Your bracket might be busted, but at least spring is in the air in Milwaukee! Brewers season kicks off this week, warmer days are in the forecast and the 5 in 5 is in your inbox with the latest news, developments and happenings from across Milwaukee. What more can you ask for? Here’s everything you need to know about our city’s hospitality industry this month.

SXSW

MKE -> SXSW

We put our best foot forward earlier this month at the one and only South by Southwest as our Chief Marketing Officer, Josh Albrecht, and Vice President of Communications & Advocacy, Claire Hanan, unveiled a groundbreaking new partnership, set to drop early next month. You can catch the recording of their panel and learn what all the hype is about here.

 

AC Hotel

AC Hotel

In case you missed it, the forthcoming Deer District hotel is getting a rebrand. As we previously shared, the Moxy Hotel will now be developed as an AC Hotel by Marriott. Plans remain in place for a nine-story, 156-room property that will add to the growing mix of accommodations surrounding one of the city’s busiest event corridors, just a few blocks from Baird Center.

 

With a projected groundbreaking in late 2026 and an anticipated opening in 2027, the hotel will provide a convenient option for visitors attending meetings and conventions at Baird Center, as well as events at Fiserv Forum and nearby venues. As the district continues to evolve, additions like this help support the volume of events Milwaukee continues to attract.

 

 

AVCA First Serve 2026 logo layered on a photo of a volleyball court and crowd from an overhead perspective.

AVCA First Serve

Milwaukee is getting ready to serve on a national stage. AVCA First Serve is set for August 21 through 23, 2026, now expanded to four days and bringing some of the best women’s college volleyball programs in the country to town. Arizona State, Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Marquette University are all part of the field, setting up a full slate of high-level matchups from start to finish.

 

Ticket packages are on sale now, with single-day passes coming soon. This is a chance to see top-tier college volleyball up close, all in one place. With national broadcasts across ESPN and Fox Sports and more than 2.6 million viewers expected, Milwaukee will be front and center, and we cannot wait to host it.

 

exterior view of the Milwaukee Public Library Central Branch

Venue Spotlight: Milwaukee Public Library, Central Library

Tucked in plain sight in the heart of downtown, Central Library stands as one of Milwaukee’s hidden historic gems and the perfect meeting venue for your next event. Opened in 1898 and later designated as both a Milwaukee landmark and a site on the National Register of Historic Places, the building carries a sense of history that your attendees will feel from the moment they walk in. Beyond its architectural presence, the library offers a range of meeting and event spaces that balance character with functionality, giving you a unique venue that’ll send your attendees home raving about their experience. Read up on the Milwaukee Public Library here.

 

 

On the Road

The Visit Milwaukee team is out and about at tradeshows across the country every day, working to showcase the very best of what our city has to offer and connecting with meeting planners to book their events in Milwaukee. Here's where our team is headed: 

 

  • On April 14, National Account Executive Manuel Rocha will attend the 2026 Destination Celebration Minneapolis. 
  • National Account Executive Jessica Jacobs will attend 2026 Connect Spring from April 14-16 in Louisville, Ky. 
  • That same week, Account Executive Katie Lawrence will make the short trip down to Lake Geneva for the 2026 MPI Spring Spectacular on April 15 and 16. 
  • And finally, National Account & Tourism Sales Executive, Megan Husband, is heading north to La Crosse, Wisc., for the 2026 Circle Wisconsin Midwest Marketplace, taking place on April 19-21.