Horizons Conference Center

What Horizons Conference Center does

Horizons Conference Center is a privately held, family-owned event venue and full-service hospitality company headquartered at 6200 State Street in Saginaw, Michigan, within the Great Lakes Bay Region. Founded by Dr. Samuel and Patricia Shaheen in 1995-1996 through the conversion of a former K-Mart building, the facility encompasses more than 40,000 square feet of flexible event space organized into 11 transformable venues capable of hosting gatherings from 2 to 2,000 guests, with an additional 60,000 square feet of the State Street campus leased to long-term tenants including Fortune 50 companies, universities, and local businesses.

The company operates a vertically integrated service model combining venue rental with in-house culinary catering, floral and décor design, audio-visual production, and event coordination under the proprietary 'Art of Hospitality' service philosophy. Core offerings include weddings and life celebrations, business and corporate events, special-occasion hosting, and an off-site catering operation extending to groups as large as 1,500 across the regional market. Horizons additionally serves as the exclusive caterer for the historic Temple Theatre in Downtown Saginaw through a dedicated partnership with TempleArts. Pete Shaheen, son of the founders, has served as President since the 1996 opening.

Horizons generates revenue primarily through event venue rental fees, on-site catering packages, off-site catering contracts, and ancillary décor and AV services. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and event-driven, leveraging direct bookings via event coordinators, website inquiries, on-site facility tours, wedding showcases, and a vendor referral network of photographers, florists, DJs, and bridal boutiques. Pricing is quote-based, varying by event type, guest count, menu, and service level. The customer base is distributed across consumer weddings, corporate clients, nonprofits (with relationships dating to the late 1990s), and healthcare partners, with a headcount of 51-100 employees. No external funding, institutional investment, or acquisition activity is evidenced; the business operates as an independent regional operator with subsidiary spinoffs in bakery (Pâtisserie) and ice cream (Michigan Cream & Sugar).

Name

Horizons Conference Center

Legal name

HORIZONS Conference Center

Website

https://horizonscenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Horizons Conference Center operates a 40,000+ square-foot event venue in Saginaw, Michigan, hosting weddings, corporate events, and special occasions for groups of 2 to 2,000, with in-house catering, floral design, and audio-visual services, plus off-site catering across the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Venue and Catering Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conference & Convention Center Catering (THAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Event venue rental
• Wedding catering services
• Corporate event hosting
• Off-site catering
• Floral and decor

Headquarters

HQ city

Saginaw

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Event Venue Rental: HORIZONS generates primary revenue from renting its event venues for weddings, corporate events, community gatherings, and special occasions. The venue accommodates groups from 2 to 2,000 people across multiple ballrooms and flexible event spaces.
2. On-Site Catering Services: Comprehensive food and beverage services are provided for events held at the venue, including chef-prepared menus, bar services, and custom dining experiences. All catering is handled by HORIZONS' in-house culinary team.
3. Off-Site Catering: HORIZONS extends its Art of Hospitality to off-site locations, providing full-service catering for business or home events. Services include food, beverages, linens, floral services, décor, and attentive staff for groups as small as 2 or as large as 1,500.
4. Floral and Décor Services: In-house floral design and décor services are provided as part of event offerings, including proposals, arrangements, and execution for all event types.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HORIZONS Conference Center operates a 40,000+ square foot event venue with 11 flexible event spaces in Saginaw, Michigan, accommodating gatherings from 2 to 2,000 people. The company sells venue rental, in-house catering, off-site catering, floral and décor design, and audio-visual services packaged for weddings, corporate events, community functions, and special occasions under its 'Art of Hospitality' brand.

