Fort Lauderdale deserves more than being treated as “Miami, but north.” It has developed a major meetings market of its own, with beachfront hotels, downtown venues, Las Olas dining and entertainment, easy airport access, and a waterfront convention district. The expanded Broward County Convention Center now offers more than 1.2 million square feet of event space, including a 350,000-square-foot contiguous exhibit hall and a 65,000-square-foot waterfront ballroom. And in appropriately Fort Lauderdale fashion, you can even reach parts of the district by Water Taxi.

For companies gathering here for conventions, sales meetings, leadership retreats, or association events, team building can provide the part of the agenda where attendees stop being an audience and start interacting with one another. Build-A-Bike® works especially well for larger groups, combining team challenges with the assembly of bicycles for children. Ace Race® pushes the energy higher with a fast, competitive indoor mini-golf event built around food that ultimately goes to people who need it.

Groups looking for something with more emphasis on connection can choose Rescue Bear®, where teams use different strengths to solve challenges and create comfort bears, or Hopeful Horizons, which combines communication challenges with support for teens in foster care. Fort Lauderdale already gives planners the water, restaurants, resorts, and South Florida setting. A charity team-building event adds a shared accomplishment to the trip, so the group leaves with more than conference badges and an alarming number of restaurant receipts.