On Thursday, event management software company Cvent named the Top Meeting Destinations in a press release for the seventh year running. While many are big event cities expected on such a list, some may have been surprises to even veteran planners and each was named because of a specific appeal for groups.

“The cities featured in this year’s Top Destinations lists have invested significant time, energy, and resources into building premier locations that entice organizations, large and small, to plan meetings and events in their areas,” Chris McAndrews, vice president of marketing for Cvent Hospitality Cloud, said in a press release.

Cvent evaluated more than 11,000 cities in its supplier network on a variety of factors, including the number of request for proposals received, total room nights requested through those RFPs, awarded room nights, percentage of qualified meeting venues in the destination and number of profile views.

The company added three new regions to its list this year: The Caribbean and Latin America, Canada and Europe. Here are the top destinations in the United States and some notes on why planners can’t stay away.

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