Product overview

HORIZONS Conference Center is a single unified venue and event services operation offering physical event space for weddings, business events, and special occasions. The core offering consists of the HORIZONS Conference Center venue (40,000+ square feet with 11 transformable venues) and HORIZONS' service packages including wedding coordination, meeting and event hosting, and special occasion celebrations. Add-on modules include off-site catering services, in-house floral and décor design, and audio-visual support. HORIZONS also maintains an exclusive catering partnership for the Temple Theatre and operates the Garden Room as a specific venue space.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 22,000 vaccines administered during COVID-19 vaccination clinics hosted at HORIZONS
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Zingerman's ZingTrainminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024HORIZONS staff participated in two workshop seminars hosted by Zingerman's ZingTrain team, including 'The Art of Giving Great Service Workshop' and 'The Living Servant Leadership Workshop' to enhance service quality and leadership skills.
• Covenant HealthCarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2021HORIZONS provided over 15,000 square feet of flexible event space free of charge for COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics conducted by Covenant HealthCare from January through June 2021. The partnership enabled over 22,000 vaccines to be administered to community members. HORIZONS continues to maintain a collaborative relationship with the healthcare provider.
• Temple Theatre / TempleArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996HORIZONS serves as the exclusive caterer for the Temple Theatre in Downtown Saginaw. George Adelman serves as banquet manager and head of concessions at the Temple Theatre while also acting as liaison between HORIZONS and the TempleArts organization. This partnership provides HORIZONS access to a historic, classic venue for weddings and events.
• PatisserieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSaginaw's Patisserie and Michigan Cream & Sugar Ice Cream Company in Uptown Bay City got their start at HORIZONS as extensions of the award-winning culinary department. While they are distinct businesses today, they remain part of the HORIZONS family.
• CAN CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHORIZONS' relationship with the CAN Council (Great Lakes Bay Region CAN Council) dates back to the late 1990s. HORIZONS has hosted numerous events for the organization including educational seminars, volunteer appreciation banquets, and their annual Mardi Gras Auction for 30 years.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• The Knot Worldwide: Parent of The Knot and WeddingWire — the dominant wedding-discovery, vendor-marketplace, and planning-platform ecosystem. Indirectly comparable as the upstream marketplace through which a growing share of HORIZONS' wedding prospects compare and select venues.
• Aramark: Large outsourced food-services, catering, and facility-management provider serving sports, entertainment, convention, and corporate venues. Comparable as a supplier of catering and event hospitality services, though not a venue operator itself.
• Cvent: Leading event-management software and venue-sourcing platform connecting planners with hotels and venues. Indirectly comparable as technology infrastructure that increasingly captures venue-discovery and RFP workflows HORIZONS currently services manually.

Broad incumbents

• Hyatt Hotels Corporation: Global hospitality incumbent with extensive convention and conference hotel properties and banquet/catering operations. Broadly overlaps HORIZONS' corporate-meeting and wedding business as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Marriott International: World's largest hotel company with deep convention, banquet, and event-management infrastructure through brands like Marriott, Renaissance, and Westin. Overlaps with HORIZONS in corporate events, weddings, and on-site catering at scale.
• Hilton Hotels & Resorts: Global hotel group with significant convention and event-hotel capacity across brands such as Hilton, DoubleTree, and Embassy Suites. Overlaps HORIZONS in hosted corporate meetings, social events, and banquet catering.

Direct peers

• Crystal Mountain Resort: Thompsonville, Michigan resort with extensive conference, wedding, and banquet facilities plus on-site culinary and AV. Comparable as a Michigan-based full-service event venue serving both social and corporate segments.
• Grand Traverse Resort & Spa: Northern Michigan resort offering large-scale meeting/conference space, wedding venues, and in-house catering. Comparable in serving both corporate events and weddings within a regional Michigan footprint.
• Bavarian Inn Lodge: Frankenmuth, Michigan-based full-service resort and conference/wedding venue with on-site catering, lodging, and banquet halls. Directly comparable as a regional Michigan full-service event destination combining venue, F&B, and event coordination.

Emerging players

• Convene: Operator of premium corporate meeting and event venues in major U.S. metros with bundled hospitality and AV services. Comparable as a full-service event-venue operator targeting enterprise and professional-services clients with modern design and full-stack service.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/horizonsofglbr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCH-CBRXnt846bZAc1RX6KkA
• Facebookfacebook.com/HORIZONSconfctr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horizons-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/HORIZONSconfctr
• Pinterestpinterest.com/horizonscenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Horizons Conference Center