction, set to debut in 2027.
Photo: Dallas Love Field Airport. Courtesy of Gabriel Tovar / Unsplash
Dallas is also home to Dallas Love Field (DAL), which is located just seven miles from downtown. The busiest medium hub airport in the U.S., it served nearly 18 million passengers in 2024 aboard more than 600 daily flights operated mainly by Southwest, but also Delta and the regional airline JSX.
Business Hotels
In town for a conference? The most convenient place to stay is the Omni Dallas, which is connected to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center via sky bridge. After a full day of meetings, head up to the rooftop infinity pool for a swim and maybe a blackberry mojito.
The lobby at The Joule hotel / Photo: Courtesy of The Joule hotel
Also located downtown, The Joule is a 160-key luxury boutique property in the neo-Gothic 1927 Dallas National Bank building with an impressive art collection (works by Andy Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly) and a fantastic all-day brasserie. If you’re hoping to conduct a sales pitch while playing nine holes of golf, then book a stay at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, which has two championship courses. The hotel also has 80,000 square feet of event space and a ballroom that seats up to 600.
Power Meals
For prime-aged rib eyes and Dallas Cowboys sightings, head to Nick & Sam’s, a 26-year-old steak house in Uptown. (On Fridays, forgo the beef and treat yourself to chef John Kleifgen’s pickle-brined fried chicken.) The best Mexican food in town can be found in the Design District at the Michelin-recommended El Carlos Elegante.
Dishes at El Carlos Elegante / Photo: Courtesy of Duro Hospitality
The seasonal menu changes often, but anything on the handmade masa section is a winner, and fish cooked on the wood-fired grill is also a must. Bringing a group? The stylish dining room has plenty of large tables, as well as a private party area. Downtown, head to the see-and-be-seen Monarch. Request a table in the back dining room by the window so you can enjoy skyline views while you dig into saffron bucatini with smoked tomato and uni cream or South Texas antelope steak.
Conference Centers and Venues
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, located in the center of downtown, is currently undergoing a $3.7 billion expansion—doubling in size from one to two million square feet of event space. It’s expected to be completed in 2029, but in the meantime, sections are still open to host large-scale events.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center / Photo: Courtesy of The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
The city has plenty of nontraditional meeting venues, as well. One idyllic setting is the 66-acre Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, where you can have a seated dinner or event outside on the beautiful grounds or in one of four indoor spaces. And at the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center, located at Dallas Executive Airport, they host a 600-person meeting in a working aircraft hangar among World War II planes.
